The Importance of Knowing

The following is posted as a culminating project to display understanding of and practice in specific areas of classroom engagement.

As an educator, we hear a lot about "the first six weeks" and how important it is to build, model, and practice routines and expectations.  It is also the prime-time to get to know our students as people beyond the minds that we will teach every day this school year.  With four criteria in mind, I take a community approach in my fifth grade classroom and try to purposefully front-load the year with many activities that will help ensure we function as a team and, most importantly, that I know my students and work constantly to be better everyday.

{Creating a Classroom Environment of Respect and Rapport}

An educator's job starts with creating an environment where every student has a sense of belonging and purpose.  In room 132, I start this process with Morning Meeting, a component of Responsive Classroom that purposefully includes all students through a greeting, sharing opportunity, group activity, and an opportunity to prepare for our day together.  I set up my classroom with this in mind, leaving a large gathering space where all students can sit comfortably, see one another, and interact together.  These are not my fifth graders, but our days begin much like this . . .

(For more information on Morning Meeting, please visit: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/morning-meeting-components)

Another element of creating this respectful environment involves utilizing our PBIS acronym, "R.E.A.P." that can be found throughout the school.  When students enter our building, they see "R.E.A.P." spelled out on a large banner and a rug just inside the two main entrance doors.

The key for me is to invite this system into my classroom and help my students make those connections very purposefully as we build community that includes respect and positive rapport.  In order to do this, I display "R.E.A.P." on the front wall of my classroom and speak to it directly, especially in the early weeks.

The crucial piece of including these elements is found in teaching my students what "R.E.A.P." actually means and looks like in all areas.  We have a school-wide matrix and Passport that all teachers use as an instructional support tool, so I make sure that this is well-used in my classroom as well.  Finally, our school website includes a home matrix that invites parents to include in their homes if they wish.

Another way that I create a strong community of respect and rapport are to get all of my students involved through classroom jobs and in the creation of our community expectations. Each of my students has a responsibility to our classroom, from running Morning Meeting to taking care of our equipment to delivering messages and more.  My students are paid "Kluegel Clams" each week, which they track in a checkbook-style ledger and can spend in our classroom store each semester.  Students apply for jobs and are "hired" based on their application.  In addition, the first days of school are spent deciding exactly what we want our classroom to "look like / feel like / sound like."  Together my students develop classroom expectations that support their vision.  Each student signs the expectation poster and it is hung near the door for the entire year as a reminder that we all share the same goal . . . to have a place where we can feel accepted, inspired, and respected each day.

{Supporting Cultural Competencies}

My classroom is not necessarily very visibly diverse, given the demographics of my school, however this remains an important piece of our community since cultural differences can exist in many ways.  My goal in the early weeks is to collect as much information as I can about who my students are.  In doing this, I use surveys with my students' parents and my students themselves.  My parent survey is geared toward finding out how my students' parents view their strengths and challenges, as well as any other needs that they may have that I can support at school.  This is important because not only does it share information about my students, but it gives me a peek into how each of my students' parents view them as students and people outside of school.  Through this, I can begin to understand the bigger picture of who my students are.

Parent survey . . . https://docs.google.com/a/isd721.org/document/d/18gWiR9dHF-UiMUNcpHOjdduAGQYUsp66IDUBaSHxzI8/edit?usp=sharing

My student survey, which is borrowed from another source, includes information that helps me understand my students' learning preferences and likes / dislikes.  Over the years, I have realized how important this information is beyond the often simple answers they write.  By simply devoting a small amount of time early in the year, and by revisiting these surveys at the end of "the first six weeks," I can better understand who my students are and how I can meet their needs through the inclusion of their personal interests and preferences.

Student survey . . . http://jaj.spps.org/uploads/student_interest_survey.pdf

Finally, I share my own passion for reading and teaching authentic reading with my students.  This is an area that allows me to share cultures and discuss and explore elements like social norms and different cultural expectations and traditions.  It also invites conversation about my students' own experiences and perspectives, which supports the diversity of my classroom well.

