About the Author xi

Introduction 1

Section 1 Becoming an Effective Classroom Manager

1 You Can Be an Effective Classroom Manager 3

Why Is Classroom Management Such a Significant Issue for Today's Teachers? 3

Why Are Some Teachers Such Effective Classroom Managers? 5

You Can Learn to Be an Effective Classroom Manager 6

2 Develop Your Teacher Voice 9

Attributes of the Teacher Voice 9

Building Your Teacher Voice 13

3 Hold High Expectations 15

Expect 100 Percent Compliance With Your Directions 100 Percent of the Time 15

Allow No Excuses for Disruptive Behavior 16

Always Sweat the Small Stuff 17

Never Back Down 18

Let Students Know You Are Not Going Away 18

Avoid Excessive Praise 19

The Lesson of High-Stakes Testing Days 20

Section 2 Developing Your Classroom Discipline Plan

4 Establish Rules 23

Advantages of Using a Classroom Discipline Plan 24

Developing Your Rules 25

5 Determine Positive Support Strategies 27

Positive Support for Individual Students 27

Classwide Positive Support: Points on the Board 29

6 Determine Corrective Actions 33

Why You Need to Take Corrective Actions 33

Guidelines for Planning the Use of Corrective Actions 34

Before You Implement Your Classroom Management Plan 37

Section 3 Teaching Responsible Behavior

7 Teach Policies and Procedures at the Beginning of the School Year 39

Determine Policies and Procedures 39

Planning to Teach a Lesson on Responsible Behavior 41

Responsible Behavior Lesson format 44

8 Develop a Responsible Behavior Curriculum 47

Determine the Order in Which You Will Teach the Content 47

Sample Responsible Behavior Curriculums 48

Section 4 Utilizing the Behavior ManagementCycle

9 Effectively Communicate Explicit Directions 57

The Behavior Management Cycle 57

Step One: Clearly Communicate Explicit Directions 58

10 Utilize Behavioral Narration 63

The Trap of Responding to Off-Task Students 63

Behavioral Narration 63

Utilizing Behavioral Narration to Motivate Students to Get On Task 67

Utilizing Behavioral Narration to Keep Students On Task During Instructional Activities 69

Behavioral Narration Is No Substitute for Effective Instruction 70

11 Take Corrective Actions 71

Guidelines to Take Corrective Actions in Your Classroom 71

How Students Will Test You 74

12 Teach Students to Manage Their Own Behavior 81

The Levels of Classroom Management Structure 81

Level One: Highly Structured 82

Level Two: Moving Toward Self-Management 84

Level Three: Student Self-Management 85

Recalibrate 86

Section 5 Reducing Disruptive Behavior

13 Instructional Strategies That Reduce Disruptive Behavior 89

How to Provide Opportunities to Respond 89

Opportunity to Respond Strategies 90

Additional Strategies to Engage Students and Reduce Disruptive Behavior 96

Section 6 Working With Difficult Students

14 Build Positive Relationships With Students 103

The Trust Issue 103

Steps to Earn the Trust of All Your Students 105

15 Develop Individualized Behavior Plans 115

Guidelines to Developing an Individualized Behavior Plan 115

16 You Can't Do It on Your Own: Getting the Support You Need to Deal With Difficult Students 119

The Myth of the Good Teacher 119

Initial Steps to Obtain Support From Parents and Administrators 120

The Importance of Parental Support 122

Building Positive Relationships With Parents 122

Home-School Behavior Contract 126

Pulling It All Together 127

The Importance of Getting Support From Your Administrators 127

Appendix

Mentors, Coaches, and School Leadership Teams: Structures to Support Classroom Teachers' Behavior Management Efforts 131

1 An Introduction to the Real Time Classroom Coaching Model 133

The Birth of the Real Time Classroom Coaching Model 133

Real-Time Feedback 137

Advantages of the Real Time Classroom Coaching Model 140

Supporting Struggling Teachers 142

2 An Introduction to Establishing a Schoolwide Assertive Discipline Program 143

Why So Many Schools' Behavior Management Efforts Are Ineffective 143

Schools Can Transform Their Learning Climate 146

Attributes of Schools With Effective Schoolwide Behavior Management Efforts 146

References and Resources 155

Index 161