Entering the classroom - Students will put lunches, coats and backpacks away in their lockers outside the classroom. On the first day and through the first week, they will come in and find their name on a seat, find their mailbox, and find their cubby with supplies and books they want to read. I will greet all students as they arrive and give them 10-20 minutes to silent read while the class gets settled and I get things ready for my first lesson of the day.
After the first day, students will be able to choose what they table they want to sit at. Because of the flexible seating, they do not have arranged seating, and their cubbies and mailboxes are the places to keep their stuff - not cluttering the tables and distracting their peers.
Morning work - Students will silent read, write in their journal, or work on unfished work for the first 20 - 30 minutes of the day, while I take attendance.
Packing Up/Dismissal - Students will be dismissed by table group to pack up. They will line up once everyone is packed up, and I will walk them down to the spot where we meet parents. Any students taking the bus will leave before the whole group leaves the classroom. Once we spot a parent/caretaker, they will give me a high-five, and that will release them from my care.
Birthdays - The first day, I will ask each student if they celebrate their birthdays. If students do not, then I'll collect from each student the day they are born, and not make a big deal out of "birthdays", instead, making it more universal by it being the day each student came into the world. I'll have a calendar with these on the front of the room. For any students that have birthdays in the summer or when we're on a break, we'll celebrate a half birthday or a week before, so that they still feel special. On birthdays, the celebrations won't take up the whole day. At the end of the day, we'll play a game of the birthday student's choosing, and students will write notes to the birthday student saying what they like about having them in their class or as a friend, sharing a fun memory, whatever they want, and then we will share those on the circle rug at the very end of the day.
Holidays - I want to keep holidays as equitable as possible. I will let families know ahead of time when we will be talking about holidays, having lessons on holidays, celebrating birthdays or holidays, and how it will be done (as equitable as possible), so they can make the choice for their family what to do. I also want to talk about and celebrate holidays of students from different cultures and religions, such as Hanukah. Most holidays don't happen during a school day, so I immediately thought of Valentine's Day which is typically a school-day holiday. I won't have students bring homemade mailboxes to put Valentines' in. In fact, before the holiday, I will have students make their Valentines for everyone in class and then give them out in envelopes I provide. The students can decorate their envelopes and put their name on it however they want to make it personable.
Lining Up - Call table groups to line up. Once all students are lined up, "Are you standing nice and tall?" "Yes we are ready for the hall." The expectation is that they are not speaking, have hands to themselves, and follow proper hallway expectations.
Walking down the hallway - Students in front typically follow expectations and know where they are going, so most of the time I will stand in back through the hallway to make sure students are not goofing off and following hallway expectations. No talking and hands to yourself, as well as whatever the school policies entail. Line leader and door-holder will be classroom jobs.
Call to attention - "Okay 3rd graders, one, two, three, eyes on me . . ." "One, two, eyes on you!"
Bathroom - Can go at any time, without asking, but not during carpet time or when I'm teaching a lesson. Only 2 at once/1 boy, 1 girl. Must take a lei when they leave, and return it when they come back.
Snacks/water - any time without asking, except when I'm teaching a lesson.
Students leaving classroom - Whether going to the nurse, office, or whatever else, student must take a lei and return it when they come back. When running errands, students cannot go alone and must have a buddy they will not goof off with. Only 2 students can leave the classroom at a time. If 2 students are on an errand, no students can use the bathroom until they get back, and vise versa.
Classroom jobs - Change bi-weekly. I will choose students at random for the jobs, unless that student did it already. I may decide to give a student that needs some responsibility or work a particular area a specific job. For example, a student that does not meet hallway expectations on a regular basis may become the door-holder. Some of our jobs will be: Door holder (2nd in line), line leader, caboose )last in line and shuts off lights), answering phone ("Ms. Wisniew's room, student speaking"), teacher assistant, librarian, Pet caretaker, classroom custodian, etc. I will not have enough for every student to have a job at once. There will be times when students do not have jobs. But, when they don't, they are responsible for making sure they are cleaning up after themselves and managing their own behavior.
Flexible seating - Pick 1 spot and stay in that spot, clean up all materials, don't distract others, stay on task, respect materials.
Word of the Week - I'll pick a new word every week to be our word of the week. This will be a word that they don't commonly use in their vocabulary, but is either a favorite word of mine, a fun word, a weird word, or a word that corresponds to what we will be learning that week. If a student uses the word in context, and another student catches it, they can get a token.
Materials/supplies - Put them back when you're done, clean up after yourself, use what you have in your cubby (if you have your own pencil, don't use a classroom pencil).
Technology (chromebooks/iPads) - Put it back and plug it in when you're done, take turns (if necessary), only use your Chromebook (if 1:1), stay on task, respect the technology.
Transitions - silent, quick, clean up after yourself. I will have music (smooth jazz, classical, nothing with words), during transitions and students can try to beat the music and be done transitioning by the time the music is off.
Early Finishers - Silent read, work on homework, complete unfinished work.
