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To

Mrs.Winslade’sSecondGradeClassroom

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My Philosophy Statement:

I believe that an education is one of the most valuable gifts a child will

ever be given. I am honored to be a part of my student's educational journey!

My goal is to help my students to become lifelong learners and to reach above

and beyond the stars.

My classroom is a place where my students feel safe and comfortable.

In order to have a classroom where effective learning takes place, it must be

an area in which everyone respects, encourages and cares for one another. In

my classroom students know that his or her beliefs and opinions are valued

and respected.

In order to reach every student in my classroom, I use a variety of

teaching methods and resources within our state and federal guidelines.

Students will have the opportunity to learn through differentiated instruction in

order to engage students of all categories of intelligences. This ensures that

they have their own way of learning and retaining material. Whether they

learn best though hands on learning or through visual cues, students will learn

and grow in my classroom. If students are given engaging and stimulating

activities to work on either with other students or independently, with the

teacher serving as only a guide, they are far more likely to understand and

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retain the information.

All students have special needs; some cases are more special than others. For

those students I will adjust curriculum and assignments to fit those needs. All

students will be involved in activities and positively interact with the other

students. It is my goal to help every student to feel successful and proud of his

or her progress. I strive to create a collaborative working environment with my

students, school staff and parents.

I feel that a teacher and the students should share the control of a

classroom. I believe in giving student’s choices and a sense of ownership their

actions and work. Additionally, students should be given input into classroom

rights and responsibilities. However, I reserve the right to decide when the

students are allowed to make decisions for the class. The rights and

responsibilities of our classroom need to be logical and completely thought

through. My classroom is managed with these rights and responsibilities

throughout the school year.

My one and only rule is the golden rule: Do onto others, as you would like

done to you. I do believe order is important in the classroom, but feel that

students are better motivated through our Bill of Rights, rather than a list of

rules. This gives students the right to behave in a positive or negative manner.

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If they choose the negative, they choose to deal with consequences, as they

will in life after the classroom.

I view my classroom not only as a guide for second grade, but also as a

guide for life.

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Classroom organization

The classroom is a special place for children to learn. My classroom is

also a reflection of what students and parents will think of me as a teacher. I

hope that the lay out of my classroom will help students know what I expect

from them and inspire them to be excited about the information they will learn

throughout the year. It will be designed for student learning and will help

minimize discipline problems.

When one walks into my room they will see colorful bulletin boards,

posters and natural light. Three key areas will stand out in the classroom: the

instructional area, library and small group activity center.

The following is an outline of what the areas of our classroom are used

for and/or the storage plan for those areas. The physical set-up is bound to

change I observe new ideas for storage and classroom interaction throughout

my fieldwork and student teaching experiences.

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Large group interaction:

• Student desks

Student daily supplies

What should I do now/bell-work folder

• White board/SMART board

Daily Schedule and happenings

Daily instructional work

• Reading Rug

Calendar corner

Small group/individual work:

• Small group table

One-on-one with me

Small group student projects

Testing time

• Quiet work zone

Small rug with sitting pillows for

Individual and partner silent reading/work zone

• Library

Accelerated Reading books organized by level and type

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Student reference books

Resource area

Teacher storage

• My desk

On top:

Basket for money/notes from home

Daily teacher supplies

Daily Lesson Plans

In the drawer storage:

Thank you cards

Labels personal prop of

Daily journal for documentation

Essentials pens pencils

Grade book

Your child needs notes

My assignment bookmark when work is turned in check beginning/end of day

• Large storage drawers

Maps

Seasonal/unit classroom decorations

• Large storage cupboards

Lessons

Art supplies

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Extra office supplies

Small closet for jacket/boots/tennis shoes and extra storage

Room Perimeter

• Bulletin boards

Star of the week

Our Bill of Rights and responsibilities

Weekly student pride work

News

• Attendance/behavior chart

• Mailboxes

• Homework turn-in baskets/ Assignment baskets

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Managing student work

Evaluated/Graded In-School work:

I strongly disagree with the theory to teach only for the test. Evaluations and

testing in our classroom serve as a guide for students, parents, and myself to

where the students are at academically and the we should to focus on to

ensure that they are progressing and learning. I do not look for perfection, but

hope to see improvement in student’s work and skills as individuals. My end of

the year goal is to help students reach their own individual learning goals and

guide them to a successful start in their next year of school, the third grade.

