Classroom Organization and
Management
Departmental policies and procedures
1.
2.
Needed to have consistency
Need to create a handbook and a
handout
Setting the tone
 First
few days are critical
 How do you review rules and procedure?




State the rule
Explain why the rule is important
Explain the consequences of breaking the
rule
Provide an example of what a rule
infraction looks like
First week of class
Day 1 – Distribute handbooks and
provide handouts (two copies) – one
to sign/return and one to keep. Go
over policies, assign students to squads
Day 2 – Locker room day: Take
attendance using squad formation;
record names of those who returned
contracts; assign lockers and have
students practice opening locks
First Week of Class (Cont.)
Day 3 – First day to dress; assemble in squad
formation for attendance; collect rest of
handouts
Policies and Procedures
– parents sign
 Indicates
that they understand policies
and procedures
 Provides a parental signature to later
compare with excuse notes
PE Student Handbook may
contain
 Department
philosophy
 PE objectives
 Registration procedures and course
offerings
 Policies concerning uniforms, dressing,
showers, locker rooms, and laundering
uniforms
PE Student Handbook may
contain (Cont.)
 Policies
for medical excuses, safety,
accidents, and first aid
 Physical education standards
 Activities offered in the program
 Grading standards and policies
 Policies for making up absences
PE Student Handbook may
contain (Cont.)
 Physical
fitness appraisals
 Policies concerning student leaders
 Extra-class activities
 Emergency contact information for the
school
 Invitation to meet with parents about
concerns; including school phone number
and/or email address
Uniforms – cannot require
 Students
should change into clothing that
allows active, comfortable, and safe
participation


Sometimes do NOT need to change
clothes, shoes may be enough
When establishing a dress procedure,
think about differences – size, disability,
religion
Clothing
 Really
need several options for clothing
 Clothing should be marked with student’s
name
 Clothing should be laundered
 Teachers should dress appropriately and
distinctive so they can be spotted easily.
Excuses from Activity
 KNOW
the physical disabilities of your
students!!!
 Medical excuses – should be cleared
through the school nurse; keep the
excuses; after 3-4 days require a
doctor’s note or contact the parent
 You MUST honor the parent or doctors
notes
 Students should not return until the
doctor says so.
Non-medical excuses
 When
a student does not dress for several
days, look for the cause behind this
behavior:



1) physical – stomachaches, headaches,
menstrual cramps
2) moral or religious – uniforms not
conservative enough
3) defiance of authority
Encourage participation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Make classes so exciting that
students want to be there
Set an example of appropriate dress
Exhibit a genuine desire to
understand and help students
resolve self-consciousness about their
bodies and performance skill
Refuse to punish students who fail to
dress out.
Encourage participation
 Have
“loaner uniforms”
 If they have minor ailments, encourage
them to participate to the best of their
abilities
 Do not allow students who are not
dressed to participate in activities or to sit
on the sidelines where they are nuisances
Encourage participation
 Send
students who are ill, idle, or
disturbing to an appropriate place
 If they remain, they should have
something to do – a written report, answer
questions on an article,
 Students who fail to participate in PE
should NOT be rewarded by being
allowed to socialize with others.
Dressing as a grade
 NO
– dressing is a management issue, not
an academic one.
 If students fail to dress, they will usually fail
to do well on written, fitness, and skills
tests, etc.
Locker Room Policies
 Make
the locker room appealing – well
lighted, adequate mirrors, electrical
outlets, CLEAN, free of odor
Locker Room Policies

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
At the beginning of the year, explain:
Traffic patterns to ensure safety
Use of lockers (small for individuals and
long during class)
Lost and found for locks, uniforms, etc.
Procedures for showering
Policies for locker clean out, laundering
uniforms, protecting valuables, and
keeping lockers locked
Locker Room Policies
 Check
the locker room regularly for
clothing and towels left out and open
lockers
 Someone should supervise the locker
room each hour.
 Locker rooms should be locked when not
supervised
Locker Room Policies Liabilities