Sharpening pencils - ok whenever necessary, unless during a test. Don't have to ask as long as it's necessary. Can't be done in the middle of a test. Before tests or other similar work, students will be asked to have multiple sharpened pencils available.
Answering questions - If I'm busy with another student, student must go to a peer to ask question. Can ask me when I'm available. Students are encouraged to ask each other first.
Workshop/independent work - pull students to kidney table that need extra help, data collected, to look over grades, monitor behavior, etc. All students will be given a list of things to complete - whether silent reading, writing they are working on, finishing a math test, etc. At the beginning of the year, students will be given things they can easily do alone and I will be available for help or with any questions, without pulling students.
Classroom library - Students can borrow books from the library during workshop or independent work time. When it is time to silent read, they are expected to have a book already. This is not the time to shop for a book. They must choose a book that is just right for them - at their reading level, on a topic they are interested in.
Silent Reading - not a time for perusing books; that can be done at other times. Students can sit wherever they like and must read for the full amount of time given. This is a silent time; no talking tolerated.
Homework - I don't believe in busywork; homework will be given over the weekend if necessary for the unit or project we are working on, or for students that need additional practice in a topic. Homework will be placed in mailboxes, and collected in a bin above the mailboxes. Students will be expected to read every night for a half hour. I understand that students often can't get around to this, or parents can't sign off that they did it; that's why I have so much time for students to just read and enjoy a book in my classroom.
Tattling/Disputes - My classroom does not tolerate bullying of any kind, rudeness, or not being a good friend. Everyone is welcome in my classroom and should feel safe to learn. However, I know that disputes will happen and so will tattling. Tattling will not be tolerated. If you aren't involved, don't get involved by telling me about it. I will teach my kids to solve their own problems - unless it's a big problem, they don't need to come to me every time. They are 3rd graders. They should be able to handle many recess disputes or arguments over classroom supplies on their own. Whenever something does get out of hand and I need to intervene, I may need to get the class's attention and then prompt everyone to work on something independently while I take some students out of the room to talk. I may also keep a student or multiple students in from recess or their specialist to talk, or think about what is going on.
Teacher Mailbox - This is where students can share excitements, concerns, whatever they have on their minds and hearts that they don't want other students overhearing.
Class groups/partnerships - when students are paired up for partnerships or placed in groups, they will say "Yay!" or "hurray!" no matter who their partner/group members are.
Turn & talks - look at your partner, listen to their words, speak so only your partner can hear, turn back to the front when done, wait quietly. If you don't have partner, ask a partnership to be a group of 3. If someone asks to be in your partnership, you always say "Yes!"
Turn-a-Card - Each student is given an envelope containing a green, blue, yellow, and red card. A child will use these cards to communicate their feelings. This way, I know where my class is at by a quick glance around the room and can redirect any students that are feeling frustrated or bored before they get out of control. Some students may choose not to use them, and only take accountability for their behavior at the end of the day, and some students may be asked (privately), what their color or zone is (or what it should be), for the way they are behaving, and what they need as help to get it back to the green zone.
Self-assessment - Students will be given journals/notebooks to record how they did at the end of the day. If they had a hard day, they will color the date (on a calendar on the inside), yellow or red. If they had a good day, they will color it green or purple if they had an outstanding day. They will also get a few minutes at the end to journal about what they did that day, how they felt about certain things, what they learned. They will be encouraged to be honest with themselves because this is for their eyes (and mine & their parents, later on), only.
Tokens - Students will be given a token (fake gold coin), to place in a jar when they do something that exceeds expectations, uses the word of the week, etc. Once the jar is filled, the whole class gets a reward (such as party, class snacks, extra recess). Also the procedure will be taught for whatever the school-wide motivation system is.
Consequences - yellow zone/red zone - send a note home, call home, principal's office, depending on severity of misbehavior. Something like not following directions all day or being asked multiple times to do something may result in a note home, and something as severe as bullying, throwing desks, or hitting another student may result in all three.
Conferences - I will do student-led conferences when I can. Students will be expected to attend the conference with their parents. Anything that is concerning that needs to be discussed will have already been brought up to the family and discussed as necessary. Students will have portfolios of the work they have been doing, projects, artwork, etc. (worst and best), and will talk their parent(s) or caregiver(s) through what they have been learning.
Procedures that happen every day will be practiced as often as necessary, and many, many times throughout the first week. After a long break, Monday morning, before and after a sub, or when necessary, procedures will be reviewed, practiced, and modeled.
Classroom Rules
Chosen by students during first week.
Rules that I will add:
We are Kind
We are Respectful of Materials and Others
We Care, we Share
We Love to Learn
We will do our Best
School rules/expectations - will be discussed and posted somewhere in the classroom.
Rules will be discussed often or as necessary when students break them. After a long break, Monday morning, before and after a sub, or when necessary, rules will be revisited and modeled.
Teacher Expectations
Chosen by students on first day.
Some I might add:
I will always listen to you
I will always stand up for you
I will always be FOR you, never against you
I will always help you succeed
I will always help you learn
I will always help you do your best
I will make mistakes
I will learn with you
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