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A wireless doorbell is a great tool to use to get student's attention and can also be used as a transition tool.

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Videos can provide help in classroom management with real-life problems and scenarios. The advice in the video plays right to what happens in the classroom and how to go about handling the different situations.

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Classroom Management in Action: Essential PBIS Skills for Elementary Teachers

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Go to http://www.irised.com/products/classroom-management-in-action for information and educational products.The behavior coaching resource for K-5 teachers. Building positive, effective relationships with students is at the heart of successful classroom management. This powerful evidence-based curriculum provides educators with strong classroom management skills.

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Teaching students are not only a full-time job but a commitment. Students are relying on us as teachers to guide, reinforce and model positive behaviors. This quote to me sums up a great deal on how I view classroom management. Students will learn what we allow, stop, ignore,  and reinforce.

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Students who may be struggling with self-calming techniques this jar can help offer ideas for to those students. Each ice cube has a different cool down strategy written on it. For example, go for a walk, talk to a friend, and three deep breaths. When a student is upset or needs a moment to cool down, they can get up and grab an ice cube and follow the directions written on it.

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I have several students on my caseload who struggle with anger management and emotional regulation. I loved this idea for Cool Down Cubes from Entirely Elementary and decided to make a set of my own.

Supplies:
Plastic ice cubes - I purchased a bag of 30 from Bed Bath & Beyond for less than $4
Container - The one pictured came from the Dollar Store
Permanent maker

Using a permanent marker write a safe "cool down" strategy on each ice cube. For example: count to ten, walk away, talk to a friend, take three deep breaths, etc. I also left a few of the cubes blank so that the students could come up with their own strategies. The original post suggested placing the ice cubes in the freezer for an additional "cool" effect. That's it! Easy right?

I have used the Cool Down Cubes in both individual and group settings to discuss ways to "cool-off" when angry and have gotten a great response from students. ﻿

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I have several students on my caseload who struggle with anger management and emotional regulation. I loved this idea for Cool Down Cubes from Entirely Elementary and decided to make a set of my own.

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5 Quick and Simple Classroom Management Tips

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5 Quick and Simple Classroom Management Tips

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Having a quick refresher can help remind a teacher not to get caught up in the moment. These five tips help break down classroom management and offer a quick breath of fresh air. The tips would be a great reminder to look at each day before I start or when I am having a hard time managing the classroom.

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Keeping a quote is a neat tool to use that allows students to get involved and have a say in their classroom motto each week. Each Monday (or any designated day) students can bring in different inspirational quotes they have found. The classroom has a whole (or the teacher ) will vote on one. It will be the classroom motto for the week and be written in front of the class so it can quickly be referred to and looked it. Keeping the quotes in a scroll can easily be looked back on and revised when needed.

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Having several opinions on classroom management is always ideal. Too often classroom management gets a bad name and teachers struggle with how to control their classroom. Articles such as this can help provide POSITIVE reinforcement ideas on how to properly handle and manage a class and students.

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by: Rachel Lynette

Hi there, everyone! My name is Marine Freibrun. Elementary school teacher, mom, wife, and blogger! I am the author of Tales from a Very Busy Teacher. I am so honored and excited to be writing a guest post for Minds in Bloom today! I am sharing TEN positive behavior management tips for the primary classroom with you today.

Classroom/behavior management is one of the most important things to master in your classroom. Having solid behavior management helps maintain a positive classroom environment while enabling teachers and students to accomplish LEARNING!

Here are TEN tips and tricks for behavior management I use in my classroom:

The way you start your day is the most important factor of having a good day! Even if you have had a rough start at home, hit traffic on your way to work, or forgot your morning cup of coffee, you shouldn't let those little blunders ruin the day for your students. They come to school, in most cases, looking forward to seeing their teachers and friends.

So, to start the day off right, I greet my students at the door! I love, love, love, shaking my students' hands at the door as they come into the classroom. I always start the day by having my kiddos form two lines. I grab their attention and wait for listening ears. I let them know what they're expected to do when they enter the classroom (put things away, morning work, etc.).