My ultimate goal as a second grade teacher is to guide my students into life-

long learning through self-motivation and achievement with confidence.

Spelling: Each week students will need to study 12 spelling words and 2

dictation sentences. They will find the weekly spelling list in their Friday folder.

The spelling test is given each week on Thursday. If a student receives 100

percent on this test they will not have to take the test on Friday. If a student has

mistakes on the Thursday test they have a chance to retake the test on Friday. I

will record the best score the student received on these tests.

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Reading and comprehension: Our class has a power half-hour each day.

Students are divided into groups according to their current literacy levels.

Each group will focus on vocabulary, stories and comprehension interventions

according to their level. On Tuesdays students are evaluated with a one-minute

cold read. They are given a leveled passage. I record the number of words

read correctly as well as the number of errors made.

Math: On Wednesday’s each week a leveled math test is given. The content

of this test is based on the individual student. They will be evaluated on their

individual current Accelerated Math skill practice.

Each Friday an all facts addition or subtraction math test is given. The students

are given five minutes to try to complete 100 single digit addition and/or

subtraction problems. Our end of the year goal is for students to finish 90-100

of the problems correctly in five minutes.

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Public Speaking: Show and Tell

This is an evaluated oral presentation each week.

A monthly calendar is sent home outlining the date and topic students will

speak to. There will be at least one opportunity each month for students to

speak about a topic of his or her choice.

Students are welcome to show an item, but it is not required. Telling about the

subject or item is required and graded. Students are required to tell us about

the topic or item for the week in three to five statements. They are also required

to thoughtfully answer three questions about the item or topic from their peers.

Each day we will hear from three students.

The speaker’s evaluation is based on: keeping to the topic, speaking clearly

with enough volume for classmates to hear and understand, presenting the

information in an interesting and original manner.

Science, Social Studies, and Health:

Occasionally students will be tested or evaluated in these subjects. I give a one-

week’s notice for students to study for these tests.

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Homework

Why do I assign homework? Homework reinforces the learning that takes

place in our classroom. It also helps to teach students responsibility and leads

them to develop positive life-long study habits.

When is homework assigned? Each Friday students bring home their

“Friday Folders”. The folders are to be returned by the following Thursday with

all homework and activities completed. The folders are laminated and contain

two pockets.

Friday Folders: The front of the folder has a table with one box for each

week of school. When the folder is returned on time I will place a sticker in the

box for the week. If the folder is not returned on time or is missing work the

student is sent home with a reminder slip to be signed by the parent and

returned the following Monday with the missing folder or homework.

The back of the folder has a table with three boxes for each week; one for

behavior and one for academics and one for their parents signature. I write a

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star for a good week and a circle for any problems. If it is a circle student will

need to explain to parent why they received the mark and parents will write a

note to let me know that they were informed of the mark.

One pocket is titled “bring back” it contains:

• *Reading logs

• Spelling practice worksheet

• A copy of the phonics reader assigned for the week

• 2 math worksheets

• 1 fun activity based on our math lesson for the week

• Occasional study guides and information for upcoming lessons or

evaluations

• Occasional your child needs forms

• Any upcoming event or field trip forms to be signed by parents

• The other pocket in the Friday folder is titled “keep at home”. It contains

a weekly newsletter to parents and all of the student’s evaluated work

and special projects and in-class assignments from the week for parents

to view.

*Each student has a reading log to keep track of their reading at home. I

encourage students to read aloud for at least 15 minutes each day. New

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reading logs will be in their Friday folder to be signed by parents and returned

on Wednesday with the rest of their take home assignments for the week.

Procedures

Classroom procedures will be introduced our first day of school. I have three

steps to introduce procedures to my students:

1.Expain: I state, explain, model and demonstrate the procedure

2. Rehearse: Students rehearse and practice the procedure under my super

vision

3. Reinforce: Our class will re-teach, rehearse, practice, and reinforce the

procedure until it clearly becomes student habit or routine.

