Discipline Plan- Grades 9-12/ Spanish I
My discipline plan includes classroom rules, consequences, procedures, motivations and rewards, preventative and supportive discipline, and parental involvement. My discipline plan is centered around Jacob Kounin’s model of instructional management. Kounin believes that
“teachers who have clear transitions from one learning activity to another one, who know what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times, and who know how to maintain instructional momentum will be effective classroom managers” (Manning, 2007, 95). By instructionally managing my classroom and implementing concise and clear classroom rules along with logical consequences, I will be able to take full advantage of class time with minimal behavior problems. By knowing what is going on in my classroom at all times, which Jacob Kounin refers to as “withitness,” and making known to my students that I do know what is happening at all times, students will be less likely to misbehave (“The Kounin Model of Discipline,” n.d.). By demonstrating withitness, I will establish my presence and expectations and importance of following the rules during class time.
Classroom Rules
1.
Arrive on time to class.
2.
Raise your hand to speak in class.
3.
Come prepared and organized to class.
4.
Begin bell work as soon as you enter the classroom.
5.
No food, candy, or drink except for water.
Classroom rooms are crucial to a teacher’s management plan. According to the Discipline by
Design website, teachers should create a short list of rules and state them as positively as possible (Churchward, n.d.). These rules are intended to keep class time as efficient as possible.

By starting class on time and having students come prepared and ready to learn, students will be able to take full advantage of class time. I believe that rules should be simple, concise, and easy to follow. The first rule, arriving on time, ensures that I am able to take full advantage of the class time with my students. Having the students raise their hands to speak in class makes for organization and structure during discussion. Having my students come prepared and organized to class ensures that students are ready to learn when they walk through the door and do not spend time getting prepared or looking for supplies once they are in my classroom. Having students begin bell work as soon as they enter the rooms ensures that students are already on task and have their attention focused from the minute they step foot in the classroom. Having no food, candy, or drinks will allow my classroom to stay as neat, clean, and organized as possible throughout the day. I plan to convey these consequences in a welcome letter home to the parents and also post them on my class website. I will convey these rules to the students by going over them the first day of class and posting them in a visible spot in the classroom.
Consequences
1 st - Warning to the student
2 nd
- Meet with the students before/after class
3 rd
- Note/call home to parents/ behavior plan
Consequences are necessary so that students learn to follow the rules and do not misbehave during class. Before these consequences, I will first give a non-verbal warning.
Teaching in the Middle and Secondary School suggests that non-verbal commands such as eye contact, proximity, gestures, and body language are effective in redirecting a misbehaving student. When this non-verbal warning does not work, I will then move to my list of consequences. Consequences teach students that breaking the rules is wrong and their actions do

not go unnoticed or unpunished. I learned that consequences should be logical, appropriate, and concise to ensure that the teacher is not spending lengthy amounts of time punishing or disciplining students during valuable class time. The first offense, which results in a verbal warning, is appropriate because it lets the student know the teacher notices the misbehavior and that he or she should not do it again. If a second offence occurs, I will meet with the student before or after class to discuss the behavior problem and why it is occurring whenever the student had two previous warnings (non-verbal warning and a verbal warning). If a third offense occurs, the teacher will send a note home or call a parent and come up with a behavior plan with the student.
Procedures
To keep an orderly classroom with minimal misbehaviors, I will use the following classroom procedures.
Entering the Room at the Beginning of Class
Students will line up outside the classroom door until the teacher allows students to enter. The students are then to immediately go to their assigned seat and begin bell-work.
Taking attendance
The teacher will take attendance at some point during the class period without doing it aloud. At times, the teacher will use name cards, placing the cards on desks in a random order before the students enter the room so that 1) students work with different students for activities than the day before and 2) the teacher will know who is absent. As students are working on a communicative activity, the teacher will walk around listening and assisting as well as picking up the cards of students who are not in class. The teacher will then take attendance at the end of the day using

