Level 1: Creating a Caring Community
1. Positive Expectations- I will create a positive classroom environment starting with myself by using the 5 Significant Concepts to Enhance Positive Expectations; using students preferred named when addressing them, saying please when asking for a task to be completed, saying thank you when a task is completed, smiling at students when it is appropriate, and showing student love and affection to show I appreciate them. (Wong & Wong 2005)
2. Classroom Producers- Students and teachers will collaboratively establish classroom respect agreement. This will create mutual respect within the classroom as well as allowing students to self govern each other behaviors. (Kohn 1996))
3. Engaging curriculum- I will create engaging curriculum that honors what knowledge and interests students bring to the classroom (Olson 209)
4. Classroom Building- Many discusses that take place in an English class can be extremely personal. Students must feel safe to share so I will utilize community building activities to create a safe space for student to share.
5. Positive First Interactions- I will catch student doing well (Albert 1995) in the first week in order to have something positive to share with parents. (Kagan, Kyle, & Scott 2004)
6. Classroom Arrangement- I will arrange my classroom in a way that encourages discussion, student interaction, and effective task arrangement. (Wong & Wong 2005)
7. Accessible Classroom Materials- All classroom assignments, instructions , and expectations will be made easily accessible to students when they are inside and outside the physical classroom.
8. Getting to Know the Teacher- If students are expected to share their personal interests with their teacher I believe the teacher should also share an appropriate amount of personal information for his/ her students.
To Communicate my Level 1 Strategies I will..
1. Greet students at the door daily by their name.
2. Have my students engage in a respect agree that will be signed by the teacher and the student within the first week of school.
3. Have students complete an interest and background survey.
4. Utilize both anonymous and "known" surveys in order to highlight positive difference and similarities within the classroom.
5. Identify a positive trait, activity, or behavior each child has done within the first three weeks of school and email the student's parent or guardian in order to create an initially positive relationship between the student, parent, and teacher.
6. Arrange the room with tables or desk groupings that allow students to easily discuss in their groups. I will initially assign seats to encourage students to familiarize themselves with fellow classmates.
7. Create a centralized digital location (e.g. Google Classroom) that has all classroom materials made available to all students.
8. I will share a photo slide show about my life and interests.
2. Have my students engage in a respect agree that will be signed by the teacher and the student within the first week of school.
3. Have students complete an interest and background survey.
4. Utilize both anonymous and "known" surveys in order to highlight positive difference and similarities within the classroom.
5. Identify a positive trait, activity, or behavior each child has done within the first three weeks of school and email the student's parent or guardian in order to create an initially positive relationship between the student, parent, and teacher.
6. Arrange the room with tables or desk groupings that allow students to easily discuss in their groups. I will initially assign seats to encourage students to familiarize themselves with fellow classmates.
7. Create a centralized digital location (e.g. Google Classroom) that has all classroom materials made available to all students.
8. I will share a photo slide show about my life and interests.
Citations
Albert, Linda. (1996). Cooperative Discipline. Philadelphia, PA: American Guidance Service.
Kyle, P., Kagan, S. and Scott, S. (2002) Win-Win Discipline: Solutions for All Discipline Problems. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon
Kohn, Alfie. (1996). Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Olson, K. (2009) Wounded by school: Recapturing the joy in learning and standing up to old school culture. New York: Teachers College
Wong, H., and Wong, R. (2005). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.
Albert, Linda. (1996). Cooperative Discipline. Philadelphia, PA: American Guidance Service.
Kyle, P., Kagan, S. and Scott, S. (2002) Win-Win Discipline: Solutions for All Discipline Problems. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon
Kohn, Alfie. (1996). Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Olson, K. (2009) Wounded by school: Recapturing the joy in learning and standing up to old school culture. New York: Teachers College
Wong, H., and Wong, R. (2005). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.