After checking for understanding and getting feedback from my kiddos on what my expectations are, I greet each student as they go through the door. It can be a handshake, hug, high five, or fist bump. I always say, "Good morning," and I try to find something to say to each student as they enter. For example, if a student has a new hair style, I make sure to notice. If another student got new shoes, I make sure to compliment. The list goes on and on. I just try to personalize their greeting and make sure they know I care and that it's going to be a great day!

Brain breaks are a great way to enhance student engagement and to keep students on their toes throughout the day. It breaks things up, and it creates some blood flow for the brain! I created these brain break cards that you can cut out and glue to some popsicle sticks. When you and your kiddos are in need of a break, pull out a card and complete the task! These breaks help get students movin' and groovin'.

As teachers we are aware of our lessons, and we notice that our students may need to get up and change pace. Using brain breaks are a great way to get that change of pace.

Click here to download them for FREE.

Displaying students' negative behavior for the whole class to see is kind of a pet peeve of mine. When I was in Kindergarten, my teacher would always put a happy face and a sad face on the board. Of course, my name was ALWAYS on the happy face board. Well, one day this classmate of mine decided he wanted to kiss me on the cheek. He was definitely not a boy that I wanted to kiss! LOL! So, when he kissed me, I screamed. My name then went on the sad face board. I WAS HORRIFIED. It scarred me for life. Obviously, I am now in my thirties and am still upset over this tragic event. When I became a teacher, I told myself I would never let this happen to my students.

In my first year teaching, I decided I was not going to use any type of behavior system that would call my students out. I quickly learned that not having anything in place would be a disaster. I used a lot of positive reinforcement, but I didn't have any consequences for unacceptable behavior. I decided it was time to move on and try a behavior chart. I found a lot on TpT and really liked the fact that these charts had a lot of positive factors that students could strive to reach. Using these charts proved to be a huge success.

My favorite part was getting students to reach the blue or purple section of the chart. Everyone else tried so hard to get there too. Students who made it to the "top of the chart" received a special little card that acknowledged their accomplishment for that day. I even let those students choose a stuffed animal from our class library. The stuffed animal they chose would be with them the whole day at their desks, learning with them! I rarely had students go below the green section of the behavior chart. Plus, I always made sure that students didn't end on yellow, orange, or red. They always had the opportunity to get back to green or higher.

Here are some sample behavior charts from Pinterest that foster positivity and better behavior:

I really enjoy using a class marble jar as a whole-class behavior incentive. It's easy, fairly inexpensive, and gets the point across very well. Just get a large jar at Walmart, Target, or the Dollar Tree. While you're there, pick up a couple bags of marbles.

As your class behaves well, add marbles to the jar. Once the jar is full, they'll receive a class prize: free recess, pizza party, movie, Friday free time, etc.

The only recommendation I make when using the marble jar: Don't take the marbles out if the class has done something bad! The marbles in the jar are marbles the class has already earned; therefore, they should not be taken away as a consequence. The class should receive other consequences that fit the bad behavior.

I love these! I used to have a pretty awesome treasure box with pretty awesome prizes. I would buy a bunch of things at the Dollar Tree and fill my treasure box. Soon, the DOLLAR tree became the HUNDRED DOLLAR tree! I couldn't afford to continuously by prizes for my treasure box. Then, I stumbled upon these beauties...prize box tickets! There are quite a handful on Pinterest. You can pick and choose the ones you want your students to have to choose from. THEY ARE A HIT! I also think the best part is that they're FREE!

Students will love these prize box tickets as a behavior incentive. They'll be doing all they can to get a trip to that treasure box.

This is a cute one! And...it's FREE and SIMPLE!

All you have to do is draw a big heart somewhere on your whiteboard. You can even laminate a large construction paper heart and hang it on a wall in your classroom. Throughout the day, add students' names to your heart! These can be students that are sitting nicely, listening to directions, being polite, etc.

When I completed this in my classroom, I would always say, "OH MY GOODNESS! I love how so-and-so is sitting so nicely. She's quiet, calm, and ready to learn. Please come write your name in my heart, so-and-so."

