Using Emojis to Promote Classroom Community

Emojis have become their own language and one that we can incorporate into the classroom to promote classroom community. Emojis offer a meaningful way to communicate without words. Using Emojis can have a large impact in the classroom depending on how they are used and especially when used by children who sometimes struggle to put their ideas into words. Here is a round up of how you can use Emojis in your classroom to promote classroom community all year long.

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Building a Classroom Community

Teachers have an important task at the beginning of each school year - to help the students in their classroom become a cohesive unit that can truly work together as the year progresses.  It's important to me that my students feel like our classroom is a family, where they are loved and accepted, safe and respected. Developing a positive classroom community takes time, but it is time well-invested. Follow these tips to build a positive community in your own classroom this year! 

BE INTENTIONAL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP BUILDING.

Research has even shown that a teacher's relationships with her students has a greater impact on student learning than the teacher's content knowledge! In other words, it doesn't matter how much you know if your students don't know how much you care about them. Relationship-building should be intentionally built into your classroom through lessons and activities. It can be tempting to think we don't have the time to "waste" on relationship-building, but that's just not true! It's so important.

FOCUS ON BECOMING A FAMILY.  

All students (and people in general) have a deep, psychological need to belong. They need to know they are accepted and valued by the teacher and other students in the class.  One of my favorite ways to help my classroom feel more like a family is to have Family Meetings at the beginning and end of the day. I bring students together in a circle in the mornings and afternoons to have group discussions, solve problems we may be experiencing, and share positive affirmations. Some people have these meetings only once a week, but my students are most responsive when I host them every day. We begin and end the day together on the carpet. I lead the meetings at the beginning of the year, but then teach students how to take over ownership. In time, the students learn the protocol for how a family meeting is held and are leading them out. This time is really cherished by the students!

TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO INTERACT AND BUILD AFFILIATIONS WITHIN SMALL GROUPS. 

In order for students to truly work together in cooperative learning groups, they need to have time to get to know their team members more closely. This is why teambuilding activities are so important! Teambuilding Activities encourage students get to know one another better and develop positive peer affiliations.  Teambuilding is truly the foundation for cooperative learning tasks to be successful because it helps students learn how to interact within small groups. The first few weeks back in school are crucial for students to engage in teambuilding activities.  Some ideas for teambuilding activities include: 

• Team Motto/Mascot/Pennant/Shirt/Slogan, etc - Have students work as a team to design something and be prepared to explain the meaning behind what they designed. This is a great activity for table groups or teams that will be working together more often. 


• 2 Facts and a Fib -  This one is so much fun! Each person has to write down 2 facts and 1 fib about himself or herself. The team has to agree on what they think the fib is, then share out. I always model this one out at the teacher first, and I stump them every time! ("Yes, guys, I really was born during an earthquake, and no, that wasn't the fib!")

TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO INTERACT AND BUILD AFFILIATIONS AS A WHOLE CLASS. 

Teambuilding is a great way to teach students how to interact with one another in small groups, but Classbuilding intentionally teaches them how to interact with one another as a whole group. It is important to help your students build a class identity while still valuing the differences that make each student a unique member of the class. So often, they will form strong group bonds, so we need to get them out of their seats and interacting with people they don't always talk to! These activities are a fun way to mix up the class and get students building connections with new people. 

• Line ups - Line ups have students line up in order of shoe size, birthdays, number of siblings, from tallest to shortest, etc. Fold the Line Up for a fun discussion. Just have students at one end "fold the line" by walking back to the other end so each student is standing in front of another, then have them chat about a specific topic.


• Four Corners - Assign each corner a statement, such as Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Somewhat Disagree, Strongly Disagree. Then read out statements and have students self-select which corner best describes their opinion on the topic. They can chat with members in the same corner about what they have in common or share out why they identify with that statement. 

You May Also Like: 

• Building Positive Classroom Culture - Learn the one magic ingredient for positive classroom culture, as well as specific guidelines and strategies to implement
• 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Day Teaching - Learn from my mistakes so you can be better prepared for the unexpected things on your first day in the classroom! 
• How to Mentally Prepare for Your First Year Teaching - Practical ideas on how you can get ready this summer for your new teaching position!
• 10 Classroom Routines You Need Immediately - Have you overlooked these 10 important classroom routines? 

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9 Ways to Involve Families of ESL Students

Our classrooms are becoming more diverse every day, and with diversity comes struggles to include everyone in the educational process. Communication can be one of the biggest struggles when working with an ESL family, but it is vital that we include not only the student, but their whole family in our classrooms. Following are 9 tips for involving ESL families in your classroom through communication and inclusive activities.

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Developing a Growth Mindset One Student at a Time

 

Think back to your elementary years, your middle school years, and then your high school years. What was the little voice in your head saying to you about your abilities, your strengths, and your value as a human being? What were other kids or teachers saying to you about your abilities and your challenges? Likely, it was during these formative years that your beliefs about your own potential and capabilities developed. Sadly, research shows us that children feel less and less capable of achieving success as they get older. In fact, by the time students reach third grade, nearly half of them don't believe that their brain and intelligence can grow and change. They believe that their intelligence is fixed regardless of their effort to change it.

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Using Humor to Build Classroom Community

Are you looking for an easy, no-prep way to build your classroom community through shared experiences? Look no further than your corniest jokes, popular memes, and hilarious YouTube videos!

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How to End Your Week On a High Note: A Friday Favorite!

