Classroom Management 

Movement in the classroom creates a positive learning environment and contributes to many educational benefits. When students bodies are moving intentionally, they are alert and ready to learn. I love to integrate movement into any aspect of my lessons possible, as movement is something I strongly believe in being incoporated in education. Whether it is a planned out movement activity associated with math or language arts, or a quick jump of a movement break the most important part is that students are active. Movement can be differentiated for all students to be included and I strongly believe that this should be the case. When students are moving, they are learning.   

Supporting Article: Making Movement a Part of Your Classroom Culture

Daily Welcome: Welcoming your students is the first thing of the day. Becuase of this you as the teacher set the tone for the day. In my student teaching classroom, I would always give the students a hug or high five as they entered the classroom telling them that I am so glad they are here today. This positive interaction right off the bat creates a positive essence in the classroom. Along with a hug or high five, I allow the students to tell me exciting news or things they got to do the night before. This shows them that I truly care about getting to know them as a person and not just as a student. After the weekend, we take time as a class for everyone to share out something fun they did! This creates a positive classroom community and allows students to learn about thier friends as well as the teacher to learn more about each student!

Shared Goals: When teachers and students have similar goals, learning will take place. At the beginning of the year, my CT creates a community agreement where students make the rules for their classroom and help the teacher and their classmates know what they want their learning to look like. This is impotant to do even at a young age, because it helps students take ownership of their learning and actions. When we have shared goals, we can write them on a sheet of paper and have everyone sign it. When I transitioned to full time teacher, we revisited these community guidelines and I even signed the sheet to show the students I was on the same page as them and that we are a team.

Incorporating Interests: Incorporating students' interests into daily lessons is a way to create a strong classroom community. One way to find out student interests is through daily share outs, this or that activities, or even interests inventories that can be done in class or be sent home for families to complete. When we know our students' interests, we are again showing them we care about them as humans. It is easy to switch names in story problems you make up or choose read alouds that incorporate interests. Something as small as this makes a large impact in the relationships and connections you make with your students along with the connections they make with their peers. 

Student Choices: Offering students choices gives them an opportunity for ownership. When we give them choices that don't have a large impact on our day, it makes them feel special. Two examples of choices I give my students are "Would you like to write with pencil or pen?" and, "Would you like to write on your whiteboard or paper?" These choices have no effect on my life or my teaching,  but they can make a student's experience fun. Finding small opportunities to give choice hhelps the students know that their input matters!

Daily Affirmations: Daily affirmations build confidence in students which builds a confident, kind, and caring classroom community. When students know that you believe in them, they can believe in themselves. Included is a short repeat after me video that my first graders loved! Changing the affirmations to what you feel as though your class needs and you leading them as their teacher also creates a positive impact on self-esteem and overall community. 

• Supporting Video: Positive Affirmations for Kids 

Classroom Callbacks: Classroom callbacks are a way to gain students attention rapidly. These callbacks can be taught at the beginning of the year or progressively throughout the year! In my student teaching classroom my favorite callbacks are when I say "class class" and students respond with "yes yes," I clap and students mimic that clapping pattern, or I count down from "3, 2, 1" and students say "and we're done." There are countless callbacks you can implement in your classroom. Students should be taught that after they call back, their voices are off and ready for the next dierction. Choosing callbacks that incorporate students' interests and that students enjoy is a great way to build a positive community! Attached is a list of may callbacks that I can implement in my future classroom!

• Supporting Document: 51 Engaging Classroom Call-Backs to Use With Your Students

What is motivation?: Motivation in the classroom put into simple terms is what drives students to work and learn. There are two types of motivation that I observe in the classroom, and they are called intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is an "inside motivator." What motivates students internally? Extrinsiv motivation are extenal factors that motivate students. In youger grades, extrinsic motivation is highly prevalent; however, we must work on helping our students becme intrinsically motivated as they grow ad get older. Below are a few examples of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation I have observed and implemented in my classroom. 

Intrinsic: I see a handful of students demonstrate intrinsic motivation in our classroom. I would classify my group of students I have right now as a highly motivated bunch of kids. These students are intrinsically motivated in the fact that they work hard becuase they want to learn. I know that they want to learn because they ask detailed questions to deepen their thinking. They practice their spelling words during indoor recess without being asked to learn new words. They practice their math flashcards independently and willingly so they are able to complete challenging problems. Many of my students tell me goals they have created themselves, and we are able to formulate a plan for success. The students execute these plans becuase they are intrinsically motivated. Without this motivation, they would not make as much gains as I have witnessed this quarter. At the beginnign of the year, it is important for teachers to teach students about goal setting which results in excitement and the drive to work hard in the classroom. 

Extrinsic: Extrinsic motivation involves students recieving something in return for their hard work. At my elementary school, we give out PAW awards for being safe, respectful, and responsible leaders. Schoolwide, we have Snow PAW awards and work to fill up a large bucket for a prize day (hat day, pj day, wacky day, etc...). These token economy systems have a positive impact on the behaivors and learning of our students. To take the PAW awards a step further, my classroom has a desk pet shop. Students are able to turn in PAW awards in exchange for a desk pet and accessories. These desk pets and accessories are erasers in the shapes of animals, food, clothes, etc that parents donate to our classroom. Students are able to play with their desk pets when they are demonstrating positive behaviors or at indoor recess. Desk pets are something I would love to implement into my classroom, as the students work hard to learn in exchange for time with their desk pet! Finding extrinsic motivators that are beneficial and not overdone in the classroom is important to avoid satiation. Giving students something special after they work hard helps them continue working hard!

Shared Conflict-Resolution Language: Having a set guideline on how to respond to someone when we are feeling an overwhelming feeling is a useful tool for young elementary students. When something makes us upset, my classroom uses "I" statements. These statements do not put the blame on others; however, they just let our peers know how we are feeling. This healthy way of responding compared to an angry response helps keep our classroom calm and respectful. 

Supporting Article: "I" Messages or "I" Statements

Tattling Turtle: Tattling turtle is a behavior management system that I would like to implement into my future classroom. This system involves a stuffed animal turtle, a box, and slips of paper. Instead of studets coming up to the teacher during the day with tattles, they can write them on a slip of paper and place them in the box. As the teacher, we can periodically check the box taking note of any issues that need to be addressed. We can then address the issues that are prominenet; however, if there are silly tattles, the turtle will take care of them.