Immediately, all of the other students would sit quietly, calmly, and be ready to learn. I would continue to ask students to come up and write their names in my heart, too. My kiddos LOVE it. Some days I would try to get all their names in my heart.

But, I would always make sure I got all of my students in my heart throughout the week, especially those students who struggle to make good choices. Sometimes all they need is LOVE!

This one works well if you have your classroom divided into groups. Just assign names to each "table" of students. Write those names on the board. I would usually name my tables with numbers. Each time a table or team is sitting nicely, following directions, being polite, and all that good stuff...add points to their team. The team that wins at the end of the week gets to go to the treasure box to pick a fun prize box card! I also feel that taking away table points is completely unfair, similar to that of taking away marbles. There should definitely be another type of consequence.

This is another one of my favorites. At the end of each day, I pick three to four students that have exemplified great citizenship, workmanship, and behavior. I fill out my little Student of the Day slip and write something about them that they did that day that made them earn Student of the Day. They get to take that slip home and show it off on the refrigerator. My kiddos love being Student of the Day! It's a great incentive and a great way to give your kiddos some recognition. Throughout the day I would remind students about Student of the Day by saying, "Oh, WOW! It's going to be so hard to pick a Student of the Day today!"

There were other phrases I would use in my favor to gain the class' attention and promote positive behavior. You can grab some of my Student of the Day papers here.

These cones are so much FUN! I grabbed a bunch of these at the Dollar Tree (aka my favorite store). My students and I call them "Cones of Excellence."

I would let my students put these cones on their desks if they were Student of the Day from the day before. They could have the cone all day on their desks to show how proud they were of their good behavior. Sometimes I would bend the rules a little bit and just hand out cones to students who were behaving well. I didn't do that too often because I didn't want to take away from the importance of the Student of the Day. I guess you just gotta go with the flow of the class!

This one is easy and doesn't require any downloading!

Be HAPPY! SMILE! And be POSITIVE! Your kiddos will thank you for it! There's nothing like having a happy, smiley teacher to greet you and help you every day. Students spend the day with their teacher at school. Why not make it a happy day?

My name is Marine Freibrun, and I am an elementary school teacher in Southern California. I earned my BA from UC Irvine, my teaching credential from CSU Bakersfield, and my MA in Educational Leadership from CSU Northridge. I have taught 2nd, 3rd, and 6th grade, but I actually began my teaching career as an 8th grade teacher. I am staying home this school year to be with my first baby, Jacob. I love teaching and sharing educational ideas! Check out my blog and TpT store!

Your privacy is protected.

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Positive Behavior Management Strategies for the Primary Classroom - Minds in Bloom

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Hi there, everyone! My name is Marine Freibrun. Elementary school teacher, mom, wife, and blogger! I am the author of Tales from a Very Busy Teacher. I am so honored and excited to be writing a guest post for Minds in Bloom today!

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Great way for student's to know the voice level of the classroom without having to address the situation verbally. Student's are made aware of what each level represents, and all the teacher has to do it go over and touch one of the lights on.

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Tattling versus telling is a hard concept for some students to understand. Laying the foundation and explaining the difference between the two can offer problem-solving skills and more time spent teaching.

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Effective and Ineffective Classroom Management 

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Effective and Ineffective Classroom Management 

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Having the opportunity to compare ineffective and effective classroom management skills can provide great insight into what exactly can be causing specific behaviors within a classroom. Articles can offer great ideas and different strategies to use. As a teacher asking for help has always been a top priority. I see no issue in asking or seeking help; this only helps me grow as an educator.

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Classroom management is the act of managing time, space, teaching tools and students to create an effective learning environment. There are many ways to manage these elements of the classroom. Some are effective and other ineffective. Understanding the difference between effective and ineffective management techniques can help you gain control over your classroom and will facilitate a better, more productive learning environment.

Preventative Measures for Behavioral Issues
Take a proactive approach to bad behavior. Taking steps to prevent common behavioral issues in the classroom helps avoid losing valuable time dealing with behavioral issues. One effective method for accomplishing this is to start the school year with a list of rules. Involve students in setting the rules and the consequenaces of breaking these rules. Review the rules at the start of each school week. Continually explaining rules and consequences as each student disrupts the class is ineffective because valuable time is spent dealing with individuals as opposed to the organized approach of addressing the group. With a set list of rules and consequences, students know what to expect.