A typical day in Mrs. Winslade’s second grade:

Beginning the day:

Welcome

• Hang your coat and belongings on your hook outside of the classroom.

**If it is wintertime change from your boots to your shoes BEFORE

entering the classroom

• Check your backpack

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• Say hello to your teacher: give me a high five, handshake or smile at the

door

• Flip your card: from white to blue so I know you are here today

• Turn in any homework into the homework basket

• Turn in any notes, forms, or money to me

Prepare for the day:

• Sharpen 3 pencils: this is the only time I will give my students to sharpen

their pencils because I find the pencil sharpener a great distraction in the

classroom. If a student runs out of sharpened pencils they are to borrow

from a friend until the end of the day.

• Get 2 Accelerated Reading books: from the classroom library for “what

do I do now?” time.

• Check out the whiteboard: take a look at our schedule for the day and

complete assigned bell work

• Listen: for announcements from the loud speaker and the teacher

• Shake out the sillies: each morning I provide a short movement activity

to music to get our brains ready for learning

• Meet me on the carpet: for calendar and current event times

**Helpers for the day are excused from “bell work” to prepare our

Calendar Corner

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Through the day:

Transitions: are announced with a two to five minute warning depending on

what activity or lesson our class is transitioning to. When I announce a

transition I instruct them what they need finish and/or to put away or turn in,

what supplies they will need with them and to prepare for the next activity on

our schedule.

Lining up: Students always form two lines when lining up. Our helpers for the

week are the line leaders and the first to line up. The other students are

instructed for their turn to line up in numerous ways depending on how the

students are behaving. When the classroom is calm and orderly I will ask them

to line up by their student number. For example, “if your number is greater

than 2 and less than 12 you may line up. If I feel the need to settle the children

down before lining up I will announce them by rows. The row that is quiet

and/or prepared for our transition will be the first to line up. The other rows

see the example and want to be next, most of the time they quiet down and

prepare for the transition.

Before we leave our class we use the chant "My hands are by my side, I'm

standing straight and tall, I will not talk at all, I am ready for the hall." This

reminds students of our hallway walking procedures: walk quietly with your

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hands to yourself.

Returning to class: If the class returns quietly following the instructions given

as they enter the classroom I reward them with a marble in the class reward

jar. If the class is boisterous I let them know that they were not respectful of our

time and they do not receive a marble in the jar.

Bathroom Breaks/Drink Breaks: Our class will take these breaks as a

whole two times a day: Before snack time in the morning and before lunch.

*The helpers for the day are my bathroom monitors and are to report

any misbehavior that occurs while students are in the bathroom.

Any additional breaks needed require my permission. A student will only be

allowed two additional breaks.

Snack time: Check your incomplete shelf: finish any work you find there

If your shelf is empty you may:

• Read or listen to a book

• Play a board game with a friend

• Build with Lego’s or Lincoln Logs

*Only three students to a group for games and building activities

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Gathering as a class; sitt ing on the floor:

I use "Give me Five" when I want the children to give me their attention while seated on the carpet:

1. On your bottom, legs crossed; 2. Hands folded in your lap; 3. Face the speaker; 4. Eyes and ears open; 5. Mouths closed.

I teach, teach, teach this in September, and a few weeks in, I only have to say "Give me five: 1,2,3,4,5", and they do!

Ending the day:

Fifteen minutes before our last bell. (20 min if we have a birthday to

celebrate)

Teacher announcements: I will announce homework reminders, special events

for the next day and congratulate the class on a great day or discuss what we

could do better or differently tomorrow to make it a great day.

Students: check your mailbox, put all papers found there into your take-home

folder, put the folder on your desk

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Find your job card and perform it. Each student is assigned a job at the end of

the day. Some examples of students’ jobs are: the white board easer, human

vacuum, desk/table washer, ect. I will assign the jobs at random the first week

of school. Each week students will have a new job. If they do not complete

their end of the week job, I will assign them two jobs the following day.

End of the day fun: After our jobs are complete we will end our day with a

song and movement activity. I will introduce new songs and activities daily. N

Fridays if the students have had an exceptional week of good behavior they

get to choose the activity by voting from two of their favorites.

Pack up and say good-bye: We will line up at the door in the order of their

means of transportation home, bus numbers, walkers, and parent pickup.

