fun & learning combined
Teaching Strategies
Classroom Management
When I think of classroom success, working as a team, accompling goals, and overall just working hard, I think of classroom management. I think proper classroom management is the key to success in a classroom. Students can not learn in an environment filled with chaos and a room that lacks consistency. I think the proper way to set the tone in the room is to treat students with respect but set the tone with high expectations.
Creating classroom and small group norms and posting them for the year is very important. I believe it is also important to come up with these rules/ norms together. That way the students know where the rules are coming from and why they are important. Having the norms posted and referring to them when behavior needs to be corrected enforces the norm for not just the behavior in question, but also just a got reminder for all students.
Holding students to high expectations in something I really believe in. Set goals with them (see blog post on SMART Goals) and find ways to work towards them together. Post or explain clear learning outcomes and goals and develop a plan. All the while, treating the students with respect whether or not they meet their goal. Students who are treated with respect tend to treat you and others with respect.
With this all being said, I still like to bring the element of fun in the classroom. It is very important to realize when it is time to work and be serious. There is a time and place for everything. Sometimes it may be strictly business but it doesn’t mean we can’t share some smiles and giggles along the way!
My Teaching Philosophy
Every morning I wake up, get ready, and go to school. Once I am there, I start organizing and preparing my lessons I have planned for my students for the day ahead. These lessons are specifically made for the 28 kids or so who will be sitting in front of me once the bell rings. These are not lessons I found in a book, where I read the script, make the copies, have them fill in the blank, and collect to enter in a grade book. These are lessons and activities I picked out or developed because I know these kids connect more with auditory and kinesthetic activities for example. These are lessons I changed and altered from the year before because these students are different than last years. These lessons are different because my students are changing, evolving, and growing up each week, day, and hour they are at school.
That is why I teach. I teach because everyday I come into my room I don't exactly know what the day will bring. I know I will be met with smiles, kids who might of forgot their homework, students who are a little confused with long division, and little ones who cannot wait to tell me all about the book they just finished.
In my classroom I teach grammar skills, I teach decoding, I teach math, science, and social studies. But more importantly in my classroom I teach students about respect. I teach them the importance of integrity. I teach them how to set goals and we go step-by-step to achieve them together. I instill in my students the importance of teamwork and caring about one another. Because one day you may really need to lean on someone and that is okay. I teach my students that even though you may not agree with someone all the time, it doesn't mean you cannot find some common ground.
When teaching different skills I approach each lessons with the concept “I do, we do, groups do, and then finally you do on your own.” The students are always supported either by me, some sort of visual or media, sentence frames, and their group members. I believe it is extremely important to incorporate group work daily. Working collaboratively is something students will do for their whole life. Not only is it a practical application, but the kids also get the opportunity to learn from one another.
Over the years I have been to some wonderful professional developments and I have read a lot of good teaching practice books. Instead of choosing one teaching model to follow, I have pulled bits and pieces from different models and incorporated them to work for each years group of students. I have pulled bits from Whole Brain Teaching, Gradual Release of Responsibility, The Daily Five, tips and tricks from Rick Morris and more. I use what works for my particular students at that particular time. I have found that this has worked for me. The students are always changing just as my teaching practices are.
Overall, I really love my job. I have the opportunity to teach someone something new and make their day brighter.