Peer and Group Activities
Controlling the seating arrangement and developing activities that encourage students to work together can be an effective way to help ensure your students get along. Forcing students to interact with their peers is ineffective and doesn't accomplish the end goal of a classroom environment where everyone gets along, but creating activities that teach students how to respect others and appreciate the differences of others can encourage a better working relationship among students.

Positive Atmosphere and Role Modeling
Keeping a positive atmosphere in the classroom begins with the teacher. Keep a positive atmosphere by highlighting good behavior and rewarding those students who follow the rules of the classroom. Go out of your way to keep personal troubles out of the classroom and show that you are happy to be there. Model the behavior you expect from your students. This atmosphere can make being in the classroom enjoyable for students. Letting students see you as moody or aggressive can undo all that you try to achieve.

Ineffective Responses to Bad Behavior
Don't make it personal. Don't get angry. As a teacher, your job is to look out for the good of the entire classroom. If that means removing a student from the classroom, remove the student and refer to the consequences as they apply to your classroom and the situation. Being sarcastic toward a student or engaging in a power struggle are also ineffective responses. The rules and consequences are outlined. Adhere to them and be consistent.

Source http://www.ehow.com/

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Effective & Ineffective Classroom Management

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Classroom management is the act of managing time, space, teaching tools and students to create an effective learning environment. There are many ways to manage these elements of the classroom. Some are effective and other ineffective. Understanding the difference between effective and ineffective management techniques can help you gain control over your classroom and will facilitate a better, more productive learning environment.

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Reflection is a considerable portion of what teaching is all about. Being able to step back and see what problems are arising within the classroom can offer ideas on how to stop the behaviors. Within this article, it points out different habits that can occur when teaching and how those bad habits can lead to poor classroom management.

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As much as we focus on trying to build strong lessons, positive classroom environments, refined classroom management techniques, and engaged students, some bad habits inevitably creep into our teaching. We might feel like we have it down when it comes to those big-picture elements of our teaching - we probably do. But when we zoom in and look at the little things, we might discover some ways that we're actually doing more harm than good.

Here are seven "Bad habits" that teachers might find themselves doing. I'm writing these because I've caught myself doing all of them! And now that I'm aware, I'm trying to be more conscientious about using classroom management to break these habits. Which of the following can you relate to? What would you add?

Classroom Management: Answering the Question ... and Way More

A student raises his hand and asks a straightforward question. The teacher's response could be as brief as a single phrase, but instead of giving a clear-cut, definitive answer, the teacher springboards off of the student's question and pontificates on the idiosyncrasies and nuances of the topic brought up. The students are likely to feel more confused than clarified on the issue.

I think teachers feel the need to elaborate, and it's necessary at many times. But the bad habit here is that teachers sometimes fail to recognize when a blunt, straightforward answer would be more appropriate. The goal is to say only what's necessary to help increase students' understanding.

Looking at Devices While Speaking

Now that many of our classrooms are riddled with various tech devices, our temptation is to look at the screens when we shouldn't. We are constantly communicating with students, but if our eyes are glued to a screen while we're muttering to them, then our interactions become depersonalized.

The trick here is simple: Look at your students when you're talking to them. I think we've all experienced moments when we're trying to speak with someone, but we feel frustrated, ignored, and deflated when their screen seems to be getting more attention than us. Don't do that to your students. One other thing to think about is that we're modeling communication skills to students, so if we talk to people with our eyes averted on a screen, our students will begin to mimic that behavior themselves.

Blaming Technology

It's important that we do not outright blame technology when it goes wrong. All this technology is supposed to make our lives easier, but the truth is that it can backfire. It's unfortunate how frequently it can feel like tech doesn't work like it's supposed to, and in those moments we openly denounce technology.

