Standard II
Teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of learners.
Social Contract
At the beginning of the school year, my students and I worked together to create a social contract. The social contract is a list of expectations the students and myself create for ourselves. All students sign the contract and I refer to the social contract frequently in order to hold students accountable and remind them of the expectations they created.
Positivity Project
The Positivity Project is a character education and social emotional learning curriculum that empowers students to build positive relationships and teaches them important character strengths. I use this curriculum in my classroom to teach my students character strengths, how to be leaders, and how to build healthy relationships. One way we celebrate students who demonstrate the characters strengths taught are through positive office referrals.
Flexible Seating
In my classroom students have flexible seating. I firmly believe in order for students to learn, they need to be comfortable. My students can sit in chairs, stools, cushions, on the desk or on the floor, as long as they are focused on their work.
Students also have the choice to sit at a white board table.
Classroom Library
In order to establish a respectful environment for my diverse population of students, I created a diverse classroom library. The books in my classroom library are suitable for a wide range of learners and interests. I also make time during class to read aloud to my students, as I believe read alouds help students become stronger readers.
Capturing Kids Hearts
Capturing Kids Hearts is a school wide program. I positively greet each student in the morning, we share good things to start our day, and there is always a welcome message on the TV.
Classroom Jobs
Classroom jobs are a way to not only teach my students responsibility, but it also helps them feel like they have a role in our classroom.
Collaborative Equity Conversation
At East Garner Elementary, there is a large focus on student equity. I participated in a collaborative conversation with educators from both East Garner Elementary and Aversboro Elementary, where we focused on how to be more equitable in our schools and how to teach equity to our students.
Cultural Research Project
During module 3 of EL, students learn how to research. To tie in the reading/writing standards to social studies, students completed the Cultural Research Project. Students were tasked with researching the culture of another country, which helped them not only learn about other cultures in the world, but also cultures represented in our classroom. I've had the privilege of teaching students from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Kenya, and Trinidad. I have also taught students who are new to the United States and do not speak any english.