Student Ownership

In a previous post, On Purpose, I explained how our classroom works as a community.  This week our Kindness Captain (another blog post) created some new signs and even had the students sign one of them.  Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but it also lets a teacher know that the students internalized and valued the activity we did in class.  Whenever a student shows you they made something for the classroom, and they want to hang it up in the classroom, let them.  Do not be in control of your classroom decor--it is their classroom, too.

Sticker Madness

Staying current on popular trends with students is important to help develop relationships.  I talk about the latest video games, play the latest music, add You Tube/Snap Chat/Tik Tok to my lessons.  One current trend that brings me back to my own childhood is the sticker collecting.  Students have the opportunity to choose stickers for random reasons in my classroom.  It might be for helping a classmate, using manners, having an organized cubby, or just because I feel like it.  They are NOT linked to behavior.  Throughout the week I make sure every student receives one.

*Warning:  make sure you always look carefully through stickers sets to remove any that are inappropriate for school-age children.

Most students put their stickers on their water bottles, but some stickers have shown up at fun places around the classroom!  I love that the students are comfortable enough in OUR classroom to add their stickers to enhance the environment.  

Don't miss out on the Among Us video game trend right now.  If you know about this game and you can use the vocabulary from it, you can get students excited about anything!  I picked this bag of stickers up at a discount store this weekend and I cannot wait to show my learners.  I know they will be excited.

 

On Purpose

 

I like my classroom to feel inviting, relaxing, safe, and purposeful. I totally appreciate the time, money, and effort teachers put into a perfectly decorated classroom. I choose each object in my classroom for a purpose. These framed quotes are not hung on the wall for decoration. They were used in class meeting as a discussion point. Afterwards students signed their names on the quote they felt most motivated by. Now we have a record of something we all believe in as a class.