Birthday Celebrations: Birthday’s are celebrated at the end of our school

day. The child with a birthday may bring a treat to share with the class. The

treat must be store bought and food allergies in our classroom must be taken

into consideration when deciding on the treat to share. Students are

encouraged to bring a healthy snack, but it is not required.

Our class will sing them “Happy Birthday” (with cha, cha, cha’s of course)

while the student sits in my rocking chair. The birthday student gets to choose

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the movement activity and/or music we will finish or day with. I present the

birthday student with a birthday card and a new pencil.

Absences: Students are recognized in our classroom even when they are not

present. In the morning I will announce the names of those who are missing,

followed with “we will miss them today”. The student who sits to the right of

them will be their helper for the day. They are responsible for placing one of

the “while you were away” folders on top of the absent student’s desk at the

beginning of the day. The folder will hold any loose paper assignment and

activities we have covered for the day. The absent helper will also place post-

its in workbooks and texts marking lessons that were missed. Parents are

encouraged to pick up the students folder so they may work on some of it

before they return to school. When the student returns to school we will

welcome them back and I will help them with any work that they still need to

finish. The student and I will have working lunches and snack times to help them

catch up to the rest of the class.

Emergency Procedures: Fire, Tornado, Lockdown, Relocation drills are

important for students to know and understand to keep our students and staff

safe in school. Our first week of school I clearly explain what each emergency

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procedure is, why it is in place, and enforce the importance of practicing each

procedure. We practice these emergency procedures in our first two days of

school as a class. Throughout the procedures are reinforced through school

wide practice drills. Step by step directions of where to go and what to do for

each of these emergencies is located on a cupboard door to left of our

classroom exit/door.

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Rules/Rights and Responsibil i t ies

In my classroom there is only one rule: the golden rule.

• Treat others, as you want to be treated

Rather than focusing on rules for the classroom, I focus on our rights and

responsibilities as members of our classroom community. I feel this gives the

students ownership and promotes self-discipline. On the first day of school the

students help to establish our classroom guidelines to define the dos and don’ts

that help us to follow our classroom rule. I have made a classroom Bill of

Rights. This is a guide that serves as our classroom rules because if a person is

violating another’s rights they are breaking our classroom rule.

We have a right to:

• Be respected

• Fair and equal treatment.

• Be safe in this classroom.

• Hear and be heard in this classroom.

• Learn in this classroom.

• Learn what it means to be a responsible and successful student.

Guidance and direction are meant to aid learners as student and a citizen of

our school community.

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We have the responsibil i ty to:

• Treat others with consideration, realizing that all of us are unique.

• Make this classroom safe by following the safety rules and not causing

injury to others or damaging/using the property of others without their

permission.

• Participate in the classroom activities appropriately by listening,

speaking, or writing.

• Respect others, adults and students, and uphold their rights.

• LEARN. You will prepare for class, be on time, pay attention, complete

work, and not distract yourself or others.

• Reach for the stars, keep trying, and ask questions if you don't

understand.

*These rights and responsibilities apply to all persons, students, school staff

and myself the entire school day.

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Getting Off to a Good Start Meet The Teacher- Pre-School Meeting

It is important for parents to gain information about their child's new

teacher and the upcoming year. Likewise, it is also helpful for me to take a look

into my students' lives away from school. Before our school year begins

students and parents are invited into the classroom for a pre-school meeting.

Introduction & Welcome: I greet each student and his or her parents

or guardians at the door. I introduce myself and welcome them into the

classroom. I then send them on a scavenger hunt.

First, they are led to my “life journal”. I keep this on my desk

throughout the year and update it weekly. It is full of pictures and

journal writings to help my students and their parents get to me

better. With that I share a brief summary of my family life and

educational background. I let them know that each student will

also keep a journal that we will update every Monday. The child is

welcome to bring in pictures to paste in their journal each

Monday. Parents may view their child’s journal at our

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parent/teacher conferences and it will be sent home at the end of

our school year.

Next, they will be sent around the room. They will discover our

classroom library, resource center, student supply storage shelves,

student mailboxes and homework turn-in basket, calendar corner

and free time activity shelves. While they discover each new part

of our classroom I will explain the purpose and procedures for

each area.

