Expectations
Expectations
Welcome everyone to Mr. McClung’s class! In my classroom I have three expectations for each of my students on a daily basis. First of all I expect everyone to come to class every day with a lot of energy; everything we do in class will require you to be upbeat and have a good attitude. Second, I expect you to talk in class…..let me explain. We will be heavily depending on each other to learn and to accomplish our goals on a daily basis, this will require you to be able to talk and communicate with you classmates. Lastly, I expect everyone to listen; this is probably the most important of any of my rules. Anyone can talk but not very many people are able to listen effectively.
Rules
In addition to the class expectations listed above, there are five basic rules that we will follow on a daily basis in all of my classes. These rules are very simple to follow and will allow for better enjoyment of your class experience.
| Rule One: Above all…follow directions quickly. |
| Rule Two: Be in your seat when the bell rings. |
| Rule Three: Come to class prepared to work. |
| Rule Four: Raise your hand for permission to speak. |
| Rule Five: Make smart choices. |
If you are able to follow these basic rules, then your time in this class will be more enjoyable.
Procedures
As I stated before, I expect you to talk while you are in my class…..we will be doing a lot of this. However, the only way this works effectively is if it is done in a manner that is structured and has guidelines. Below are some basic guidelines that provide the structure we need.
Class-Yes
When I say class, you say yes. When I want your attention, I will address everyone as class to which you will respond with a yes….this lets me know that you are paying attention me.
Turn to a Partner
In class we will be using each other quite a bit. Periodically during class I will stop what I’m saying and then ask you to turn to a partner and review a topic or discuss talking points in class. When we do this it is very important to use high energy and effective communication with your partner.
Scoreboard
In our classroom we play for student points and teacher points……or extra credit or dextra credit. This means that every day you will be evaluated on your ability to follow rules and directions. I will keep a scoreboard on the wall that has two columns, teacher and student, each time the class follows a direction very well they will receive a point in the student column. However, if you do not follow a rule or direction I will receive a point on the teacher column. I will explain this more in-depth at a later time.
Theme Days
We like to have fun in class and to make our classroom experience more enjoyable we have a variety of themed days throughout the week.
- New Music Monday – Monday is devoted to music. On this day I introduce our band of the week and we spend time during class listening to that band.
- Tie Tuesday – Pretty self-explanatory…
- Weekly Ten Wednesday – Each Wednesday we take time to complete a weekly ten…this is a weekly formative assessment that is not taken for a grade.
- Yogurt Thursday – We love yogurt…so much that we devoted a day to bringing yogurt to class as a snack.
- Free Forum Friday – On Fridays we take some time to look back at the week that was by reviewing our Lessons Learned in Great American Schooling.
March 30th, 2011 at 5:41 PM
Mr. McClung,
My name is, Kelly Evans. I am an EDM 310 student at, The University of South Alabama.
I have seen your classroom procedures in action via you-tube. I am intrigued and fascinated by this type of teaching. I have actually looked into implementing this “Power Teaching” concept for my future classroom students. I have enjoyed reading your blog.
April 1st, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Mr McClung,
Mr McClung,
What a nice blog you have created. I am a student of Dr. Stranges EDM 310 course here at the University of South Alabama. I am currently studying to be an elementary education teacher and reading your blog seems to be beneficial to what happens on your side of the fence. I enjoy reading that you are very involved with your class and even on top of working on school you still find time to involve in the extra curricular activities like track. This I feel will make your students value you as a teacher and a friend for support. I think that your classroom rules are a great marker for a motivational classroom environment where learning is required for fun!
I am so sure that your students are blessed to have you as a teacher and I do thank you for sharing your educational blog with my class! I look forward to checking back soon. Sincerely, Whitney Greer
April 3rd, 2011 at 4:47 PM
My name is Richard Howell, and I’m another EDM310 student from USA. These strategies seem to line right up with my military experience. So much so, that I’d wager that’s the fundamental source for the inspiration that’s behind these rules!
Regardless, these methods are tried and true and have been proven to produce outstanding results. How I’d love to be able to get my observation hours in your classroom!
April 13th, 2011 at 7:52 PM
Hi Mr. McClung,
I am also a student in EDM 310. I was wondering how your talk friendly classroom works for students with social anxiety. I ask because I had a little bit of a panic as I read that section of your syllabus and reverted to my eighth grade self. The activities you list would have been impossible for me as an eighth grader. Aside from that I love the teaching style!
October 31st, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Hello!
I am a first year teacher, and I have a particular class I am struggling with. I was looking through your expectations to see where I could maybe change some things, and I noticed your scoreboard concept. I was wondering if you could give some more details. It is a very interesting idea, and I am curious as to how you use that and how well it actually works.
Thanks in advance for the info.
Matthew Bradley