By the time Friday rolls around, I  think it's safe to say that we all need a break-students and teachers alike. However, there is also a hint of excitement when Friday morning arrives, with the promise of the weekend in close sight. In Room 65, however, the excitement is tangible. Students arrive with smiles on their faces, conversation is abuzz with excited whispers, and everybody has a little extra pep in their step.

"Why?" you ask. I'll tell you why---it's "END OF THE WEEK AWARDS" ceremony day! The moment all of my kids wait for and talk about endlessly all week long.

A few months ago, I began thinking about my end of the year awards. I took a moment to think about each student's strengths and began mentally assigning them awards as the end of the year draws closer.

Once I began thinking about the awards, I felt myself becoming anxious and impatient, wanting so desperately for the day to come. Then, I thought, "Why wait?" And, my friends...a star was born.

End of the Week Awards are specific motivational certificates to recognize student successes during the week. We hold a Friday awards ceremony during our morning meeting, but these awards really can be used anytime. It just makes it a little more special and important to look forward to a formal ceremony every Friday morning.

There are over 25 awards with a wide range of recognitions. I have even created a checklist to keep track of which students get the awards every week so I can space them out fairly and make sure all students are rewarded regularly.

Prep is SO easy. I keep a binder of all awards with a few copies of each one in separate sleeves. Every Friday morning, I flip through the binder and pop a few out that I want to use.

Another plus? This is a great character-building routine. As I announce each award, I give an example of what the student has done to earn that award. Throughout the week, I recognize behavior that is award-worthy. It makes students aware of their choices and reminds them of their goals in the classroom.

Easy, exciting, and motivating--what more could you want in a Friday morning? :)

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Group Soup-A Wonderful Way To Start Your School Day

Stories.

Songs.

Surveys.

Book Sales

Teacher-To-Student Conversations.

These are the ingredients that get mixed into my "Morning Meeting," an integral part of my daily classroom routine.

Step into my "kitchen" now while I explain how to best cook up a worthy combination of 

learning fun and establish a positive classroom culture.

Despite the maddening emphasis on using every single minute in our school schedule for rigorous data-gathering, skill-drill, and test prep, I continue to close my door at 9:20 a.m. and call my students to the carpet for our morning serving of "Group Soup."  I call it my "Little House on the Prairie" time.  We use no technology.  We sing familiar folk songs.  We share news about what the tooth fairy brought last night and adventures with new puppies.  We read favorite stories.  They talk. I listen. We are like a family from long ago, gathered around a fireplace or the dinner table.  If you ask my second graders, they will tell you it is their favorite time of our day. It is mine too.

Speaking.

Listening.

Laughter.

Singing.

Thinking.

Writing.

These are all flavorful elements that are products of the focused, collaborative, comfortable, and authentic activities included in our daily Group Soup.  They are the perfect way to start the day, and set the tone for all of the learning that follows.

In order to host an effective Group Soup, you must make room for and create a large space where your students can sit comfortably on the floor.

Our morning meeting follows our "bell-ringer" work so using chants, cheers, and familiar call-response phrases helps my students transition from their desks to our gathering area.  One of their favorite signals is when I use my megaphone and say.....

"Calling all second grade friends!  Calling all second grade friends!

Please report to the carpet!  Do not pass go!  Do not collect $200 dollars!"

Yes, it is silly.  But it is effective and gets their attention!

I then wait for them in my Junie B. Jones rocking chair with a favorite picture book to share, with my guitar waiting in the wings to lead our daily sing-a-long.  The stories are usually by a featured author or illustrator like Jan Brett, Mo Willems, or Patricia Polacco.  The songs are usually movement-based to get our wiggles out and reinforce rhyming skills like Raffi's Shake Your Sillies Out and Willaby Wallaby.  Sometimes we write our own "piggyback" style songs based on our current theme or unit of study.  Next week we will change "I've Been Working On The Railroad" to "I've Been Looking For A Leprechaun" as we get ready to enjoy lots of St. Patrick's Day fun! 

I also try to incorporate a survey of some kind using our "Thinking Chart" to gather student opinions and ideas for us to discuss and analyze.  Nothing like integrating Math graphing skills whenever possible, right?  Student responses to our "Question of the Day" served as a springboard to our Social Studies lesson about American heroes like Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride.  We then compared their character traits to those of the fictional superheroes we read about in comic books and see on T.V.

Before we wrap up our Group Soup time and move on to Word Work, I act as a "scribe" while the students dictate our Daily News.  We talk about grammar rules, descriptive words, transitional words, parts of speech, and correct format as we write, and then re-read it together for fluency practice and expression. Students then take turns taking it home to share it with their families.

The last ingredient of our Group Soup time is a "book commercial," where I pull a picture book from our "Teacher Favorites" shelf and preview the pictures and plot.  After I am done "selling the story," I pull a student name stick and they have the honor of putting the book in their Read To Self box to enjoy later!  Believe me, the child whose name is drawn acts and feels like they've won a million dollars in a lottery drawing!

If you'd like to begin your classroom day the "Group Soup" way, I've created a set of planning sheets to help you get started.  The sample here maps out my plan for Monday of this coming week, where we will begin our exploration of all things leprechaun-related!

Click {HERE} to grab your  FREE "recipe" cards!

As always, thank you for allowing me to share my story!   

May today's post remind you of the importance of stepping away from the "fray" of your school day and starting it in a relaxed and joyful way!

Your students need and deserve it, and so do you!

Continue to hold a song in your heart, keep calm, and teach on!

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