Classroom Management Teaching Resources
Bring your classroom management strategies to life with resources created for teachers, by teachers, with your classroom in mind!
This collection of digital and printable resources was designed to help elementary and middle school teachers create and implement classroom management plans that are both effective and supportive, building a place where students thrive.
Looking for new strategies to try or ideas to build your classroom routines and establish consistency? Read on for a primer from our teaching team!
What Is Classroom Management?
Maybe you know all this already. Then again, maybe you've got so much information swirling around your head that you could use a quick refresher! That's what we're here for.
Classroom management is the name for all those tools that teachers have in their toolkit that help a classroom run smoothly. It can include everything from your classroom behavior management systems to your instructional techniques, and it helps you hold students accountable for misbehavior. It's the very foundation of your classroom climate.
We like to think of classroom management a bit like we think of the framework for a house — it provides the basic structure for your learning environment and sets you up for success as a teacher while also setting your students up for success as learners.
How to Set Up Effective Classroom Management
Now that we've talked about the what, let's talk about the how!
When you haven't been teaching very long, it can be hard to figure out what's important and what's just loud noise.
There is no one-size-fits-all classroom management plan that will work for every teacher. The age of your students, the year level you're teaching, the needs of your students, and even your personality will all play a role in the way you run your classroom. With that in mind, your classroom management plan may change year after year as your teach new groups of kids.
All that said, you do not have to reinvent the wheel! The teachers at Teach Starter have more than a century of classroom management experience when you put us all together (hey, we're not that old!).
This toolkit draws on that wealth of experience to offer actionable steps and tips to create the classroom management strategies, behavior management plans and more that you'll need to build meaningful relationships with your students.
We've cut out the noise and focused on the most important classroom management tools for your new teacher toolkit. Consider this your favorite new pair of noise-cancelling headphones!
Focus on the Teacher-Student Relationship
A classroom management strategy is only as good as the relationship built between a teacher and their students. Connecting with your students — focusing on their strengths and their efforts — will have an impact on the overall climate of your classroom.
Those connections with your students will also help you tailor your teaching approaches to your students' individual needs, interests and learning styles.
Establish Classroom Rules and Behavior Expectations
Good classroom rules are key to preventing behavior issues and providing a framework for correction.
Your rules and expectations are also tied intrinsically to your teacher-student relationship! When students feel connected to their teacher, they are more likely to internalize the teacher's expectations and classroom rules.
Build Clear Routines and Procedures
Classroom procedures and routines are the core of classroom management in elementary and middle school, and they help keep the school day running smoothly.
The research tells us that kids crave structure, but they also test it — which is where your rules and expectations come into play.
Employ Positive Reinforcement
Being recognized for doing something right or "good" is a powerful motivator for all of us, including our students. Praising your students for their efforts and achievements, as well as their adherence to classroom expectations, reinforces positive behavior and encourages their classmates to follow suit.
Focus on Active Student Engagement
Active learning strategies, such as group work, hands-on activities and interactive discussions help kids learn, but they also play directly into behavior management. Active learning keeps students engaged and reduces the likelihood of disruptive behavior. It also promotes students with a sense of ownership and participation in the learning process.
- Free Plan
Roll to Create a Creature - Drawing Game
Use a die and a chart to create a creature to include in a narrative text or a comic strip.
- Free Plan
Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet- Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives (Bunny)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
- Free Plan
Student Behavior Discussion Cards for the Classroom
Print free student behavior discussion cards to encourage your class to think about what a positive learning environment looks like, sounds like, and feels like.
- Plus Plan
Symmetry Drawing Worksheet Pack
Teach your students about symmetry using this series of drawing worksheets where they must copy an image symmetrically using grid lines for reference.
- Free Plan
Color by Parts of Speech Chameleon Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Pronouns)
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
- Free Plan
Color by Number – Repeated Addition and Multiplication
Guide your students to connect repeated addition with multiplication by completing this color-by-code multiplication worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Digital Reward Chart – Marble Jar
Celebrate classroom successes with a fully digital marble jar classroom reward chart.
- Free Plan
Classroom Expectations - Behavioral Visual Support Posters
Set clear expectations with a visual classroom expectations poster for the classroom.
- Free Plan
Mini-Mystery – Who Stole the Cookie?
A fun, logic puzzle activity where students read clues to solve a mystery.
- Free Plan
How to Make a Paper Football — Origami Instruction Sheet
Free printable brain break alert! Teach kids how to make a paper football with these step-by-step instructions.
- Free Plan
Finish the Drawing - Worksheets
Get creative and finish the drawings with a set of five art worksheets.
- Free Plan
Finish the Picture - Drawing Worksheets
Spark creativity in the classroom with a pack of Finish the Drawing worksheets.
- Free Plan
Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
- Plus Plan
Interactive Classroom Layout Maker
Save your time (and your back) by pre-planning your classroom layout and furniture placement with a Google Slides interactive design template.
- Free Plan
Drama Game Task Cards
A set of 17 activity cards with instructions for drama games.
- Plus Plan
5th Grade Math Review – Test Prep Packet
Encourage your students to work through 8 pages of 5th-grade math problems while charting their progress to measure their success.
- Plus Plan
The Lost Library Card – Whole Class Escape Game
Use inference and problem-solving skills to decipher the puzzles and uncover the hidden code.
- Free Plan
Sample Behavior Goals
Use this list of 20 behavior goals to help when creating your students' behavior trackers.
- Free Plan
Happy Note Home
Communicate positive messages to parents and guardians with a Happy Note Home letter template.
- Free Plan
Behavior Punch Card – Right on Target!
Motivate your students to be on target with this punch card template.
- Free Plan
I Put My Hand Up to Speak Poster
A poster to scaffold appropriate behavior for the students when speaking in class.
- Free Plan
Printable 2024 Calendar with Holidays and School Events
Organize your event planning for the whole year with this handy 2024 calendar of school events.
- Free Plan
Student Progress Report Parent Letter Templates
Track academic and behavioral data with this set of progress report templates.
- Plus Plan
Equivalent Fractions – Mystery Picture Worksheet
Determine equivalent fractions while using the color guide to reveal a mystery image.
- Free Plan
Color by Letter (c, k, e, h, r) - Dog
Use this free printable color by letter activity with students when practicing letter recognition for the letters c, k, e, h, and r.
- Free Plan
STEM Challenge Cards for 2nd, 3rd & 4th Grades
A set of 20 STEM challenge cards for students, suitable for kids in second through fourth grades.
- Plus Plan
Christmas Brain Breaks - Activity Slides
Add some Christmas Brain Breaks to your classroom festivities to help boost engagement and attention during the holiday season.
- Plus Plan
Alphabet Coloring Pages - A to Z
Print a set of alphabet coloring pages to boost letter recognition skills.
- Free Plan
Callback Phrases List
Catch your students’ attention with a set of fun attention-grabbing callback phrases.
- Free Plan
Printable Behavior Tracker - Bees
Track individual student behavior in your classroom with a printable "Bee-havior Chart"!
- Plus Plan
Daily Weather Report – Interactive Powerpoint
Encourage your students to become weather reporters with this interactive weather activity.
- Plus Plan
Coordinate Grid Mystery Pictures
Practice graphing ordered pairs with this set of differentiated coordinate grid mystery pictures.