When asked what is one thing that can hurt or help your classroom, I would have to say classroom management. It can make or break a classroom. The behavior in your classroom will either help students be learners or hurt. Through my years of teaching first grade, I’ve experimented with many, many (many) techniques. These are my top tips and ideas to support your classroom behavior to make it the best learning environment for your first graders.
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Whether you are new to the classroom or a veteran teacher, I believe that there is always time to change up your classroom management to support your classroom behavior.
I think one of the best things about being a teacher is the ability to start over. You can start over at the beginning of the school year or even after a long break. If you’re feeling like your classroom needs a revamp, check out all of these ideas and blog posts to learn more.
Creating a Bucket Filling Classroom
One of my very favorite ways to support classroom behavior is with the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. It is a classic, that has been around for years, and if you don’t know it, check out >>THIS<< blog post.
I typically start the year with this book, but it can be done at any time to support your learners and create a kind and respectful classroom environment.
Creating Kind & Respectful Classrooms with Compliment Circles
Another way I love to encourage kindness in my classroom is with compliment circles. I have done these with my first graders for years and they love them. I love when compliments begin to spill out of the circles, and students compliment each other throughout the day, not just during our circles.
Check out >>THIS<< blog post for tips and ideas for implementing compliment circles and for several freebies to get started.
The Best Behavior System
Looking for a new behavior system after rethinking that clip chart? My teaching partner and I have been doing this classroom behavior system for several years and we love many things about it.
A few things we love about it include that it is…
- so easy
- free or very inexpensive
- not a clip chart
- able to be modified to meet the needs of your classroom
Check out >>THIS<< blog post to learn more.
Morning Meeting Resources
I think one of the best ways I have supported my classroom behavior is by using Responsive Classroom and having daily morning meetings. You may be familiar with the book The First Six Weeks of School.
A morning meeting is essentially a class meeting that you have every morning. It follows a system and includes these four components:
- Greeting
- Share
- Activity
- Message
Each of these components has a specific purpose. You can learn more in >>THIS<< blog post.
My Mouth is a Volcano
As a first grade teacher, students often have a hard time controlling their volcanoes or blurting out. It is inevitable that you’ll have a few (or an entire class) of blurters.
Besides Have You Filled a Bucket Today? I typically read the book My Mouth is a Volcano by Julia Cook. This book follows Louis and how and why he can control his volcano.
Check out >>THIS<< blog post to see how I use it to support classroom behavior.
Resources To Help
Ready to implement these in your classroom right away? These resources will help you get started and support your classroom behavior.
- Bucket Filling Activities and Read Aloud
- Morning Meeting Lesson Plans
- Interactive Read Aloud: My Mouth is a Volcano
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