Some of my favorite read-alouds are pictured above.  I value these for the way they explore human differences and allow my students to really think about and discuss their own perspectives and feelings toward others and our differences as people.  Out of My Mind, by Sharon Draper is a powerful book that allows readers a peek into the very intelligent mind of a disabled child.  My students are often surprised at the level of thinking and ability of Melody, the protagonist.  This opens a conversation about how little we really know about what happens inside the minds and hearts of others, even those who can tell us.  In Small as an Elephant, the protagonist is a boy, Jack, who is about the same age as my students.  Jack's mom clearly has a mental illness and likely a drug problem.  This isn't spelled out in the book very clearly, as it is told from Jack's perspective.  Initially, my students are often horrified to learn how Jack's mother treats him, and they struggle to understand why Jack defends her at times.  Many remark that his mother is "crazy" or "a lunatic," and while I acknowledge that her treatment of her son is definitely surprising considering our social expectations of mother-child relationships, my students usually begin to feel empathy toward her and the situation.  This opens such an incredible conversation about differences in families, which tends to be the greatest cultural difference in my classroom.  After finishing this novel, my students are much less likely to react without thinking, because they have gained perspective and even appreciation for the way other families function.

Throughout these read-alouds, we will discuss and respond frequently.  This allows me to access their academic knowledge, but also their understanding of the world around them.  One change I am implementing this year is the use of "signposts" from Notice and Note by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst.  Together, after teaching each of the signposts, we will use this interactive bulletin board to explore what interests us and what surprises us about our characters, story, and situations.

{Academic Achievement and Personal Development}

Of course, all of this community building simply creates a foundation for true learning and personal development.  My goal as a teacher is to inspire my students to grow not only as fifth graders, but as members of our greater society.  I regularly use techniques such as student-student collaboration, opportunities to share and offer insight, and goal setting in my classroom.  It is my job to participate along with  my students in order to support the feeling of true community.

One way that we work toward academic achievement and personal development is through goal-setting.  We do this in all areas, academic and personal.  One way that I support my students in this is through the creation of systems that allow me to have one-on-one conversations with my students about progress.  We also share as a community.  Below are examples of two ways my students share as readers . . .

Another way that we can track personal learning goals is through "I Can" statements that are clear, student-focused, and accessible.  I post these in my classroom for both reading and math.  This allows my students to know what "the skill" looks like and what questions to ask if they do not have it.  This technique has been a building-push and has proven to provide students with the tools that they need to ensure learning takes place.  My "I Can" statements (taken from our grade-level powered standards) are posted here . . .

To start the year, I give my students a multiple intelligences survey.  I have tried several different formats, but my personal favorite comes from Laura Candler.  I believe there is a great deal of information that my students and I can take away from this activity.  Not only does it help me better understand my students' learning preferences, it can help my students better understand themselves. As learners, if we know what best helps us succeed in our own goals, we can better understand what questions to ask and techniques to use.  As their teacher, I consider it my job to include as many of these MI teaching and learning techniques as possible each week.

http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/multipleintelligences.php

The MI survey supports my students both academically and in their personal development.  It opens their eyes to the fact that while some subjects or skills may be difficult for them, it could be that they just haven't had the opportunity to learn those subjects or skills in the way their brain works best.  The MI survey allows them to consider the idea that they are not deficient . . . just not there YET, which leads to growth mindset.

I believe that the growth mindset has to be a way of life and, when done correctly, can make all areas of my classroom more productive, supportive, and engaging for all of my students.  I find that by fifth grade, some of my students are very set in their ideas that they are "not good at math" or that they "hate science" or another mindset that allowed them to believe something very finite about themselves.  My goal for all of my students is to see that with hard work, effort, and support from others who share your mindset, they do not need to be locked into any of these negative beliefs about themselves.  While I also believe it is important to honor our strengths and gifts, my students cannot let themselves believe that what is hard, is impossible.  In order to support this, I begin the year with what I hope are inspirational videos, quotes around the room, and purposeful teaching of the idea that anything is possible this year.  For the 2015-2016 school year, I will kick-off this growth mindset with a Prezi (shared below).  My hope is that my students begin to see themselves as "something more" from day 1.  I want them to realize that no matter where they saw themselves as students in the past or what they belief about their strengths, they are not stuck if they are willing to work.  I also want them to know that I support that work and that the only failing is in quitting.

https://prezi.com/qro_btfrhxt3/growth-mindset/

I truly believe that by setting up a classroom that honors my students' differences, strengthens their commonalities, values them as people with opinions, beliefs, and goals, and supports them in their academic and personal learning, I can better serve my students and, in doing so, make this piece of the world a little bit better.