summer 2009

What do you do during your summer vacation time? I may be the odd one out but right about the time school is winding down for the year my mind is winding up for the next year. I guess that's because things are fresh on my mind: successes and failures, what worked, what didn't, what I can do about it. I tend to read books on classroom management and methodology and look at websites and blogs of other teachers.

Last summer I read the book The First Six Weeks of School and even presented it through teacher inservice to the rest of the teachers in my building. Looking back at this year, I find that, although I was gungho to start, I needed to go through those notes again to refresh my memory. I wish I had. I'm sure the other teachers probably could've used a refresher course too.

Here are the notes from that presentation for you--and for me .

The First Six Weeks

A review

Intentions During the First Six Weeks:

• Create a climate and tone of warmth and safety.

• Teach the schedule and routines of the school day and our expectations for behavior in each of them.

• Introduce students to the physical environment, and materials of the classroom and the school and teach students how to use and care for them.

• Establish expectations about ways we will learn together in the year ahead.

Responsive Classroom Approach

• The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.

• How children learn is as important as what children learn.

• The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.

• Children need a set of social skills in order to be successful academically.

• Knowing the children we teach is as important as knowing the context we teach.

• Knowing the parents of the children we teach is as important as knowing the children.

• Teachers and administration must model the social and academic skills which they wish to teach their children.

Morning Meetings

• 4 components

– Greeting

– Sharing

– Group activity

– Morning message

Greeting

• Teach the children how to greet each other (without leaving anyone out)

– Simple: “Good morning ______.”

– Variations:

• With a handshake

• With a “high five”

• With a pinky shake

• With a touch on the shoulder

• With a wave

Group activities

• Songs:

– “Apples and Bananas”

– “This Old Man”

– “The More We Get Together”

– Any hello song

Morning Message—beginning of the year

• Kindergarten

Morning Message—beginning of the year

• Second grade

Morning Message—middle of the year

• Kindergarten:

Morning Message—middle of the year

• Second grade

Modeling

• Model every procedure

– How to carry chairs in the classroom

– How to line up at the door

– How to use the water fountain/washing station

– How to show that you are listening

– Etc.

• Have students practice

• Reinforce, remind, redirect when necessary

Establishing Rules

Rules fall into one of 4 categories:

• How we treat each other

• How we take care of things

• How we do our work

• How we keep the classroom safe

Apology of Action

Sometimes, saying “I’m sorry” just doesn’t cut it. A child who has hurt someone else’s feelings is required to come up with something that will make the other child feel better. It must fit the “Three R’s”: related, respectful, reasonable.

Conflict Resolution

The injured party must come up with an “I” statement:

“When you _______, I feel ________, because __________, so what I would like is _____________.” (keep this posted)

Student presents it to teacher 1^st then a meeting is set up with the two parties. Other person restates what they’ve heard and tells what they will do or not do again.

Handshake.

Logical Consequences

• A way of responding to misbehavior that is respectful of children and helps them take responsibility for their actions

• --The Three R’s—

– Related

– Respectful

– Reasonable

• Making reparations: “You break it--you fix it”

• Mishandling responsibility: more limits set (teacher takes back responsibility or limits use of something/ with supervision

• Time-out: when a child cannot control himself, teacher takes control—”take a break” (teach this procedure through role playing)

Logical Consequences

• “When we do everything correctly we are showing mastery. When we make mistakes, we have opportunities to learn. Mistakes are noble because in order to make them, we must take risks. It takes courage to step into an area in which we are not sure we will succeed and to try anyway. If we are to learn and grow, we must be willing to take those risks and make the inevitable mistakes. We do need to learn from our mistakes…”

• They’ll learn and grow by fixing mistakes when they make them.