6 Strategies to Turn Around Your Classroom Management

During my first year of teaching, I had an amazing class that only required a few classroom management strategies to keep everything moving smoothly. Later, I had more difficult classes, and I had to get creative with my classroom management. I worked with other teachers and scoured the internet for new tips that might work.

Finding a strategy that worked in a particular classroom and for certain students was a gamechanger.

New Class, New Classroom Management

It doesn’t matter what work for your class last year. Different strategies will work with different classes, so you must determine what will work for your current class. If you have multiple class periods, this may mean that you will need to use a different strategy for each class you have. The point is to find something that works. I have a FREE list of incentives (most are free to implement) on my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

Motivation

Each student and class will be motivated by different things. If you can determine what motivates your students, it will make it easier to find a classroom management technique that works.

Some kids are motivated by treats, such as a toy car or a fun eraser. Others may prefer to do things as a class and work toward extra recess or a class party. These types of rewards include an element of accountability from peers, which may be helpful for some students too. Still other children are motivated by competition or teacher approval.

So, what strategies can you try, based on this information?

Prize Box

Create a prize box with a variety of items that are appropriate for your grade level, such as Play-Doh, toy cars, erasers, pencils, stickers, highlighters, mechanical pencils, multi-colored pens, puzzle erasers, bracelets, bookmarks, keychains, bouncy balls, etc. When students are caught doing something good, have them choose a prize from the box. You can also combine this reward with another classroom management strategy below.

Student VS Teacher

On your board, draw a box for the teacher and the students. Each time students are all on-task, give the students a point. When they are not on-task, give the teacher a point. Sometimes, just seeing the points will be enough for students to get back on track. If not, include an incentive in your game. For example, if students win every day for a week, the whole class could get extra recess. You can also modify this game and make it student vs. student. Split the class and half and have your students compete against each other.

Tokens

Use plastic coins or math counters for this strategy. When students are on task, give them a token. When they are off-task, take them away. This may be enough of an incentive by itself. If not, you may need to pair the tokens with another incentive. If so, consider using a classroom economy.

Classroom Economy

Print off classroom cash and coupons. You can find some in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. When students are following expectations, or especially if they go above and beyond, give them classroom cash. If students are off-task, have them pay you. At the end of each week or month, let students use their cash to pay for incentives, such as prize box, line leader, lunch with the teacher, etc.

Punch Card

For individual students, you can give them a punch card to help them remember to stay on-task. Every time that student is following directions, punch their card. When they get 10 punches, let them turn in their punch card for a prize. Print off some FREE punch cards from my TpT store here.

Individual Goals

Another strategy to use with individual students is to give them individual goals to work on and have them keep track of their progress on a chart that is divided by class period and day. An individual goal chart is more specific than a punch card and helps teachers see what timeframes are harder for the student so that they can support the student more effectively. Teachers can work with the student to set realistic goals that are attached to appropriate incentives.

Relationship Over Discipline

I have used all these strategies in my own classroom. They have all worked effectively in at least some situations. Other times, I have had to use a different strategy for a particular class or student.

I have noticed that all of these strategies work best when I focus more on building relationships with students than I do on implementing my classroom management strategy. Building relationships with students is what leads to students respecting you enough to listen. This truly is the most important part of classroom management.