When students are taught the rules and the expectations and know the consequences, management of student behavior will be smooth sailing.
Stop taking away recess and using other punishments to control your students. Find success with 10 powerful classroom management strategies!
I teach reading at an elementary school. I love what I do! I wanted to share some "ways to praise" that we use in my classroom. These aren't my own ideas just the ones my students love. And here's how it looks: { I look FABULOUS! } Click HERE for printable. =) In what ways do YOU praise?
Have you ever wondered what culturally responsive teaching is and what does it mean for math instruction? Learn 6 characteristics here.
I've been reading the book, Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci, and just finished chapter 3. It was a real eye-opener. Through all of my years of teaching, I thought I was differentiating by planning and implementing reteaching and enrichment lessons and activities as my class worked through a unit. But in this chapter, I learned how important it is to start the differentiation before the unit even begins! This process begins with the preassessment. So much valuable information can be gathered before you begin teaching a unit. The purpose of the preassessment is to find how much students understand the content before you plan and teach the unit. Do they have a complete understanding of the content? Then they will need enrichment and/or accelerated activities. Do they have a partial understanding of the content? Then you need to make note of the gaps in their learning so you can plan accordingly. Checklists are a great way to keep track of the objectives and student mastery. From this checklist, you will also see students that need to be grouped for instruction. Keep in mind that this grouping will change as students master the objectives. Another insight I gained from this chapter is the different types of assessments used in a classroom. I put together this graphic to sum up the three types of assessment you should be using in your classroom. Click on the image to download the pdf version. You can also download this free packet with three quick and easy formative assessments you can use
Compliment circles are one of our favorite activities and probably one of the most important things I do in my first grade classroom. They teach my students how to give and receive compliments as well as create a classroom of respect and kindness. Keep reading to see how you can transform your classroom into a compliment giving, respectful, and kind classroom. Compliment circles are something that I do in my classroom every couple of weeks. I'd love to do it weekly, and that's my goal, but you know how it can be, it just doesn't happen. So, I'm sure you're
In some cases, teachers think they're practicing culturally responsive teaching, when in fact, they're kind of not. Zaretta Hammond helps clear things up.
Attention Getters will cut out your classroom chaos and work for all grade levels. Attention getters in the classroom are the perfect solution if you are...
Unlock the power of Culturally Responsive Teaching to create inclusive, engaging classrooms that respect and reflect students' diverse backgrounds.
Culturally responsive teaching is less about using racial pride as a motivator and more about mimicking the strategies students' communities use to teach them long before they come to school.
Our magical first grade year has come to a close and there are a few things I learned this year. Things Mentioned in this Episode My Patreon page My blog The curriculum and teaching guides on my blog A blog post about this topic. Responsive Classroom’s The First Six Weeks of School Teaching Children to […]
It's hard to talk to students without making it a lecture. Empower students while you teach them about respect using hands on activities
Read Culturally Responsive Teaching Graphic by Emily Roland on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!
Culturally Responsive Mathematics Note: This pseudo-blog was created for a school assignment.
A lot of teachers have had their fair share of disrespectful learners in the profession. At some point in your carrier you have met a learner who...
Check out these great ideas for helping your students feel like part of a classroom community during distance learning & social distancing.
In this document you will find 20 questions and prompts for an end-of-the-day wrap up. Each question has a prompt that can help the students start their answer or encourage them to build a complete sentence. You might also like these Morning Meeting Questions: Morning Meeting Questions & Prompts. Or if you prefer you can get the bundle with the two of them here: Bundle: End-of-the-day Questions & Morning Meeting Questions. ***************************************************************************** Stay Connected: For the 100th Time Facebook! . For the 100th Time Pinterest. ***************************************************************************** You might also like some of my other products: Bundle 2D & 3D Shapes!. Pirates Past Noon Activity Booklet + Free Word Cards. Clip the Proper & Common Nouns. ELA Grammar Center Self-Correcting Task Cards. Bundle Grammar ELA Center Activity-Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs & Adverbs Task Cards. Or Grab some of my FREE products! Weekly Reading Log with Different Activities for Each Day. Make a Table & a Graph Bar. Multiple-Step Problems Cards Great for Math Centers. With Answers FREE!. ***************************************************************************** Customer Tips: How to get TPT credit to use on future purchases: • Please go to your My Purchases page (you may need to login). Beside each purchase you'll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product. Each time you give feedback, TPT gives you feedback credits that you use to lower the cost of your future purchases. I value your feedback greatly as it helps me determine which products are most valuable for your classroom so I can create more for you. ☺ Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: • Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. Voila! You will now receive email updates about this store. ☺ ***************************************************************************** Let me know if you have any questions or you'd like customized products at: [email protected] Enjoy!