Finally the student will end at his or her desk. It is not labeled with their

name. I tell the student that I have some work for them to do and

some work for their parents too. Inside their desk they find a name

blank paper nameplate and a paper titled All About Me. I tell

them to write their full name on the nameplate and decorate. We

will tape this to top of their desk when they are finished. Then I

read the All About Me worksheet to them and ask them to fill in

the blanks to the best of their ability. They may answer the

questions in words, trying their best to sound them out or by

drawing pictures. (Please see the All About Me worksheet).

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As the student works on these tasks I will sit with parents for a

conference. We are still available is the student has questions on

their work.

We discuss:

My Teaching Philosophy: I will explain my dedication to the class

as a whole and as individuals, what I find most enjoyable about

teaching, and the reason I have become a teacher.

Performance expectations: are reviewed letting the parents know

what is expected of their child in regard to their class work

expectations. Sharing this during the back to school night gives

parents a firm understanding about the expectations for their child.

!Homework and in-class academic expectations: are shared at

the open house to inform parents as to the amount and type of

homework and in-class activities and evaluations to expect.

Homework should be a continual learning experience for the

student. Your child will bring homework home on Fridays and

should stay on task to complete their homework and return it to me

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on the following Thursday. If not, I will contact parents with an

incomplete homework slip sent home with their child. If late

homework becomes an ongoing event I contact parents through

email or a phone call. If this still does not help to get the students

homework in on time I will set up a meeting with the student and

his or her parents to determine what we can do together to be sure

the students’ homework does take high priority for the student.

The curriculum: to be used during the school year is shared with

parents at open house to make them more familiar with their

child’s work.

School Attendance Policy & Make-up Work: Attendance at

school must be a priority but there are times when children must be

absent. I review our schools attendance policy and encourage

parents to pick up the students missed work while they are away to

ensure they will quickly catch up with the rest of the class.

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Classroom management techniques: used in the classroom are

shared at the open house. Sharing this information helps to make

parents aware of my expectations concerning classroom discipline

and behavior expectations and how it will be handled. I need the

parents of my students to be supportive when handling behavior

issues.

Our class schedule and a typical day in our classroom: I will

explain our schedule and day from start to finish. Parents will inform of

the transportation their child will use to get to and from school.

Our meeting ends with a question and answer session for parents. At

this time parents will have the chance to sign up various events:

our fall conferences, to volunteer for one of our class parties, to

help with vision and hearing screening and to volunteer their time

in or out of the classroom when they are available during the

school day. I will thank both the parents and the student for joining

me today and let them know I look forward to an exciting new

year in or second grade classroom.

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Future Communication with Parents:

• Weekly newsletters

• E-mail • Phone calls

• Conferences

• Parent Volunteering

• Him/her and me breakfast-. On these special days students invite a

significant adult figure in their lives to join us for the morning. We have

doughnuts and beverages. One is held for an important female figure

and another is held for an important male figure in the student’s life. The

students perform a poem or skit for guests after breakfast.

• Translated documents if needed

First week of school

The first week of school is dedicated to building classroom community

and teaching the class my expectations, procedures and routines. We only

focus on theses factors the first week. Our class will work on academics after I

feel the students are ready to be students. I completely agree with Harry

Wong’s theory on the beginning of the school year. “If you get the basic

procedures and rules in place now, the curriculum will be much easier

later on”.

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The first day:

• I greet students at the door today and every day after.

• I tell them to find their desks and begin their first ‘bellwork’

assignment found on top their desk in their extra activity folder.

The bellwork for today is to draw a picture relating to their summer

vacation. While they work I explain their extra activity folders to

them. They will take them out each morning and work on the fun

activities inside. If they have extra time after our in class work, they

will also work from these folders.

• After the bell has rung and we have heard the morning

announcements from the loud speaker I have them put away their

supplies. The directions are listed on the board in two lists: Put Into

your Desk and Put In the Shared Supplies Cabinet. This may be a

boisterous time because we have not yet focused on routines. I will

play soft music to set the mood of a peaceful transition from

summer vacation into the classroom. I hope this helps, but I at this

point, I expect my students to e very squirrely. If a student finishes

they should help another with his or her supplies.

