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The Friends program is used across Canada and the world to help children & youth (8-16 years of age) cope with feelings of fear, worry and sadness. I thought that this would be something that could be used in conjunction with a restorative justice approach. Clearly, the whole community needs to do something to deal with escalating bullying.

This link has 6 different ways to arrange the desks in your classroom. It has a brief description of what works and what doesn't work about the arrangement. It outlines why it might be important to change your classroom seating plan and what the basic principles of seating are. Very useful!

A helpful article that links off to a number of useful topics such as classroom management, teaching tips and the like specifically oriented towards the new substitute teacher - useful for our immediate futures!

The following video includes very helpful suggestions on classroom management. These suggestions include: creating structure in the classroom, what to do if interrupted during a lesson, and the importance of promoting student independence and responsibility.

A lot of my looking around has resulted in seeing the book, "Reluctant Disciplinarian: Advice on Classroom Management from a Softy Who Became (Eventually) A Successful Teacher" by Gary Rubinstein. I have not had a chance to read the book, but this is a good review that highlights some key points. There don't seem to be any grounbreaking information, but I feel like it is nice to get classroom management advice from people that are currently teaching and going through what we will soon be. I really like the part on developing a teacher persona, as I think you need to have an identity that students understand and can know to expect.

Beware of the honeymoon period! This article is a reminder about the importance of being proactive in the classroom. Instead of coming up with a bunch on incentive/reward programs, create a classroom packed with interesting instruction that will curb time to distraction. Keep them interested and they will not need to amuse themselves!

In a time where we are seeing such an increase in diagnosis and a highly integrated classroom, it is important for teachers to be prepared to manage ASD behaviours within the classroom. This article provides instructional management strategies, ideas on how to prepare the student, comprehension strategies and ideas on preparing the student for transitional periods. A must read in todays classroom environment.

Have you experienced a classroom where the students are constantly asking a teacher what to do, where supplies are etc.? Part of classroom management is providing students with the tools to become independent. Along with teaching students classroom routines and procedures it is important to have an organized classroom so that students can find what they need without your assistance. This article gives several suggestions of how to set up stations and displays in your classroom that will do this.

Some interesting ideas - some that I'd want to use all year round! Learning centres, co-operative learning, literature circles, outside learning, team challenges. Some great ideas to keep kids motivated with learning!

This page can be so conveniently added to your facebook account, and will pop up with updates on your news feed without you even needing to review the page for recent tips! Hooray! The page has further links to helpful sites for teachers regarding: classroom management, unit ideas, and free printables.

This is a link to a Barbara Coloroso's "Winning at Teaching". Although it is not a source that you can read, it is a cd which you could buy. I have not listened to this extensively, however, from experience seeing her video "Kids are Worth It" this would be worth listening too. She takes on a humorous approach to all the topics she discusses. In this she will talk about the daily classroom challenges that many teachers face. Her video "Kids are Worth It" is a parenting video which could also apply in many cases.

An article which outlines the history behind classroom management as well as giving an excellent definition of what classroom management stands for. Specific strategies are provided in this article with examples of what an optimal class looks like, and how to set expectations. Motivating students and developing relationships between teacher and student are heavily emphasized within this article. Last, the article states what to do in a certain troublesome situations and what positive outcomes may come as a result of certain actions.

This article reminds teachers to communicate with parents on their child's behaviour from day one and lists the benefits to communicating with parents. The article also lists tips on what and how to say what you have to say to parents.

Here is a great idea that can be used for classroom management. "Flagbee" is a great device that can be used in a variety of different ways to facilitate instruction. A couple of ideas are that students can signal when they have finished a specific task or to indicate that they have participated during group discussion. This resource can also allow the instructor to quickly provide Differentiation of Instruction throughout the day. It is easy for students to use and very fun and effective!

This video shows an example of restorative justice in action for a student in grade four. It outlines the benefits of implementing restorative justice techniques for students at the elementary school level because it will help them learn life skills. Feel with your heart, not your fist!

This video demonstrates power teaching which is a set response between the teacher and students. An associate teacher at my PDS site used this technique and it worked very well to get the students' attention.

Fundamental classroom management techniques etc. I really liked this resource because it forces teachers to take a closer look at themselves (teaching style and how it contributes to classroom management problems etc) Topics listed in index are endless and USEFUL! Updated in 2009 -PDF available online.

An interesting study on how gender can affect teaching style. The start provides with some background information on gender studies which I was a little surprised by. It states that "a man's world focuses on competition, status, and independence", and "a woman's focuses on intimacy consensus, and interdependence." The second part is a case study on experienced and inexperienced male and female teachers that is worth a read.

Part 2 of this free online resourse focuses again on the need of students to belong but this time explores building strong and positive staff/student relationships to prevent classroom management issues. It even includes a link to a fun "get to know you" survey you can have your students complete! Knowing your students (their likes, dislikes and triggers) and establishing postive relationships is perhaps the most important step in preventing classroom management issues.