“If only there was more time.”

“If only there were twenty of me.”

How many times have you asked yourself these questions? If you’re like me, you’ve asked these and countless more. you may have even thought of giving up once or twice.

Rewind back to my earlier days of teaching. I was moving steadily along, kicking butt at all things 1st grade. Suddenly, my reality shifted. The needs of my students became exponentially more varied and the gaps in their knowledge were vast. Being the overachiever I am, I thought that all I needed to do was work harder, but after I
spent hours worrying and planning, my instruction was still coming up short. I almost gave up!

Then I discovered these techniques for classroom management.

How is classroom management defined?

As a young teacher, I did not understand classroom management and I never had classroom management defined. I just jumped in and started teaching, and thought if I spent time finding great lessons that my students would soar to the top. I was wrong! I found it was getting harder to reach all my students, especially as the number of languages spoke in my classroom increased. You can read more of my story here.

I started researching different techniques for classroom management, trying some different strategies and then, as all good teachers do, created a plan that worked for me and my students.

CLICK HERE to get all the templates, steps, and secrets to take you through the entire process!

Techniques for classroom management that impact students

With these 5 simple techniques for classroom management, I was able to put all my effort into the learning strategies for students that actually yielded results in my classroom. I didn’t have to work longer or harder, the trick was to focus my effort to increase my impact. I did that by:

1. Setting classroom goals with a strong classroom culture

I didn’t realize how much easier setting classroom goals is with a strong classroom culture. Numerous research shows that students who are actively involved in choosing how things are done in the classroom are more likely to succeed both academically and behaviorally. A study done by Jolivette, Wehby, Canale and Massey showed that the presence of choices in the classroom had a very positive affect on their students with the most challenging behaviors. Read more HERE.

2.  Centers as strategies for independent learning

This one is an absolute game-changer! If you have not tried centers as strategies for independent learning in your classroom, you are 100% missing out. The results I’ve seen with this simple shift in my day-to-day schedule have been tremendous. My students are more engaged, I have more time for individual students, and some of my students even get enrichment from helping their friends. Read more HERE.

3. Pre-assessing with games for elementary data

I’m sure you’re thinking “games for elementary data? How does that work?” But I am telling you, there is no limit to the potential of using games as part of your assessment plan. It is a fantastic active learning strategy that takes the pressure off for your students.  There are so many amazing options that you’ll wonder why you ever used anything else to assess your kiddos. Read more HERE.

4. Differentiation of instruction to reach each student by name and need

This post was written specifically for math differentiation, but the principles are sound for any subject. This is the toughie, at least for me. When I think of differentiation for my students, I’m reminded of the book Street Data, by Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan. They describe 3 types of data: the satellite, the map, and the street. Satellite data is standardized testing and other large scale assessments. Map data is classroom assessments. Street data reaches students on an individual level. Street data tells us what are our students’ interests, passions, strengths. It gets to know each individual student. This type of differentiation won’t just skyrocket your classroom results, but your students’ morale and confidence as well. Read more HERE.

5. Automating the entire process

Now it’s time to put these shifts to work in your classroom. Dive into our made-
for-you templates and really make this process your own. If you get overwhelmed, just revisit the checklist that is included to get back on track. Remember, we are here for you so reach out anytime!

CLICK HERE to get all the templates for Free , PLUS a step by step guide to take you through the entire process!

Here’s to you and your future success!

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