• Sit back in your seat; we discuss communication skills.

Listening

Asking questions

Responding to questions

Verbal/nonverbal criticizing and communicating

Raising our hands to speak

Talking out of turn

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• Class rewards

The marble jar: when the class is staying on task with appropriate

behavior I will drop a marble in the jar. When our jar is full we will have

a class reward. The rewards will vary. One idea I really like is having a

class “sick day”. We come to school in our pajamas and are too sick to

go to lunch so we have lunch in our classroom. In the afternoon we

watch a movie and have ice cream.

• Calendar time

I explain our “helpers of the day” I model the tasks they need to

complete to prepare our calendar for the day.

• Get up and move activity: Getting to Know You Bingo

Each student receives a piece of paper that states a fact about each

student’s life and/or interests. I have this information from the All About

Me worksheets filled out at our before school open house. They are to

go around the room and ask classmates if the information from each box

pertains to them. If so the other student will initial the box that tells about

them. The goal is to fill each box with someone else’s initials. After their

paper is full they are to sit on the large group reading rug. We then

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discuss who belonged to which box and we all know something about

everybody else.

• Transition time: discuss, I model, and practice out of the classroom:

Lining up at the door,

Walking in the hallway

Bathroom/drink break

Returning to the classroom.

• Lunch

• Recess

• Our Bill of Rights and Responsibilities: begins our first social lesson

on social skills, (please see social skills lesson plan and information

on the classroom Bill of Rights).

• Show-and-Tell: I discuss and model show-and-tell time. I share

information about myself and how excited I am that we will be

learning together this year.

• Study Hall: discuss routine: If a student has unfinished work they

will use this time to finish it. If all schoolwork is complete they have

a choice of outside or inside playtime. This could be called second

recess, but I like to use study hall because students who have work

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to finish will be less likely to see it as a punishment. Students who

have their work done may consider it a reward.

• Snack time

• End of the day routines

We discuss, model, and practice:

Student jobs

Mailboxes

Packing up

• We finish with a fun song and dance and practice walking to the

buses and waiting for parent’s to pick up students.

This is my planned first day. Each day of the first week of school is

scheduled in a similar manner. We will discuss and review procedures

and routines continually. We will also practice emergency procedures

throughout the week. My hope is that by the end of our first week

together most of the students have learned our routines and we may

move on to academics. If we still need practice with our daily routines

and procedures discussion, modeling and practicing will continue in our

second week. If most of the routines are down we will begin our first

lessons.

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Social Skil ls Lesson: 5 days of learning respect Day1: (the first day of school) Read Aloud: I read the book “Chrysanthemum” by, Kevin Henkes

The book is about a little girl who goes to school and everyone makes fun of

her name. Her name was Chrysanthemum; the kids at school tease her and tell

her no one wants to be named after a flower. This happened day after day

until the teacher told them that her name was after a flower too and that she

loved Chrysanthemum's name. After this the children decided they loved her

name to and they would love to be named after a flower. I really think that this

is a good book to read to students and teach respect.

Discussion: Questions I ask the class:

What does the word respect mean?

How were the students in Chrysanthemum’s class disrespectful?

How did Chrysanthemum feel when the other students teased her?

How would you feel if you were Chrysanthemum?

Why is acting respectful important?

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Day 2:

Make a list: on the board of how to be respectful:

• Treat other people the way you want to be treated. • Be courteous and polite. • Listen to what other people have to say. • Don't insult people, or make fun of them, or call them names. • Don't bully or pick on others. • Don't judge people before you get to know them.

Survey: Students take individual survey:

SAMPLE: Are you a Respectful Person?

True False I treat other people the way I want to be treated. I am considerate of other people. I treat people with civility, courtesy, and dignity. I accept personal differences. I work to solve problems without violence. I never intentionally ridicule, embarrass, or hurt others. I think I am/am not a respectful person because: ___________________

Class Discussion: Describe ways you have acted or seen someone act respectfully this week.

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Day 3:

Class Poster/collage: I have made a poster outlining respect on a tag board. We discuss the meaning of each line on the poster.

How To Be Respectful

R- Respect yourself

E- Everybody deserves respect and kindness.

