1. Have a pocket holder with everyone's names on it
1.1. At the start of everyday, give the student an option to choose a green (having a great day), yellow (having an OK day), or red (not having a good day) and have them put that color card in the pocket holder.
1.1.1. This will help the teacher get a feel of how each student is feeling every day.
1.1.2. as the day goes on, if the students emotion changes, they can go and change the color of the paper they put in their pockets.
2. Smart board
2.1. A way for the teacher to give lessons
2.2. Ball Game (the teacher creates a slide with words on it. The students will be behind a line and the teacher will say a word or definition and the students will then throw the foam ball at the board and try to hit the correct word. The teacher will decide whos ball hit first and that team will receive points)
2.2.1. This helps with vocabulary
2.2.2. Quick thinking
2.2.3. interactive
2.3. Able to show movies or videos
3. Small Individual white boards
3.1. Allows students to work on math problems and show their work
3.2. fun to draw on and easy to erase
3.2.1. This can make each student feel unique. it is important to make the student feel that their work doesn't have to look like everyone else's.
4. Focus minute
4.1. 1-3 times a day, allow the students to sit quietly for a minute or two. Let them clear their mind, put their head down, and close their eyes to gather themselves back together.
4.2. Do this in the morning, after recess, and gym.
5. Dimmed lights
5.1. During focus minutes or silent reading, dim the lights to make the students feel more relaxed.
5.2. this will give the classroom a comfortable feeling.
5.3. Changes the mood of the classroom.
6. Birthdays!
6.1. Have a birthday wall of each student's birthdays.
6.2. Allow them to bring it a teat for the class
6.3. Celebrate them.
6.4. Birthday chair.
6.5. Make the student feel important. You never know what their home life Is like.
7. Morning Cart
7.1. To keep the students on a schedule, have a set assignments due on Friday. Put the cart right by the door on Fridays so when they walk in in the morning, they can put their assignments in the designated spots.
7.2. If a student doesn't have an assignment completely, have them communicate with the teacher and discuss appropriate options to stay on track.
8. Engaging
8.1. Create a lesson plan that involves the students being engaged.
8.2. use their thinking and past knowledge to interpret what is being taught and learn to come to conclusions. (Piaget)
8.3. find out if the students are intrinsic or extrinsic
8.3.1. Intrinsic: because of the interest and enjoyment in the task itself.
8.3.1.1. Enjoyment, purpose, growth, curiosity, passon, self-expression, fun
8.3.1.1.1. students want to learn because of their love for learning, is happy about gaining knowledge or learning a new skill. They have a desire to meet learning goals. Shows proof of learning. Develops a growth mindset.
8.3.2. Extrinsic: because of the outcome that will result by doing the task
8.3.2.1. Promotions, pay raises, bonuses, benefits, prizes, winning, perks.
8.3.2.1.1. These students tend to do the work to avoid negative consequences. May have a fixed mindset, seeks teacher approval, compares performance with peers, wants to be in the "in" crowd.
9. Today's Emotions
9.1. Urie Brofenbrenner's theory talks about the interaction between an individual and the environment.
9.1.1. Helps teachers and classmates take into consideration on how their peers days are going.
9.1.1.1. They make ask themselves, does my friend need a hug today? Or, does this student not want to get called on today?
10. Extra help
10.1. Be there for the students who don't quite understand the information.
10.1.1. Carol Gilligan talks about the ethic of care.
10.1.1.1. She says there are 3 levels. Level 1:orientation to individual survival. Level 2: goodness and self- sacrifice. Level 3:morality of nonviolence.
10.2. Some students that may need extra help may be: English language learners, English as a second language, dyslexia, communication disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), students with ADHD, students with physical disabilities, and students with developmental disabilities.
10.3. available after or before school.
10.4. Jerome Bruner came up with the scaffolding theory. walk the students though the lessons and slowly allow them to recite what they know while slowly backing off allowing the students to do it on their own
10.4.1. This will lead to metacognition. Does the student understand what they know? How do they know what they know? Use the scaffolding theory to help students grow as learners.
