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.
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Random Student Grouping Cards (Upper)
Make assigning groups quick, easy, and fun with a set of printable Random Student Grouping cards for older students.
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Monster Partner Picker Cards (K-2)
Help your little learners pick a random partner easily with our printable Monster Partner Picker cards.
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Fraction, Decimal & Percent Random Grouping Cards
Easily put your students in groups of three and practice math skills with a set of printable Fraction, Decimal and Percent Grouping Cards.
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Visual Random Student Grouping Cards
Quickly form groups of 2-6 students in the classroom with a set of printable Visual Random Grouping Cards
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Comparing Integers – Math Mazes
Compare positive and negative numbers while you work your way through this set of math mazes.
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Compound and Simple Sentences Task Cards
Use these compound and simple sentence task cards to help your students identify the difference between these types of sentences.
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Comparing Collections Sorting Activity
Support students in comparing quantities by providing an easy, hands‑on activity that lets them sort items and decide if they can be shared evenly.
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Tricky Words Activity Mats
Use these printable tricky word mats as a hands-on activity when introducing high frequency words that have an irregular spelling pattern or one your early readers haven’t learnt yet.
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High Frequency Word Mats
Use these high frequency word mats for your Kinder and 1st Grade students to experience a hands-on way of learning high frequency words.
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Roll, Read and Write – High Frequency Word Game Pack
Practice reading high frequency words with this set of Roll to Read and Roll to Write High Frequency Word Game boards.
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Shape and Number Pattern Task Cards
Support early math learning with repeating patterns task cards designed to help students recognize, continue and create patterns while identifying the repeating unit.
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Uppercase and Lowercase Matching Activity Pack
Use these uppercase and lowercase matching cut and paste activities to help students identify and name both forms of each letter.
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Rhyming Card Game
A concentration style rhyming card game that can be used to consolidate students' knowledge of rhyming words.
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Alliteration Sorting by Beginning Sound Activity
Explore beginning sounds and alliteration with this engaging and age-appropriate picture sort activity—perfect for your phonics and early literacy lessons.
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Base Word and Ending Clip Cards
Support your students' understanding of word structure with this Base Word and Ending Clip Cards activity.
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Dot Day STEM Activities - Building Task Cards
Implement Dot Day STEM Activities with a set of fun DOT-based structure-building task cards.
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Ice Cream Party Incentive Chart
Track your class' "sweet" behavior with a fun ice cream party incentive chart.
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Classroom Calendar Bulletin Board
Use this classroom calendar each and every morning to help keep your classroom an organized zone.
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Roll an Adventure Story - Storytelling Dice Game
Roll and write an adventure story using our Roll An Adventure Storytelling Dice Game.
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Adventure Story Starter Task Cards
Print and use these Adventure Story Starter Task Cards to inspire adventurous narrative writings.
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Behavior Intervention Plan Template
Use our Behavior Intervention Plan template to monitor and track student behavior interventions and results.
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Morning Routine Checklist Pack
Start your day right and promote independence with a morning routine checklist.
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Behavior Clip Chart
Manage classroom behavior in a visual way with a printable behavior clip chart.
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Music Classroom Posters
Decorate, educate, and build classroom management with a set of printable Music Classroom Posters.
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Thanks for Popping By Tags
Add a bit of fun to your back-to-school student gifts with a set of printable ‘Thanks for Popping By’ Tags.
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Make a Sentence Activity Task Cards
Boost early writing skills with this engaging Make a Sentence Activity designed to help students understand sentence structure through fun, hands-on learning.
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Sentence Building Cards and Mat
Use these Sentence Building Cards with Mat to explore the main features of a simple sentence with your Kinder students.
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Classroom News Template Pack
Get students presenting the news with this set of fun and engaging classroom news templates.
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Literary Comparison Task Cards
Encourage deeper thinking through literary comparison with this engaging set of task cards designed to prompt meaningful analysis between two texts.
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Pattern Block Design Cards
Build shape recognition and have fun building composite figures with our printable Springtime Pattern Block Design Cards.
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Science Sparks - 4th Grade Science Activities
Give your students a little science boost with Science Sparks 4 – our newest set of fast finisher science activities for 4th grade!
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Science Sparks - 5th Grade Science Activities for Fast Finishers
Review science standards during classroom downtime with Science Sparks, a set of 5th grade science activities for fast finishers.