Now, we all know that in many cases it truly is "Technology's fault" that something has gone wrong. Our LMS is down for the day; we can't connect to the projector; student devices are acting up; the network is slow. But it's very important how we respond to technology's glitches. If we say things like, "It's technology's fault!" or "This is why I don't like using this stuff!" then we're teaching students to adopt a similar attitude of disappointment and skepticism toward technology. We're teaching them to blame the machines and allowing it to be an excuse.

This habit is a normal reaction. We all feel frustration. However, we cannot allow our feelings to drive the way we communicate about technology in front of students. Instead of blaming technology and dismissing it as a problem maker, model for students how an adult professional deals with technology's shortcomings in a calm, solution-oriented manner.

Sitting Behind the Desk

Our traditional classrooms have a teacher's desk and a squishy, comfortable teacher's chair. While working with students, it's tempting to treat our derriere to the refreshing cushion of our privileged seat. Sitting behind our desks is definitely appropriate at times; it becomes a bad habit when we attempt to conduct our classes from this location.

Sitting behind the teacher desk is a removed position, physically distanced from our students and putting us in a passive posture. When engaged in a lesson or working with students, it's important to resist the temptation to sit in a spot that distances us and puts a large obstruction between us and them. Instead, try to stand up and walk around, or at least have a seat in a location that positions you to physically engage with students.

Not Realizing When the Audience is Lost

Every speaker knows that they have a set amount of time to engage their audience before that audience "Tunes out" for good. Teachers, however, sometimes forget this and implicitly demand that students pay attention for the entire duration of class. Having this expectation is reasonable, but failing to recognize when our audience starts to tune out leads to missed opportunities.

The first step to break this habit is to recognize when students' attention is largely straying from the conversation or the task at hand. Once we see we're losing their attention, sometimes our tendency is to forge ahead, with or without them. Instead, our second step should be to utilize some strategies to bring student attention back to where it is best engaged. Build a small set of re-engagement strategies such as telling a story, playing a short game, or giving a verbal cue to ensure students are listening.

Or, if the lesson you're leading students through really is just not working out, feel free to call an audible and change your plan on the spot!

Trying to Trick the Students on the Test

Tests should be challenging, but not tricky. If we genuinely want to have strong data related to student performance on our assessments, then those assessments ought to be comprised of tasks that directly relate to what we have had students working on.

I used to throw in a few questions that would "Trick" the students into thinking one thing when it was another, or would be "Similar" to what we studied but not actually what we studied. My logic was that I wanted to see what students would do when they encountered a challenge or see which students could see through the trick. I think challenges and variations are important for students to engage with ... but not on the test!

Instead of laying these traps on the test, now I incorporate them into our activities and discussions. This gives students a fair chance to engage with them in ways that are safe and guided by an instructor. The tests feature the tasks that are going to give me the most reliable information related to how students are performing. By separating these, I have stronger assessment data and stronger incorporation of special challenges in the curriculum.

Being Busy When Students Walk Into The Classroom

I often find that I'm scrambling before class starts to get each material perfectly ready to go. This sometimes leads to students filing in while I'm still clicking around on the computer or scampering to arrange desks or hustling to get the projector up and running. The consequence is that I hardly acknowledge students as they come into the classroom.

I have two solutions for this habit

First, I just need to be ready with the materials earlier. I cannot sacrifice greeting my students because of my own last-minute preparations.

Second, if for some reason I cannot have all the materials perfectly ready to go before students come in, then I drop what I'm doing and greet the students anyhow. The students are more important than the materials, and taking another minute or two to finalize what I need after I've said hello to students hurts absolutely no one.
These are a few of my bad habits that I've noticed and am trying to break. What would you add to this list? Share your ideas with our TeachHUB.com community in your comments below! Jordan Catapano is a high school English teacher in a Chicago suburb. In addition to being National Board Certificated and head of his school's Instructional Development Committee, he also has worked with the Illinois Association of Teachers of English and has experience as a school board member for a private school. You can follow him on Twitter at @BuffEnglish, or visit his website .

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Classroom Management: 7 Bad Habits to Break

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As much as we focus on trying to build strong lessons, positive classroom environments, refined classroom management techniques, and engaged students, some bad habits inevitably creep into our teaching. We might feel like we have it down when it comes to those big-picture elements of our teaching - we probably do.