safe and positive environment
Being able to stay positive and show confidence helps in the professional world. I want my students to know that no matter what they do I will never give up. I want them to know that it is alright to fail and we learn from it. I will share this with my class on the first day of school and will continue to tell them throughout the year. I will also be truthful with the kids and show when I mess up and fail so that they see that it is okay. Learning is different for every student. In my classroom I will teach that everyone can learn, some just may learn differently than you. My goal is to create a classroom where everyone feels confident in their abilities. I also want the students to be able to help everyone and cheer on everyone in the class. Below I go more in depth as to how I will work with students who may be in low SES household, have a disabilities, and/or be an English Language Learner.
Low ses
Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total that measures a person's work experience and an individual's or family's economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation. Student's that live in homes with a low SES may struggle more that other students in school. It has been shown that students who grow up in low SES homes have a smaller vocabulary count than those who do not. This gap is mainly because of exposure to text and words. To help these students I will give times where they can come in for extra help and explain that everyone in the class can come because we all need help sometimes. Another thing that I will do is have extra snacks for the students who cannot afford them. Many of the students come to school having no breakfast, making it hard to concentrate. By allowing them to have a snack this will help them pay attention because they do not have to focus on their hungry stomach.
students with disabilities
A big thing that I want to do with students who have a disabilities is to help build their confidence. Many of them lack confidence and I want to help them find it. I want to be a coach for my students, cheering them on in their academic and social life. I will have many one-on-one and group discussions on how to build confidence and what that looks like. My door will always be open and I will make sure my students, especially those with exceptional needs, know this. I want my students to be able to help each other gain more confidence and cheer on everyone. A big thing that I will push is finding what students can do, not what they cannot do. We will focus on finding things that they are good at so that they can see all their possibilities - not their limits.
English language learners
To help these students, I want to celebrate them and let them know that their culture is important. Throughout the year we will take time in class for each of the students to teach us about their cultures. During the year we can add things from their culture to our classroom so that we are continually thinking about the differences that bring us together. I will also be conscious of their abilities and understand that their social English will come a few years before they truly understand everything that we are talking about.
wow activity for the first week of school
Below is a WOW Activity that my group and I put together. We originally made it for middle school students but it can be adapted for younger students. During the first week of school I would do this WOW Activity to help students get excited about what we are going to learn in science. I can modify the different activities for the different units that we will be having. We had different stations for different experiments that related to the units that would later be taught. Click the links to gain more information.
maintaining a positive classroom environment
The best thing you can do for your students is to have consistency. To maintain a positive classroom environment throughout the whole year I will make sure to refer to the classroom rules, procedures, and our classroom positive sayings whenever necessary. The consequences for negative behavior will also be consistent throughout the year. Another thing that will help maintain positive behavior is to be 'strong' about everything at the very being of the year so that the students know their boundaries.
classroom diagram
Click the link below to see my classroom diagram.