S- Status has no bearing on whether someone should be respected.

P- Property. Respect other people’s property by not abusing or damaging it.

E- Environment. Respect the environment by not littering, conserving, and recycling. C- Cultural differences should be embraced, not criticized. T- Things. Respect the tangible and intangible things that are yours as well as others. Respect the wants and wishes of others. Respect other people’s opinions.

Each student will find at least five pictures of people showing respect to others from magazines I have provided. They will paste them around the words on our respect poster.

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Day 4 : Bumper Sticker: Each student will design a bumper sticker about respect. Include on the bumper sticker: the word Respect, a slogan for why you should use it and at least three words that describe it. They will tape this to the side of their desks.

Day 5: Writing assignment: Tell me in at least three sentences how you can show respect to fellow classmates and/or teachers.

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Motivating Students:

Effective teachers MANAGE their classrooms with procedures and

routines. !Ineffective teachers DISCIPLINE their classrooms with threats and

punishments. (Harry Wong)

My personal goal as a teacher is to effectively manage my classroom by

directing my to students to high self-esteem, leading them to high self-efficacy

and personal achievable goals and success. This empowers students to be the

best they can be, not only to impress their parents, teachers and society, but

most importantly to set and reach goals for themselves. In this management of

student behavior I will work with individual students, their parents, and when

necessary our schools administrative staff to solve any behavioral problems

that occur. My first plan of action is to work directly with my students to

encourage them to correct negative behavior and to feel pride in positive

behavior through setting and achieving their own personal goals.

Why have students set reachable goals? To help my students reach a

high self-esteem and self-efficacy. Having both esteem and efficacy high will

produce more successful and positive experiences for students. The ways that I

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can empower students to success is through helping students set and follow

through with goals.

I will use the following steps to empower my students:

• Realize and change negative thoughts about oneself:

Through observations and interviews I will try seek out negative thoughts

children have about themselves, then help that child to turn their negative

thoughts into positive ones. If negativity is present in a student we will met at

snack time with a special student/teacher meeting to discuss the issues and find

ways to turn the negative into a positive.

• Create positive affirmations:

Positive affirmations can help reprogram a child’s mind with positive

thoughts. Negative feedback can defeat or weaken self-beliefs. Affirmations

will be in present tense, not in the future. Goals set will be concrete with

sufficient details. It is essential children are involved in the creation of their

affirmation; it allows children to become closer to reaching their goals and

enables children to feel ownership in his/her learning and development.

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• Goal setting/action plan:

Next I teach how to set realistic and achievable goals. Examples: tying

shoes, learning single-digit addition facts, or learning vocabulary words:

children need to identify certain steps and create an action plan, a plan for

carrying out their attainable goals.

• Visualization:

In beginning I guide students through visualization. Being able to recognize

accomplishment will bring the student closer to obtaining their goal. Questions

like “how did you feel after reading your book?” will help my students to

visualize their accomplishment. Children can self-visualize by creating a poster

of them obtaining the goal they have set. Each day we spend time reflecting a

child’s progress and provide on going feedback on the students progress.

• Celebrating successes:

Ongoing feedback and discussion will enhance my student’s celebration

of a completed goal. Once children reach their goals, they may experience

increased self-efficacy and may also be inspired to set new goals and

brainstorm ways to achieve them.

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Successes in our classroom will also be celebrated with:

• Verbal praise

• A high five or whole class special clap for the student

• An extra couple of minutes of free time or recess

• Choices in our daily fun activities

• Given an extra special job of the day, such as, teachers special

messenger

• The student gets to put a marble into the class marble jar

To remind student to be and stay positive I have a large Think Positive poster

on the wall in our classroom:

1. Today will be great!

2. I can handle more than I think I can.

3. I'll be satisfied with trying to do my best.

4. I will make someone happy today.

5. Life is great! I'll make the most of it.

Each student in the classroom has this list posted on the corner of the top

of his or her desk too. I refer to these five positive thoughts when a student

feels discouraged or is just having a bad day.