Floors are often wet
Horseplay MUST be prevented
Prohibit ANY glass containers in the room
You must have clear rules that are posted
outlining behavior expectations
You must warn of all risks, enforce rules, lock
the locker room, provide adequate time for
dressing, quiet them down before dismissing
them.
Must ACTIVELY supervise
Insist that the custodians keep locker rooms
clean
Locks and Lockers
 Built-in
lockers are less hassle, but can
be opened with a knife
 Combination is better than a key as
students lose keys
 Best if school owns the locks, so
teacher has access
 MUST be organized to know who has
which locker, which lock, and
combination
Locks and Lockers
A
piece of tape on locker with the
student’s name and locker number can
help prevent the students putting the
wrong lock on the wrong locker
Lockers
 Activity
clothing can he stored in small
lockers and street clothes placed in long
lockers.
 Assign lockers in HORIZONTAL rows by
class periods. This spreads the students
out
 Assign lowest rows to youngest students
Towels
 Will
students rent or bring their own?
 If rented – school must keep tract of who
took one and it was returned. Who will
launder?
Showers
 May
NOT use showering as a basis for
grades
 Never require showers if students have
been largely inactive – archery.
 Allow 10-15 minutes for showers – will need
longer if swimming
Managing the teaching
environment
 Inspect
facilities and equipment before
class
 Arrange equipment before class begins –
use student helpers.
 Adequate teaching stations should be
available for all instructors
 Are you prepared for bad weather?
 Need ways to transport equipment easily
Management time
 Management
time contains little, if
any, instruction and learning
 This is when most problems occur
 ALT-PE - management time is: students
changing clothing, roll call,
announcements, housekeeping tasks,
getting out or putting equipment
away, lining up for dismissal, when
students are disciplined, fire drills,
waiting in lines
Routines decrease
management time
1.
2.
3.
4.
Handling equipment and written
assignments
Distribute and collect equipment
Starting class
Taking attendance – squads, lines,
check-in, oral roll call. . .
Getting Students’ Attention
and Giving Directions
 Two


main types of directions:
Stop where you are and listen
Stop and come in to the center
Do NOT use the same signal for both
How will you stop your students?
Gaining attention
 Use
a whistle sparingly – but use with
authority – bring yours to class next
time
 When outside, use a visual as well as
an auditory signal
 If your school has a universal sign for
quiet, use it
 Use your “gym voice” and drink lots of
water to protect voice – a PA system is
really better
Gaining attention
 Do
not yell all the time; students tune you
out. Best to talk softly, yet loud enough to
be heard. Best if you have them around
you and a wall behind them.
 Teach students what you expect when
the attention signal is given.
Giving Directions
 Develop
a listening area – in center of
activity best
 Tell them whether to sit or stand, what to
do with equipment, how they are to
behave – hands on knees, not talking,
etc.
Giving Directions
1.
2.
3.
If class is large, have students come in a
semi-circle or randomly clustered
around you rather than in a long line
If outdoors, the teacher faces the sun
Have students face AWAY from
distractions – if sun is also a factor,
better to face the sun and have back
to distraction
Giving Directions
4. Easier to be heard if you face a wall as it
will trap the sound
5. Students should sit so they can see you.
They behave better and you can see
them all.
6. Directions can be posters or
demonstrations
Giving Directions
7. Give complete instructions – the situation,
performance, and criteria.
8. Avoid automatically repeating
instructions – they will learn to tune you
out the first time through
9. Do not ask if they have questions – ask
them specific questions about various
procedures for the task
Finishing an Activity or
Class Ideas
 Summarize
the main ideas of the
lesson with a short statement and
explain what the students will be
expected to realize as an outcome.
 Ask the students questions in which
responses summarize the lesson.
 Assign one or two students to listen
carefully and then summarize for
everyone
Finishing an Activity or
Class Ideas (Cont.)
 Use
a worksheet to help students
summarize information
 Have several students take turns telling
what they learned in the lesson
 Present a real-life situation that could be
resolved by using lesson ideas
Finishing an Activity or
Class Ideas (Cont.)
 If
you have more time:
Give an oral or written quiz
 Use instructional games to test the
information taught
 Have the students write or tell what the
main idea is
 Divide the class into small groups. Each
group could act out the lesson

Class formations
 Circles
and semi-circles
 Lines and columns
 Extended formations – number off and 1s
take 5 steps forward; 2s take 4 steps
forward, etc.
 Partners or small groups
Routines
 Rest
room
 Getting water
 Routines for emergencies
Fire drill
 Serious injuries
 Intruder
 Fights
Complete an accident report whenever
there is an injury

Organizing Groups and Teams
 Count
off - careful
 Choosing teams – stand behind the
captain of your choice
 Assigned before class and posted
 Random assignment - careful
Supervision
 Teacher



needs vision and movement
Back to the wall and move along the
edges of the class
NEVER leave students unsupervised
Be sure all students are accounted for –
take grade book with you for firedrills.
Adapting to Interruptions
 When



classes are shortened:
Change the activity you are teaching
Give a lesson on strategies or rules
Perform an evaluation -skill or written test
 When
classes are small, use this as
individual instruction time
 Or teach a lead-up game using the skills
they have already learned
New Students
 Record
your opening day comments. Let
new students see this – burning a DVD is
great
 Have a student mentor buddy up with the
new student
 If possible, put the new student’s locker
near the mentor
Record Keeping
 Attendance
 Achievement


Class records
Individual permanent record cards
Health and medical records
Equipment and locker records