Building a Classroom Discussion Community

With this tool it’s something that you would be using at the start of the year. Taking time through out the first week to get to know your students and getting your students to get used to talking and sharing their ideas with each other. Getting them used to how it is you are hoping to be running a discussion based classroom. This will be helpful on trying to get the students to be used to sharing their ideas and listening to those ideas from all of their classmates.

Positive Letters and Phone Calls

With these letters or phone calls home it allows an insight for the parents to see how their children are doing in the class. As well that a phone call or letter home isn’t always a negative thing for the students and it also allows the parents feel like they are also knowing what is going on in the classroom.

Fork and Spoon

This tool is a great activity that can be used in the classroom to encourage students to work as a team. For this activity, students will attempt to pass a fork in one direction, and a spoon in the other, keeping the chain going in each direction. This activity helps build positive relationships in the classroom, which benefits their overall learning.

Cool Down Stroll

This tool is used when a student has a breakdown in class or is not following classroom rules. The student is asked and has the choice to take a stroll in the hallway with an adult. The adults that are available to assist this student are paraprofessionals or counselors. It’s helpful because the student can express feelings to the adult and escape the environment, they were just in. It really helps the students calm down.

You Rock

This tool is helpful because it celebrates the student’s success no matter how well they do. It is also super helpful because it is a common language and procedure within the class so when you say give Johnny 3, all the children know exactly what to do. The ever-changing cheers are very fun but, it is sometimes hard for them to remember all the details of every cheer which leads to only part of the class participating. This cheer is also very simple and quick.