Chapter Two- Part Six- The School as a Community

The authors end this chapter by challenging you to share the idea of a classroom community with your entire school! Sometimes it only takes one teacher to start a project with other classes that can benefit the whole school. Some ideas might be: school beautification, family projects, community service, etc..

To close this chapter, I want to share another item from my inservice with Judy Jablon. This training was for supervisors and she gave us a checklist for things to look for in a "Classroom Community"

Teachers:

• use children's names, smiling, and modeling respectful interactions
• set up a meeting area large enough to accommodate all the children sitting in circle (so they can see and hear each other)
• hold daily class meetings throughout the day for different purposes (e.g. to start the day, facilitate transitions, lessons, and to get closure at the end of the day)
• teach and reinforce specific problem solving strategies
• teach friendship skills (using modeling, role-playing, and social coaching)

Children:

• take turns, share, and give and receive help
• engage in cooperative learning and peer coaching
• show respect for the environment and other people
• solve social problems and resolve conflicts
• converse and interact during work times and class meetings

I hope this list helps you think about your classroom and ways to improve. For my national board friends, I hope you can see connections to your entry on your own classroom community. If you have questions or would like to discuss this chapter, leave a comment!

Whitney

Chapter Two- Part Five- Promoting Social Problem Solving Skills

You probably have been given a nice character education program to use at your school? Where does it fit in the standards-based curriculum? Does it get 5 minutes a day? 5 minutes a week?
The authors make a case that if you spend more time being proactive by teaching social problem solving skills, you will have less disruptions and can spend more time on lessons!
We need to teach problem-solving skills more than ever now. So, how do we incorporate it into the curriculum?
Problem-solving is not learned in a quick, five-minute lesson. It is a process learned over time by continual practice. Modeling is the key. It is important for you to model handling anger. You can teach it as needed with individual groups of students or use class meetings to discuss conflict resolution, feelings, social skills, etc..

The authors give some steps to helping children handle conflicts among themselves:

1. Help children calm down
2. Identify the problem
3. Generate Solutions
4. Evaluate solutions and choose one
5. Implement and evaluate the results
6. Encourage children to resolve conflicts on their own
7. Provide a place in the classroom to calm down

Again, this will takes lots of modeling by the teacher to work through problems all year long. You may also need to address conflicts that involve the entire class through a class meeting. Allow the students to generate a plan to solve the problem and give feedback on results.

I shared with you the link for Dr. Becky Bailey's Conscious Discipline. She uses brain research and her own research to give some great ideas on solving problems with children.

Check out these other links to social skill curriculums:

Al's Pals- http://www.wingspanworks.com/educational_programs/about_als_pals.php

Character Counts- http://charactercounts.org/

Please post a curriculum or activities that you use to teach problem solving and conflict resolution. Just hit the comment button under this post!

Whitney

Chapter Two- Part Four- Helping Children Relate Positively to Others

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Judy Jablon at an inservice about using her book in improving standards-based classrooms. She said that in primary classrooms you should see:

• A welcoming atmosphere and environment (teachers and children using each others' names, smile, and interact respectfully)
• Children taking turns, sharing materials, and giving and receiving help from one another
• Lots of conversations and interaction related to work and play experiences
• A meeting area large enough to accommodate all children
• Evidence of children using social problem-solving strategies

Isn't that a great picture of a classroom? But, of course, you don't see these things over night. You must teach children how to relate positively to others. It takes a lot of modeling and direct instruction. This means treating children with same respect they give adults.

Think about when and how you talk to your students. Greeting students each morning is a great way to connect with each child on a personal level. try to think of something specific and personal to say every day. In the same way, sending a child home each day at dismissal with a positive message is just as important. During the day, find ways to be a good model of respect. Teach your students what to say and do and set your standards high. Research confirms that when teachers convey high expectations, children are more likely to be successful. So, treat mistakes as learning opportunities. Look for students who have difficulty making and keeping friends. Collaboration fosters learning. So, it is important to teach students how to work collaboratively and facilitate working together to reach goals.

