Classroom Management
Strategies
EDU 420B
Julie VerSteegh
Morning Greeting
Communicate positively with families
This doesn’t just mean calling home when there’s a problem. That’s important, of course, but so is
sharing students’ successes with their families. Every parent wants to hear positive news about
their child, and this reinforcement almost always makes its way back to the student. Try to contact
at least one family each day to celebrate their child’s achievements. If this sounds like a lot of
work, we’ve got good news! Parent-teacher communication apps make things so much easier.
One of our favorites, TalkingPoints, is a free app that focuses on family engagement, especially for
under-resourced, multilingual communities. Parents and teachers text each other through their
phones or a web browser, and the app provides any translation needed. Texting allows both
parents and teachers to communicate on their own schedules, improving the process for everyone.
You can learn more about TalkingPoints here, and when you’re ready to get started, sign up and
start communicating for free today.
Set clear expectations up front
Most teachers start the year by sharing their classroom rules and procedures. If you really want
students to abide by them, take some extra time to explain more specifically what you mean and
why they matter. If your first rule is “respect each other,” students will likely need some clarification
around what that means to you. Brainstorm a list together, or ask students to act out appropriate
and inappropriate behaviors.
Take things a step further by having your students work together to create classroom rules that
they all agree to follow. When you use techniques like giving kids buy-in and treating them like
adults, it improves classroom management.