Throughout my elementary and middle school career, I was always more attentive and willing to learn in a classroom that was cool, interesting, and a fun place to learn. Now that I am getting closer to becoming a teacher myself, I have been questioning myself how am I going to make my classroom a classroom that brought out the “good student” in me when I was younger. I know one thing is for sure, I will have a reading carpet. There will be no exceptions, I will have a reading carpet. I know how important read-alouds and independent reading is for literacy development. I loved my second grade classroom because of the reading carpet. I associated reading with that place, so when I arrived to the carpet, I knew I was going to listen to a story or read a story myself. I want to also have a colorful room full of information on the walls. Depending on my grade level, I am going to post appropriate material in a theme-designed room. The themes will most likely change monthly, to keep the students engaged. Although room design is very important, after reading chapter 13, I was aware of a few other important things to have when creating a learning environment conducive to learning.
This chapter was full of classroom management strategies that I found helpful for me to remember and utilize when I am a teacher. To create a strong learning environment, I will have to arrange the furniture in ways to encourage student interaction, while also trying to minimize possible distractions. Although having neat information on the wall, sometimes too much may be counter-productive for students to engage in thinking. I will constantly be communicating care and respect to my students. I want them to know I am a person they count on to be there for them everyday and to also love them unconditionally. I also want them to know when they step in Mr. Miller’s room, thinking will occur, and through that thinking, learning will take place. To make my classroom environment more conducive to learning, I will also be constantly assessing my students so I know exactly where each student is on their learning continuum. I want to have engaging discussions and assignments that will be specific for each student so my low learners and strong learners can learn at the same time. I will have a set of rules for my classroom and my students will be aware of the repercussions of not following the rules. I will use golden talk instead of garbage talk with my students, but I also want to follow through on my word. My students will respect me more as their teacher if I don’t fluctuate on the rules. I will be constantly watching my students to make sure they are always engaged in thinking and stay on topic. With using these strategies in my classroom, I am sure my classroom will be a great learning environment and a place full of students who constantly think.
I hate to have to deal with misbehaving students. Not because I hate misbehaving students, but I am just disappointed with how they act when I know they can act better. This chapter was a great tool for showing me effective classroom management tools. For example, I will be using two-way journals to communicate regularly with my students about academic, social, and emotional issues. This will be another tool to help me communicate my love for the students and also serve as a way to show more teacher approval. In my actions and my words, I will regularly show students that I am concerned about their academic progress and emotional well-being. I also want to make an extra effort to establish close, supportive relationships with students who seem to be unmotivated and socially disengaged. I know if I can show un-motivated students a good relationship, I know only positive things will come about. I will also use cueing techniques to help with students who have off-task behaviors. And finally, I want to show my students ways to have self-regulation and also hold them accountable for that. This will help my students to be able to use these strategies on their own so they can overcome an obstacle dealing with behavior.
This chapter was very informative and I am excited to use these strategies I learned in my classroom!