What are some activities that you use to promote collaboration? You may want to google "Kagan Cooperative Learning". You will find some good strategies that they try to sell to you... but you are probably already doing a lot of them. Leave a comment and tell us about collaboration in your classroom!

Whitney

Chapter Two- Part Three- Using Meetings to Build a Sense of Community

This is one of my favorite aspects of this book--using class meetings to enhance teaching and learning! Many teachers begin to phase out "circle time" starting in the first or second grade, but having a "meeting area" in your room is key to building your classroom community. The goal of your class meetings is to show your students that there can be many possible solutions to problems and that the group can make decisions together.
The authors suggest including these different types of meetings:

1. Meetings to start the day- The first meeting of the day will become part of your classroom routine. This is the time to welcome your students each day, review the class schedule, and discuss plans for the day. Your meeting might include greeting your students, reviewing a morning message, reciting a poem or singing a song the class has learned, or introducing the next activity with a short lesson. Several of these activities could be led by the teacher or a student. (I personally feel very strongly about using a morning message and will go into this in more detail when we get to the chapter on Language and Literacy.)
2. Meetings at Transition Times- We all know how hectic transitions during your day can be. A brief meeting to share a poem, play a group game, or review a lesson can bring everyone together to move on to a new activity more smoothly.
3. Meetings for Discussions- The key to this type of meetings is teaching the students to not only discuss matters with you, but also their peers. Discussions might focus on background knowledge to introduce a lesson or reflection on activities done prior to the meeting. Discussions might also focus on your classroom community. Topics might include: planning jobs, establishing rules, discussing problems and solutions, introducing/modeling/practicing a social skills, introducing a new game or new materials, or planning a classroom celebration. it really empowers children to know that you respect their opinion and want to hear their ideas!
4. Emergency Meetings- Look for those "teachable moments" when you might need to stop a lesson and look at the weather or a discovery made by a child.
5. Coming Together at the End of the Day- End each day on a positive note!

Of course, there are some logistics to making your class meetings effective. First, you must set up a "meeting area", decide how you will get to and from the area, and how you will sit. Meetings cannot be too long so that the children stop paying attention. It is important to teach and model speaking and listening skills. It is important to call attention to your use of these skills. Be sure to include everyone in your discussions and teach respect for individual differences.
If you are having class meetings in your own classroom, what are some tips and tricks that you use to keep your meetings running smoothly? Leave a comment by clicking the "comment" button below this post!

Chapter Two- Part Two- Welcoming Children to the Classroom Community

When a child walks into your classroom, what do they see?

You probably started working on your classroom weeks before school started. This is where your classroom community begins. You can start building relationships with children and their families by sending a postcard or letter to introduce yourself and welcome students to your classroom. We always had kindergarten testing and was able to meet each family individually as they brought their children before school for screening. Some teachers give a opening week assignment such as filling out a personal information sheet or bringing a show-and-tell item that shows a particular interest they have. This can build a sense of belonging by enabling everyone to learn something about each member of the class.

Classroom Displays
Research suggests that students use classroom displays more if they help make them or if they are present when they are made and displayed. So, the authors suggest not spending lots of money on pre-made bulletin board displays. Instead, leaving empty spaces conveys the message: "This is our classroom, and we will decide together how to decorate it." They suggest displaying photographs of the students. You can ask for pictures from home or take the student's picture on the first days of school. Don't forget to include pictures of yourself and other adults that may work with your students.

Children's Names
Writing student's names around the room gives them some ownership of the environment. You can label cubbies and desks, put their names on the class word wall, make a bulletin board introducing your students, etc. Make sure that you are able to pronounce your student's names correctly before the first day of school! Have lots of activities the first week that introduce students to each other, help students learn each other's names, and are non-threatening.

