Chapter Three- Part Two- The Physical Environment

The physical environment sends strong messages to your students the minute they walk into your classroom. The authors suggest that your classroom should convey these positive messages:

• This is a safe and comfortable place.
• I belong here and I am valued.
• I can make friends and share.
• I know what I'm expected to do.
• I can do interesting work here.
• I can find what I need and return materials where they belong.
• I can make choices.

So, let's take a look at your classroom!

Meeting Area- We want to start with the meeting area because it will occupy a well-defined place in your room. You will need enough floor space to accommodate all of your students. You can define the space with a rug, carpet squares, or benches. Include any displays you will refer to such as your calendar, schedule, morning message, ...

Furniture and Tables- To encourage collaborative learning, tables are preferable to desks. But you can still group desks for 4-6 children. You should try to separate noisier areas from quieter ones. Make sure that you can see all areas of the room without obstruction.

Supplies and Materials- Materials should be accessible and well-labeled to encourage students to use them independently.

Display Space- Displays should reflect children's work and thinking as well as the diverse cultures and backgrounds of the children in the class. Display books on various subjects.

Personal Belongings and Work- Keep in mind when and where the students will need access to their belongings.

The authors remind us that children learn best when they can explore and investigate objects, events, and places. So, you should also keep this in mind when setting up your classroom environment. These are some of their suggestions:

• Have an organized space for your library with good books from different genres. You may also want to place books in others areas of the room to convey that books are important.
• Supplies for writing and illustrating work should be included.
• Place math materials in one area to help students find them efficiently. Include collections of household objects for counting, estimating, and sorting. Manipulatives, games, and supplies for recording discoveries should also be included.
• When organizing science and social studies materials, be sure to have sufficient space for students to conduct explorations and display work.
• The authors suggest also including areas for art and construction, block building, cooking, music, dance, drama, and computer.

Last, it is important to consider children's physical needs as you plan the physical environment of your classroom. Bathrooms and drinking water should be available as needed. Consider making hard furniture more comfortable. Make accommodations for children with special needs. Offer places to be alone or to calm down when needed. And be sure to provide space and time for large motor movement.

Chapter Three- Establishing a Structure in the Classroom

Structure and organization help students to become self-directed learners. But this does not come naturally to most students. Teachers must explicitly teach the structure of the classroom. Try to envision this classroom that the authors give as an example:

"When you enter the classroom, you hear a steady hum of activity. At first you don't see the teacher; she is sitting and talking with one of several small groups of children working on a variety of math activities at tables arranged in different areas of the room. Each group has three to four children and they seem intent on the materials they are using together. Children are talking in lively voices about what they are doing, explaining their ideas, giving directions, asking questions, challenging one another, and laughing. You sit down near one group of four children using geoboards and rubber bands. "Tell me something about what you are doing," you say. One child immediately volunteers: "We are finding out how many ways we can make different shapes. Look, we've made triangles, squares, and diamonds," he says, pointing to each one. Another child adds, "and I've made a hexagon. I know because it has six angles and six sides." you then ask, "How did you know what to do?" A third child explains, " We had a meeting and talked about different shapes we knew. Then each group got different things to use. We got the geoboards, that group got popsicle sticks, over there they have tangrams. Look around and you'll see." Just before you leave, the teacher calls the children together in the meeting area so each group can report on what they have did and what they learned."

So, what would we see and hear in your classroom? To some, this classroom might seem noise and not have structure.... but what do you think? Are the kids on task? Do they have a predictable routine? Are they learning? SURE!!!

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