All students want to feel part of their classroom community. Here are four activities to help them feel welcomed and comfortable.
Behavior management is more than a system of punishments and rewards. Learn 5 powerful alternatives to the Clip Chart and how to make them work for you!
Teach responsibility in your classroom through the use of intentional activities. Continue refining what responsibility means to your students all year.
Hi everyone! It's Naomi O'Brien from Read Like a Rock Star! I've noticed a lot of teachers heading back to school, and thought I'd share a few of the ideas I use to create a positive classroom culture. For years, my coworkers chalked my sweet and well behaved classes up to the "luck of the draw", but then they had to admit, it must have been something I was doing. We, the teachers, really are responsible for setting the tone in our classroom. Our children are always watching us and how we respond to situations teaches them a lot about how they should respond to us and each other. How I Create and Maintain a Positive Classroom Culture for K-2! I Tell them They Were Handpicked to be in My Class, but Shhhhhh, It's a Secret: On the first day of school, I always let my students know that I have a HUGE secret to share with them. The secret is that I asked for only the best students to be in my class. I let them know that I read information about them, talked to the principal and other teachers, and that I only allowed the best kids into my room. I tell them that this is a secret and that if the rest of the school knew, everyone would be trying to be in our class and then it would get too crowded and too crazy. I let them know they can tell their parents, but nobody else. During restorative conversations, I remind them that they are still the best, deserve to be in my class, and to never forget it. It's always really cute when we get a new student and my students are so excited to have someone new to share the secret with! I Let Them Take Over the Classroom: I give them a lot of opportunities to learn and share with each other. Sometimes it's hard to give up the reigns, but they learn to respect and listen to one another. Every now and then, I pretend to be the confused one, and have them help me learn a concept. They think it's hilarious and they come together for a good cause; to teach their teacher. I Take Time to Start Personal Conversations: Instead of walking around or sitting at my desk, I like to sit with my students and get to know them. I let them know I'm interested in who they are, not just what they can do. It's this relationship building that makes them naturally want to behave better for me. They know I care about them, and it makes them care about me too. I Give Them Plenty of Opportunities to Work Together: Team work makes the dream work! I make them discuss everything with each other, and collaborate often. Also, they are not allowed to tattle! Once they realize they need to work together without any help or conflict resolution from me, they learn to get along (slowly, but surely). I Don't Allow Tattling: I know I just mentioned that, but I wanted to bring it up again. Unless something serious happened, I ignore any and all tattles. Sometimes I say, "All you've done is let me know that you're a tattle-tale. Thank you." They learn very quickly that tattling won't get them very far and it forces them to talk to each other and work out their problems on their own. I always drive home the point that we have to look out for each other, not try to get each other in trouble. Instead of telling me that someone isn't working, they learn to nicely remind the friend to get back on task. This takes a few months to master, but it works out beautifully! I Teach Character Traits: I pick 6 traits that I think will help my students excel. I make sure to make time in our busy day to teach them about these traits; usually right after lunch/recess as a "cool down" activity. I chose Kindness, Ambition, Self-Confidence, Honesty, Thoughtfulness, and Respect last year. Think about the traits that are most important to you. Focus on the traits that you'd like to teach your students to possess. Find creative ways to encourage your students to take on these traits for themselves. I made badges for my students to earn to make sure they were aware of the traits and working on their own character. You can also post pictures of students that show a specific trait frequently in class, write positive notes about good or improved behavior you've noticed, practice acting the traits out in student led plays or skits, make class videos showing the traits, or read stories that exemplify characters that show good character traits. Make sure to point out the traits and have discussions about them. In order to create a positive classroom culture, you must truly be intentional about creating one. It's important to use your character trait vocabulary throughout the day too. I Teach the Art of Giving a Compliment: Compliment Plates were always a hit with my students! Give out plates, give out markers, have a good time! In the beginning of the year, with my first graders, we brainstormed nice compliments and I wrote them on the board for a writing support. They loved going around filling them out, and they loved reading what their friends had to say about them. This was always followed by "Thank you's" and "You're welcome's'" being called out across the room. Even hugs were often being given out for the kind words shared. I pick a Kid of the Day to be showered in compliments! I truly believe doing this daily is one of the most beneficial activities I have done for my students. I found that with my first graders, we had to first discuss how to give and receive a compliment. Outside of "You're my best friend", they really couldn't think of anything else to say. After a lot of discussions and practice, they were giving out compliments left and right, even when they thought I wasn't paying attention. I also had to teach them to accept the compliment with a "Thank you". Surprisingly, some of them would say something like, "No, I'm not pretty." and really had a hard time accepting nice things being said about them. We also had to discuss that simply saying, "I know I'm cute." wasn't acceptable