Building a Community of Learners
Every student needs...
RespectEvery student needs to…
I promote this by…
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Being respectful is a lifelong skill that is encouraged by raising hands when someone is speaking. By promoting a respectful environment students feel comfortable taking risks and speaking in front of the class. When students present before the class, all students are given extra reminders about being respectful. This helps to build the presenter’s confidence.
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Our class honors a different student each week as a Star of the Week. This is a great opportunity for students to realize similarities among peers which encourages relationships and builds confidence.
I invite students to Buddy Lunch with small groups of peers to help foster meaningful relationships with each student.
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Individual Value
Every student needs to feel…
I promote this by….
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Responsibility
Every student needs…
I promote this by…
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This student is demonstrating responsibility as she carefully measured ingredients and now mixes her play-doh.
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When students complete an assessment or task, they are expected to make a quiet choice. Students may read, write, complete additional math practice sheets, or complete the option written on the board. Each week, the assignment is changed. Students enjoy being able to use classroom resources and their imagination to complete these tasks. This student is researching China for her dream vacation destination because her family is Chinese.
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ExpectationsExpectations need to be…
I promote this by…
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Parent Involvement
I encourage parents to be involved in their child’s schooling as much as possible. There are many different ways to promote this.
Weekly newsletters are one way to keep busy parents informed about what their child is learning and important dates. I often included basic definitions and explanations that students learned at school to help encourage parents to use this vocabulary at home with their child.
Many parents love to participate in class parties and field trips. This gives parents the opportunity to become familiar with everyone in our classroom. It is also very helpful to have extra support during these busy and exciting experiences.
Asking for parent volunteers is a great way to have students receive additional support from an adult. This also gives parents the opportunity to be more involved with their child’s learning.
Weekly newsletters are one way to keep busy parents informed about what their child is learning and important dates. I often included basic definitions and explanations that students learned at school to help encourage parents to use this vocabulary at home with their child.
Many parents love to participate in class parties and field trips. This gives parents the opportunity to become familiar with everyone in our classroom. It is also very helpful to have extra support during these busy and exciting experiences.
Asking for parent volunteers is a great way to have students receive additional support from an adult. This also gives parents the opportunity to be more involved with their child’s learning.
Interactions with Other Classrooms
It is important to create a sense of community within the school. Students need to feel safe and valued outside of the classroom.
Working in partners, students created presentations that included everything they learned during our matter unit. Students presented their knowledge with a small group of third graders. The third graders gave positive feedback and suggestions.
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I completed this bulletin board with another intern and both of our classes wrote notes. Students wrote letters to other students in the school to thank them for something nice they had done. This was a great way to show appreciation to our friends in other grades and other classrooms. Students who wrote notes felt proud to share their thankfulness with the school. Students’ faces would light up when they saw their names in a letter on the bulletin board.
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