Building Polygrams

I've recently started my teaching block and one of my units I am teaching is 2-D and 3-D. Today we learned about Polygons, we got  to have some practice building them and learning about their edges and vertices! It was a great hands on activity, the kids enjoyed building the shapes and had fun quizzing each other!

Classroom Expectations

Here is another way I have seen classroom rules organized and displayed! It breaks it down into 3 categories of Be Safe, Be Respectful and Be Responsible. The students come up with 2-3 things together that they feel they think being safe, respectful and responsible looks like in their classroom.

Start each day with a compliment!

Love this idea of starting each day with a compliment for each student. This gives them a positive start to the day! It gives an opportunity for students to start the day with a blank slate, therefore can focus on having a great day and not be worried or hung up on things that have happened yesterday or earlier on!

Video:
https://www.facebook.com/specialbooksbyspecialkids/videos/676744432427540/

Noise Scale

Right now my cooperating teacher is using this in her classroom, it is a fun way to distinguish inside voice levels. The kids love it, and rather then saying "shhhhhh" all the time you can use this scale as as a management

tool by simply saying "We are at a 2 or for this activity we are being super spies!" I love this idea and I have seen the positive reactions from the kids, this is a management tool I would use in my classroom!

Gem Jars

One method of classroom management I have seen implemented and would definitely use in my career are "Gem Jars." This is a way of having the class work together to fill the Gem Jar for a reward at the end of the month (or how ever long you want). I personally have seen where they get a month to fill the gem jar, and if they fill it then they receive the reward. They get to choose the reward, for example extra recess, watch a movie, teacher eats lunch with them etc.

How they fill the jar is completely up to the teacher, you can chose how they fill it. The teacher may have it go along with the classroom rules, or with a theme they are focusing on that month etc.

One thing that is important to note that I have it set up where students DO NOT lose gems once they have earned them! They have them for good, but if they are not behaving they run the risk of not receiving gems, therefore may not fill the jar in time to get the reward. If that is the case that they can not fill the Gem Jar I would use that  as a teachable moment to discuss with the class why they were unable to and make some goals for next time!

Examples:

Me Bags!

This activity I saw done in my practicum class by my cooperating teacher at the beginning of the year.  She had the students decorate a brown bag with things about themselves then fill the bags with no more than 6 things that they feel describe them! The teacher as well presented  her "Me Bag" to the class to show the students what they could do with their bags. As well, the students get to learn a little bit about their teacher!

 It took a couple days to complete all the "Me Bag" presentations, but it was worth the time. The students were able to learn more about their new classmates and ask questions about them in a safe environment! This is another tool I will use to help develop a positive classroom environment!

Bucket Filling Activity

One of my absolute favourite book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? I have used this in a grade 2 classroom to help decrease bullying as well build up our positive classroom community. I didn't simply just read the book though, I went a little bit further than that!

After I had read the book, I had a class discussion of some examples of what the students feel bucket filling and bucket dipping are and recorded them onto chart paper (the picture on the left is just an example I do not have a picture of the one I did with my students anymore). 








I really wanted to have my students really practice bucket filling, so I decided to have them create buckets to hang up and students could physically fill classmates buckets. They decorated their cup and I hung them up in the classroom. At appropriate times students could take a card and write something kind about a classmate and put it in their bucket. Then at the end of the week the students could get their buckets.

**It was very important to talk about to the students about filling EVERYONES bucket, and explaining that we wouldnt' be a bucket filling classroom if we left someones bucket empty.**

With this activity I really noticed a difference in the classroom, students who didn't normally play together at recess or hang out were being partners in class. I also noticed that the students spoke more positively about others and about themselves. It was a great activity that I would again and again!

Creating Classroom Rules

First, begin a discussion with the entire class about how they feel their classroom should be everyday! I will usually ask them to think about how they want it to LOOK like, SOUND like and FEEL like. Have the students turn and talk for a couple minutes to gather some ideas. From there, ask the students to give you some of their ideas. Once you feel they are on the right track, have them each write an idea they had onto a sticky, then have them stick it onto the chart paper.

After this I developed all their ideas into a poster that is hung up in the classroom all year long. I find students that have a choice in the making of the rules of the class, they are more likely to follow them!

This is my first step in creating a positive classroom community! Having the class work together and think of how they want THEIR classroom to be like, gives them a sense of belonging and starts the process of developing a positive and safe classroom environment.

After we have developed classroom rules, I like to also find out from my students what kind of teacher they want and can learn best from. Doing this gives me an idea of what my students feel they need to succeed!
I simply have a classroom discussion and write the ideas onto chart paper. I will refer to this when I am planning lessons through out the year to make sure I am doing the best I can for my students!

Teaching Philosophy

I strongly believe that each child is a unique individual who needs a secure, caring, and stimulating atmosphere in which to grow and mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially.

I believe that….

·      Every child can learn and has the potential to succeed.

·      Every student is an individual and has his or her own learning style.

·      Every student should be assessed in the way that allows him or her to best express his or her abilities.

It is my goal as an educator to help students meet their fullest potential in these areas by providing an environment that is safe, supports risk-taking, and invites a sharing of ideas.

There are three elements that I believe are conducive to establishing such an environment:

(1) The teacher acting as a guide/role model

(2) Allowing the child's natural curiosity to direct his/her learning

(3) Promoting respect for all things and all people. 

Welcome!

As I near the end of my university career and venture out into the world of teaching I have decided to create a classroom blog.  On this site I'll share activities, observations, artwork and lessons I have done or that would be useful for teachers.

Check back to see what's new as the blog gets going!