these cards. If the teacher does not use the cards to seat students randomly, the teacher will mark down who is absent while the students are working on an assignment.
Getting Students’ Attention
When the teacher says “Silencio!” the students must respond in unison with “Silencio (clap, clap) Ole!” Then the teacher will have the attention of the students and be able to begin instruction.
Collecting Papers
Students will be able to turn in completed assignments into a hanging paper organizer that will be located on the back wall. When students are finished with a test or assignment that must be turned in, students will get up from their desks and quietly turn in the assignment into the hanging paper organizer labeled “Turn In,” then return to their seats.
Broken Pencils/Sharpening pencils
Students should come prepared to class with more than one pencil, but if their only pencil breaks, they should ask a neighbor to borrow one to finish class. If no one has an extra, they will be allowed to get up and sharpen their pencil. However, sharpening of pencils should happen before the bell rings.
Dismissing Class at the End of Class Period
The bell will not dismiss the class; the teacher will dismiss the class. The class will not leave or get up from their desks until the teacher has dismissed them, even if the bell has rung.
Bathroom Privileges
Students are to use the bathroom before class during transition between class periods or before the bell rings for class. If a student receives a free bathroom pass, he or she may use that pass

with the teacher’s permission during class. The teacher will be able to make exceptions for emergencies only.
No Textbook, Paper, Pencil, etc.
A student will be warned by the teacher the first time he or she does not come prepared to class.
The second time it happens, the student will be called aside for a stronger verbal warning, and the third time the student will get a note or call home. Extra textbooks, paper, and pencils will be available for students who are not prepared or for students who cannot afford supplies.
Throwing Away Trash
Students may get up and throw away trash if needed. Students must do this quietly and quickly, and if they abuse this privilege, I will then make students ask for permission to throw away trash.
Students Who Finish an Assignment Early
Students who finish an assignment early should start on the next assignment that is available.
The teacher will always have an alternate assignment for students to work on if they finish early.
Students Who are Tardy
Students who are tardy will receive a tardy slip from the teacher and a verbal warning. If a student is tardy more than once, the teacher will follow school procedures for students tardy to class. If tardiness exceeds 3 times, the teacher will contact the parent of the student.
Individual and Group Motivation and Rewards
When a student does something right in my classroom, I will reward that student with verbal praise. Forms of acknowledgement will include a letter home to his/her parents, a free bathroom pass, early dismissal for lunch, etc. I will motivate and reward the entire group by keeping tallies of how well the class participates in activities or acts on certain days. Once a class

get 10 tallies for good classroom behavior and participation, the will earn a privilege that the class will vote on before-hand.
Preventive and Supportive Discipline
To prevent discipline problems, I will communicate my rules and consequences clearly, be consistent with practicing them, keep my lessons engaging and interesting, and keep transition time between instruction and/or activities minimal. These are all techniques based on Kounin’s instructional management model. If expectations are clearly stated and instruction is as flawless as possible, there will be no time for students to misbehave or cause problems, which results in minimal discipline in my classroom. If students are constantly using the language and communicating, students will stay on task. To maintain appropriate behavior, I will use positive reinforcement by using praise and rewards for when students act appropriately in class.
Parental Involvement
To get parents involved in the classroom, I will send out a home survey at the beginning of the year, asking for information, if there are any native speakers who would like to come share their experiences with the class, etc. I will send home letters or make calls to parents when students are behaving well or behaving inappropriately, and I will keep parents updated through a website for my classroom. I will convey my discipline plan to parents by sending home the discipline plan in a welcome letter at the beginning of the year, and I will communicate student progress by sending home letters to parents.

Bibliography
Churchward, B. (n.d.). Discipline by Design. Four Steps for Better Classroom Discipline .
Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www.honorlevel.com/x116.xml
Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2007). Classroom management: models, applications, and cases (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.
TeacherMatters - Classroom Management and Discipline - The Kounin Model of Discipline |
TeacherMatters - Classroom Management a. (n.d.). TeacherMatters. Retrieved November
10, 2011, from http://www.teachermatters.com/classroom-discipline/models-ofdiscipline/the-kounin-model.html