11. "you are important"
12. multiple types of genres
13. Whisper phones
14. Seating arrangements
14.1. High top tables
14.2. Exercise balls
14.3. low to the ground
14.4. normal sized tables
14.5. soft seating
14.6. Having different seating available for students will allow them to focus better.
14.6.1. Sometimes allow the students to pick their seats and sometimes the teacher needs to choose for them.
15. Classroom Library
15.1. a spot to relax
15.2. comfortable place to read
16. Group work
16.1. create lessons where students can work in groups. Give them opportunities to pick their own groups and assign roles and as the teacher, sometimes you need to pick groups and roles for them so they can get a variety of experience with different classmates.
16.2. put them in groups with similar interests, similar abilities, and different abilities.
16.3. Howard Gardner believed that you cannot categorize people into one area of intelligence
16.3.1. Everyone has multiple intelligences. students can be categorized in different ways.
16.4. Group work will also help students learn. It gives them a different person to learn information from instead of listening to the same teacher each time.
17. Encourage students
17.1. Hang encouraging words and saying around the room.
17.1.1. "You CAN do this"
17.1.1.1. "today you are YOU, that is TRUER than true, there Is NO ONE alive that is YOUER than YOU" -Dr. Suess
18. Clear rules and expectations
18.1. Have the class make a list together of the environment they would like to learn in.
18.1.1. This will guide towards operant conditioning. Does the student follow the rules? When do you reward the student for good behavior? What do you reward them with?
18.2. Have classroom jobs and change them each week.
18.2.1. Jobs can include....
18.2.1.1. Attendance
18.2.1.2. Lunch count
18.2.1.3. A weather person
18.2.1.4. Line leader
18.2.1.5. Teacher helper
18.2.1.6. Class store cashier
18.2.1.7. Classroom custodian (make sure the floor is picked up)
18.2.1.8. Paper handler
18.2.1.9. board washer
18.2.1.10. Messenger
18.2.1.11. Librarian
18.2.1.12. current events reporter
19. Assessments
19.1. give a pretest at the beginning of the unit then the same test at the end. Stress that you don't want the test to be perfect but you are just looking to see improvement.
19.2. Dewey doesn't like testing and neither do I!
19.3. give the students a comfortable and quiet atmosphere to give their best efforts.
19.4. Assign projects that shows their knowledge
19.4.1. make a poster on a state or country
19.4.2. create a power point or story with a topic learned.
19.5. help the students to the best of your ability to allow them to succeed.
19.5.1. Do they need to hear about it more than once?
19.5.2. Help with repetition
19.5.2.1. Ball game
20. Classroom Store
20.1. Credits and debits
20.1.1. Operant conditioning: if they help a friend, turn in their homework on time, listen to the teacher- give them a credit. If they are not being respectful or doing what they are told-give them a debit/take away "money" they earned. At the end of the certain time period, they add up their debits and credits and are able to go to the classroom store and pick out a toy or treat of some sort.
20.1.1.1. At the end of the week, some students would have significantly more than others and those other students will realize that they want to receive more credits so they change their behavior.
20.1.1.1.1. This is an example of positive reinforcement and punishment. B.F. Skinner
20.1.2. Stages of moral development: students are making the choice with how they want to behave in class knowing it will affect how many credits or debits they may have at the end of the given time period.
20.2. Give students the opportunity to "run" the store and be the cashier. It will give them the feeling of being responsible.
21. Have a stage
21.1. When assigning projects or papers, give each student the opportunity to get on the stage in front of the class and present what they have written or learned.
21.1.1. This will help boost the students confidence and get the experience talking in front of their peers.
21.1.1.1. Lev Vygotsky's theory of social development, social interaction and imaginative play are large contributions in child development.
21.2. While students are on the stage talking, it is important for their peers to show that they care.
21.2.1. Nel Noddings talks about the theory of caring. How does each student respond when their peers are up on the stage? Is it positive or negative?