I think an elementary classroom should be inviting and warm, with the teacher being a loving, but firm figure.  The students should feel comfortable in their learning environment and the teacher can help facilitate this by setting her students up for success.  To set students up for success, I think a teacher should have specific procedures, make the students accountable for their behavior, and treat the students like they would want to be treated as a student.

          Having specific procedures in a classroom helps students to know exactly what the teacher expects of them.  Students also will feel more comfortable in a predictable environment when they know exactly what to do at certain times.  Examples of procedures that should be put in place are bathroom use, sharpening pencils during the day, how to respond to teacher questions, where to turn in work, when it is acceptable to talk to a classmate, etc.  By having these kinds of procedures and expectations in place, students know what a teacher wants of them, and it also sets the tone for the classroom.  A teacher should be consistent with these procedures and with the consequences for not following procedures.

          The teacher should also hold students accountable for their own behavior.  To ensure student accountability, the teacher can have the students help her create a list of classroom expectations or rules for the students, as well as for the teacher.  This allows the students to have some say in what their classroom environment will be, and the students will know the consequences of their behavior because they will have created them.

          A final thought for a successful classroom is that a teacher should treat her students how she would wish to be treated as a student.  For example, if discipline situations occur, the teacher should speak with the student about the behavior individually and come up with solutions together, rather than chastise the student in front of the class and send him/her into the hall.  The teacher should also develop procedures that are fair and that she would not mind adhering to as a student.