Classroom Orientation
The authors suggest planning time to introduce students to your classroom organization and routines. Modeling the use of all materials is good idea. Do not take for granted that all students know how to use basic materials. (We will discuss room arrangement and introducing materials will be discussed in the next chapter.)
Discuss the location and procedure for using the restroom. Keep in mind that children feel more secure if they know they can comfortably use the bathroom when necessary.
Discuss the location of important places in the school. Last, but not least, teach your signal for getting students' attention.

So, what are your favorite activities for welcoming your students to your classroom each year? My daughter had a teacher that made the students' pictures on the first day of school then made a collage for each student to take home. My daughter was so excited to come home and tell me about her new friends, so I have been doing this ever since. I keep the original pictures in a class book in our class library, so the kids can look at the pictures and "read" everyone's name.
Leave us a comment and tell us how you welcome your kids!
Whitney

Chapter Two- Part One- The Value of a Classroom Community

When you were little, did you live in one of those neighborhoods where any parent on the block was allowed to set you straight if you were not acting right? You don't see that anymore, huh? Now, we just have lots of kids who don't even go outside to play and lack the social experiences to develop the skills needed for cooperative living. Many kids are hungry, tired, or under great amounts of stress. So the authors suggest building a classroom community to "address children's basic needs, promote their resilience to hardship conditions, teach the values of respect and responsibility, and foster their social, emotional, and academic competence".

So, let's start with addressing your student's basic needs. You may remember a little about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs from Psychology class. You can get a good refresher, as it applies to teaching, here: http://academic.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495570540_162121.pdf

Basically, it implies that children (and adults) will not be motivated to learn new concepts until their more basic needs are met.

For our students who do not have their basic needs met at home, you must promote resiliency. Provide opportunities throughout the day to develop and practice the behaviors associated with resilience: insight, independence, relationships, initiative, creativity and humor, and morality.


Morality is necessary in the classroom community. But this is not something you learn from a canned curriculum or certificate for "good citizenship". The values of respect and responsibility must be modeled and experienced first-hand. The authors quote Goleman (1997), " Children who are aware of emotions in themselves and others, who work cooperatively with their peers, use adults and classmates as resources, and who have friends are more likely to succeed academically and lead fulfilling lives. They also give a great list of social skills that are directly tied to academic success. These abilities should be modeled extensively and directly taught to young children:

• express feelings
• recognize feelings in others
• share ideas with others
• listen when others are speaking
• take turns and share
• compromise
• accept different points of view
• negotiate in order to build consensus
• take appropriate risks without fear of failure; and
• respect another person's belongings and physical space

To close this section, the authors explain how building a classroom community is one of the most effective ways to integrate children with disabilities- in responsibilities, jobs, projects with partners, special events, and in the use of equipment and materials. This is hard for teachers who may feel inadequate in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. The key is to model respectful interactions and appreciation for all students' contributions.

I know there are hundreds of books and resources for promoting social and emotional growth in students. What are you using in your classroom? Dr. Becky Bailey's Conscious Discipline Program is a favorite of mine! Take a look at her introducing it here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5804206976739568338#

Leave a comment and tell us a program or a favorite activity that you use!

Chapter Two- Introduction- Building a Classroom Community

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For those of you attempting national board certification, this is an important chapter to read as you build your own "classroom community". Really, I think we all strive to make our classrooms inviting and comfortable for students. But why is building community in the classroom important?

The authors give us a definition of a "community" from Bredekamp and Rosegrant:

A community is a place where individuals share common values, goals , and activities. It is a place where each member takes on roles to provide sufficient services so that the community's goals are reached. In communities, everyone does not do the same thing at the same time, but groups work together to achieve common goals. A community is a place where social bonds are established and individuals can flourish.

Getting to know your students (from Chapter One) is now the stepping stone for creating your classroom community. Your students interests and experiences will define the "culture" of your classroom and will change from year to year.

Now, take a minute to look at the pictures above. Choose a picture and tell us something you see that might promote a sense of community in the classroom. Click on the comment button to share your thoughts. I would appreciate at least one response for each picture :) (This is part of my grade for my class!)

Whitney