either... I also have a Compliment Count on the board. It's quick and easy, and it gets their attention. (Side Benefit: It helps them count tally marks really well!) If ever anyone outside of our classroom gives us a compliment, they get a tally mark added to the Compliment Count. If the principal gives them a compliment, it counts for two tally marks! This promotes great behavior when they are walking in the hallways, at recess, at lunch, and at Specials. Whenever we reached 20 tally marks, they got some of my stash. I Make My Students Reflect on their Unsavory Behavior: When students act out it is important to give them consequences for their actions. I believe it is equally as important to follow up with the student through a reflection sheet. After the student has been given time to cool down, I take the time to fill this out with them, or have them fill it out themselves if they are able (only after a discussion to make sure they understand what they did wrong and what they can do differently in the future). My students so loved and responded to this that when they were sent to their seats or to a cool down area, some would ask, "Are we still going to talk about this later?" I think they appreciated being heard, forgiven, and accepted again. It's so easy to hold a grudge for the rest of the day, but we have to be the best example of forgiveness to that child and for the rest of the class to see. This is a resource that I made and used, but a quick TpT search will surely bring up a few freebies, if you don't have time to create one yourself! This is also great to make a copy of and keep data on students. It’s also a wonderful way to keep parents in the loop of what’s been going on in class. At Open House, I let my parents know that if they see one of these sheets it means their student has already had consequences, so they should just discuss their child’s plan to make better choices in the future. This helps to build a parent/teacher partnership. I Created An Outsider Looking In: Creating an outsider to notice your class is a great way to promote a positive classroom culture. In addition to our Compliment Count that I track on the board, I created an invisible fairy friend! Sylese, the kindness fairy, would stop by our classroom every once in a while leaving a note, treats, and glitter in her wake. She watches the class without them knowing because she's invisible. They never know when she's watching or when she's coming for a visit. You can have another teacher write the note so your students don't recognize your handwriting. This was basically another way for me to give them a compliment, make them feel proud of themselves, and strengthen our positive classroom culture. This was done once a month, or once every other month. I simply leave glitter on their desks, bring in a treat, like stickers, cookies, candy, a movie, popcorn, (really anything you’d like to reward them with) and post the note somewhere in the classroom. I would usually wait for them to find it, and act like I was just as surprised as they were. Whenever it had been a while, someone always says something like, “Guys, why do you think the fairy hasn’t been back? We need to do better!” You could use anything to keep an eye on your class that leaves notes and fun treats! I Focus on the Behavior I Like: While it can be so tempting to want to always address a disruptive child right every time at the exact moment of disruption, I've learned to ignore it and focus on the behavior I like. If I have 23 students and only 1 is acting out, I'd rather give my attention and energy to the 22 that are doing a great job. I'm sure they appreciate it too. I always let them know when they are doing something that makes me happy. Scratch-n-Stickers were always a quick and easy reward. I also made up some "Caught Ya" cards to reward this good behavior and would slip them onto their desks. They could turn these cards in to enter a weekly drawing. This was a great motivator, and usually got that one disruptive child to stop what they were doing. If not, I would pull them aside at a later time and address their behavior. Because of the way I handled those situations, even at 6 and 7 years old, the rest of my class learned to ignore those behaviors too. Some would even ask if they could help that student make good choices, which was just fine with me! When you've got students that care about themselves, each other, and you, you've got a well oiled machine that is bursting with positivity! I hope you enjoyed these ideas and are able to take some or all back into your classrooms this year. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. Grab this resource for your classroom from my TpT store! Don't forget to come back tomorrow, and for the rest of the month to check out all of the other amazing ideas offered from your friends at:
FREE tattling vs. reporting classroom management activity! This puzzle center is a great way to review the difference between tattling and reporting.
You say you are trying to be socially just? How? Does your classroom, curriculum, rules, and actions match your words? What are you doing to be intentionally socially just? It’s not enough to talk a good game. Actions speak louder than words and we must be intentional by focusing on what we want as opposed…
There are simple ways we can create a welcoming environment for ELs, and when ELs feel safe, they are more likely to learn and participate.
This graphic featured on Rosemary D’Amato Karas’s Pinterest site caught my eye. It looks like this list originated as a brainstorming exerc...
This is a classroom management plan that I keep in my teaching portfolio to outline how I manage behavior in my classroom. It comes in handy for interviews! :) I've included a PDF version with links to more resources, and a link to an editable version on Google Drive so you can make your own! I follow a Responsive Classroom approach to classroom management, which focuses on community building and social and emotional learning. Check out the links in my plan if you want to learn more information about any of the concepts listed.
In some cases, teachers think they're practicing culturally responsive teaching, when in fact, they're kind of not. Zaretta Hammond helps clear things up.