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Encouragement and Rewards for Positive Behavior and

learning:

• I encourage and motivate students by:

• Show my passion for teaching and learning

• Being enthusiastic about subjects

• Emphasizing mastery and learning rather than good grades

• Introducing good work done by peers

• Rewarding success with frequent positive feedback

• Words of acknowledgment “I like the way you…” “Great you

remembered…”

• Rewarding success with a high five, thumbs up, verbal praise

• Set achievable goals: for some slowing it down and setting goals lower

• Teaching them to learn outside of the classroom

• Find personal meaning in lessons and assignments

• Work from his or her strengths and weaknesses

• Let the students know teachers make mistakes too

Proud Book: In the beginning of the year, have a book bound with

blank construction paper for each week of the school year for each

student. Then each week, students pick their assignment they are most

proud of to glue into the book. They write a couple of sentences on the

opposite page about why they are proud of it.

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Managing Student Behavior

When negative behavior occurs:

Our classroom behavior is evaluated with a card system. We use the

same chart for behavior management as we do for attendance. The chart has

each students name and picture below his or her card pocket. Five cards are

found in each pocket. They are color-coded white and blue for attendance,

green, yellow and red for behavior monitoring. Every student’s card will be

white at the beginning of each new day.

Green: serves as a warning. If a student is continually talking out of

turn or disrupting the classes right to learn I will ask them to pull a green

card. Every time a student has to pull a green card I will use it as a

teachable moment. I do not put down the child, but will remind the class

as whole the reasons why we shouldn’t talk out of turn or disrupt the

class. The reason is not “because we have to flip a card”. The reason

will fit into our class Bill of Rights and how we need to follow them to

ensure each one of us learns in our classroom.

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For example: Billy has shouted out his answer to an oral math activity I

am conducting. I let Billy know he is right, but next time I’d like him to

raise his hand if he thinks he has the answer. Later that day Billy then

shouts out an answer without raising his hand. I then tell Billy to pull a

green card. I might say to the class “I love that students are so

enthusiastic to learn and tell me the answers to my questions, we must

raise our hand and be called upon before answering the question.

Class, when we shout out an answer we are not giving each other an

equal chance to learn. We must give everyone time to think about the

problem and try solve it in order to provide for everyone’s learning in

our classroom.” Immediately I move on with our lesson and Billy will

raise his hand next time.

Yellow: If the disruptive behavior continues after the green card is

pulled, the student will be told to change the card from green to yellow.

This will result in a student/teacher meeting for us to discus the negative

behavior and together to define the negative behavior. Together we will

discuss what might help the student to stop or change the negative

behavior. If the negative behavior still occurs parents will be contacted

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and together we will work to stop or change the students negative

behavior.

Red: A red card is automatically pulled if a student is to physically or

emotionally hurt a fellow classmate or school staff member. Immediately

the student is handed an “incident report form”. The student will fill out

the form completely, explaining the incident, naming all parties involved

in the incident, why it happened and what the student should have done

and will do in the future. A meeting with me will discourage students

from acting violent and emotionally negative towards their peers and

our school staff. The student is also required to write a well thought out

apology to all parties they have treated unfairly. Parents will be

immediately contacted through e-mail or a phone call. In extreme cases

parents will be called in to meet with me and/or our schools

administration.

I want my students to know that I do not take to physical violence and

emotional put downs lightly. Each student is a valued member of our

classroom and I will not tolerate a student making others feel as if they

are not valued.

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References:

Harry Wong videos and website

Classroom teachers at Harriet Bishop Elementary in Rochester, MN

Classroom teachers at Zumbrota/Mazeppa Elementary in Zumbrota, MN

Article: Empowering Young Children for Success in School and in Life Judit Szente

Inspiring Students with Classroom Layout: How Classroom Organization Speaks to Your Student Jenifer Wagaman Classroom Management That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Every Teacher By Robert J. Marzano, Jana S. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering

Book: The Key Elements of Classroom Management; Managing Time and

Space, Student Behavior, and Instructional Stratedgies. McCleod, Fiisher and

Hoover

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All aboutMe

Mynameis________________________________Ilivewith:_________________________________Wehave______pets.Ihave_____brothersand______sisters.Myfavoritegametoplayis:

Myfavoriteanimalis:

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Ihopetolearn_______________________in

secondgrade.

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Agoodteacheris

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