Videos

Below is a pixelation video I made that expresses my thoughts on classroom management.  The video itself is a great example of a project that students could collaborate on in the classroom and it allows for the integration of many subjects. 

Following the pattern in the video:

1) Greet students at the door with their choice of a handshake or high-five.  This helps to initiate trust and is a great way to show your students that you care about them.

2) Arrange desks in groups (groups of 4, 5, and/or 6) and encourage collaboration among students as often as possible.  This is a benefit for students academically because they can receive extra help if they need it, and also provide insights.  Socially, it helps to build the community in the classroom and shows students that they can trust one another.  It also teaches them how to work together, how to play off of other student’s ideas and how to ask for help when they need it.

3) Creating a bio book is a wonderful way to start the year!  I will likely add pictures, talk about my family, where I have lived, and what my passions are.  This way my students can start getting to know me right away and also know that I am approachable.  I will then have my students create a bio book about themselves.  It can either be an in class project or something they can work on at home during the first week of class.  They can add photos, draw pictures, pull things from magazines or anything else that helps them express who they are.  The students will then present them to the class and this will take us one step closer to getting to know each other.

4) I am a huge proponent of hands-on learning.  It allows students to really get excited about their work which has two important benefits – 1) they will understand concepts on a much deeper level than simply memorizing information.  2) When students are interested in what they are doing, classroom distractions are kept to a minimum.

School gardens are a wonderful way to get students outside, connected to nature, and learning that all subjects in the classroom can be applied to aspects of daily life.  As an example, you can use a school garden to teach a lesson about nutrition, math, science or writing.

5) Classroom jobs help promote autonomy, teach responsibility and help the teacher keep up on work!  In the video, I created a sample job board and placed student names on clothespins.  The clothespins rotate each week and the student has a new job.  (Ideally I would have a job for each student and perhaps have a few job charts each with an overall theme).

6) I absolutely want my students to work together as a class to come up with classroom rules.  Putting a list up at the beginning of the year might not have much meaning because the students won’t really think about more than the words on the page.  But having an open discussion about what it means to be respectful and having students explain why it is important will help them understand why they should behave a certain way.  This will also help to start teaching students about being a global citizen.  Their input and thoughts are important and I don’t want them to just sit back and do what they are told.  I want them to think about why they are doing certain things and be open to talk about something they feel is unfair, or should be changed.  Student choice will be a main theme in my classroom and I will apply it to lessons as well .

7) The last item in the video focuses on using technology in the classroom.  I will use this in two ways – 1) student involvement 2) parent involvement.  Technology is everywhere these days and making sure that students are versed not only in the technical side of things, but the creative side as well is something I will promote.  I personally love to make films and look forward to passing my knowledge about this on to my students.  Films can be a great way to express an idea creatively as well as collaborate with others. 

Blogs are an excellent way for students to create a writing journal and add pieces from other media such as videos, newspaper articles etc.  Also, it should be noted that blogs can be kept private - they don’t have to be out there for the world to see and you can choose who has access.

Skype is a great tool and I would like to set-up Skype buddies from other classes around the country and around the world.  This is a way to help promote cultural diversity, teach students about geography, and much more!

Lastly, creating a blog for parents is a way to keep them updated on what is going on in the classroom.  You can post important messages, helpful resources or share work that the students are doing.