We use classroom management strategies as tools to help us make an effective classroom environment. These promote a positive learning environment, maximize instructional time, reduce behavioral issues, and support smooth transitions. So today I thought I would share the 3 best classroom management tools that I use in my 2nd grade class. You can use these classroom management tools in any lower elementary classroom to help you achieve any of these positive outcomes I listed above.

 

 

Best Classroom Management Tools

 

Whole Class Rewards

 

For my first classroom management tool, I like to use a whole class rewards system. This helps motivate students to work together for good behavior. 

We have a class flower that I display on our front white board. It starts with just the middle of the flower. Students earn the petals for good behavior. When students get all ten petals around the flower they earn the reward.

What makes this system so motivating for students is that they get to choose the reward they are working towards. I give them several rewards options and they vote on which one they want to work towards. These rewards fit on the middle of the flower so students can always be reminded of what they are working towards. Find a list of the whole class rewards that my 2nd grade students love here in this blog post: The Best Whole Class Rewards System Ever!

There are a few ways that students can earn a petal.

First, if they get a compliment from our specials teachers I give them a petal. 

Second, I have a list of expectations I have for students during our main block lessons where there is a lot of direct instruction. If students did well meeting those expectations, I give them a petal. These expectations include: listen to the speaker, follow directions the 1st time, raise your hand, and work hard.

Third, we have a daily goal. Each morning, I will ask a student to share something behavior wise that our class does well. Maybe it’s sharing supplies or being quick with transitions. Then I will come up with a daily goal. This is something that I have noticed my class can improve on. I record both of these things on a laminated paper I display by our class flower. At the end of the day, we will talk about how we did meeting our goal. If my class did well, I give them a petal. If they don’t, I keep the same goal for the next day and we talk about things we can do to meet that goal tomorrow.

Fourth, my students can earn a petal for meeting our Centers Expectations. Centers is a crucial time in our class where I need students to be working hard independently. I display a sheet that has our Centers Expectations typed out: work hard, rotate & get started quickly, use whisper voices, and ask questions to group members. At the end of our centers time, students help me rate them on how they met the expectations. Do they get a smiley face, a straight face, or a frowny face? If they get all smiley faces on the expectations, then they earn a petal on our class flower. 

 

Find this whole class rewards system to use in your classroom here.

 

While it’s nice to have students working together, I like to hold students accountable for behavior on an individual level as well.

 

Best Classroom Management Techniques

 

Individual Rewards

 

For individual behavior incentives, I give students a Good Choice Punch Card. When they fill up their whole punch card, they can get a student reward coupon out of our treasure box. These rewards are things like: sitting in the teacher’s chair, eating lunch in class, getting a note from the teacher, or writing in pen for the day. For a full list of individual rewards, read this blog post here: 15 Student Reward Coupon Ideas That Will Excite Students

When I see students go above and beyond with behavior, I will have them hand me their punch card, and I will give them an “X.” I do this in pencil because students will lose an X if they break one of our class rules.

I have a cute poster where I type our class rules. At the beginning of the school year, I teach these rules to my students and then have them sign the poster. I tell them that by writing their name on the poster, they are agreeing to follow the rules. Find this poster here.

When a student breaks a rule, I give them a verbal warning. I teach my students that this is just to help them tell their brain to stop what they are doing and to make a good choice. If a student breaks a rule again that day, I will erase an “X” on their punch card.

This helps keep individual students accountable for their own behavior. Soon I give less and less verbal warnings. I try to be proactive and point out  good behavior as much as possible. Students learn really fast about what is allowed behavior wise and what is not, making this one of the best classroom management tools around! Find these student coupons and punch cards here.

But classroom management isn’t just about management of behavior, this next tool helps students have quick transitions between activities, maximizing our instructional time.

 

Time Timer and Fun Friday

 

And for number three on the best classroom management tools, it would have to be the Time Timer and Fun Friday.

The Time Timer is a special kind of timer that helps kids see the time visually. I use this probably 10+ times in my classroom daily. Anytime I give my students independent work, I put time up on the timer. When the timer goes off students know we are moving on. This helps students manage their time and stay on task.

If my students don’t finish their work during that time, and then don’t get caught up on it throughout the week, then they need to get their unfinished work done during Fun Friday.

This is about 15-20 minutes of free time in our classroom. I have a cupboard full of “Fun Friday Toys.” These are toys and games that students can play during this time. Students are motivated to get their work done during the week so they can have as much Fun Friday time as possible. Order a Time Timer for your classroom here.

I also give my students opportunities to earn more Fun Friday time during the school week. When students are quick with transitions, I will add “+5” on our front whiteboard. When students are slow with transitions or talking over me, I will minus some Fun Friday time on the whiteboard. At the end of the week, I will add up all the time and add that on our base of 15 minutes.

I love using Fun Friday as a classroom management tool because it gives students an incentive to work hard and have quick transitions during the week. This helps save us valuable instructional time! Fun Friday allows students to unwind and have a little fun at the end of the week. It helps them look forward to something fun. I also love to see how creative my students get with the Fun Friday toys. Students work together to build and create some pretty amazing things! Learn more about the Fun Friday toys I use in my classroom here in this blog post: 3 Fun Friday Ideas For Classroom Management

 

I hope you have been able to get some ideas on how to improve your classroom management. In my opinion, having a whole class reward system, individual student rewards, and having Fun Friday make the best classroom management tools. These are also effective classroom management strategies for new teachers. If you are a new teacher, then you will want to check out this blog post for more information on classroom management: The Best Classroom Management Sample You Can Use This School Year

 

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