Children who are engaged in their work are on-task and learning. When students work with a variety of learning materials, people, and ideas, dendrites in the brain begin connecting and cognitive growth occurs. This is one of the main reasons I host daily reading and math stations with standards-based, seasonal activities. The brain fuels itself on oxygen in the blood, and when children move about while tackling various tasks throughout the day, more oxygen is pumped through the bloodstream, greatly increasing the chance of students remembering whatever it is we are learning at the time. This is why you will walk into our classroom and find us practicing the alphabet using American Sign Language and dancing and singing as we spell high frequency words, count to 100, learn our shapes, and about a million other things. Practicing in this way does not make perfect...it makes permanent.
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| We learn alphabet letters and sounds through sign language (alligator and bear are featured in the images above). Still images from SignToMe Video. |
Everyone learns at different rates and in different ways. With this in mind, my lessons follow the gradual release of responsibility method (I do, we do, you do). This gives students the opportunity to hear direct instruction from their teacher, practice the information with classmates, and demonstrate learning by working on their own. This style of teaching allows each student to work at his/her own level, rather than being dependent on the group. This is especially vital for students in need of backtracking a bit in order to master a skill, as well as for those ready to move forward.
Spirit of Community
I believe in building a strong sense of community in the classroom. Positive relationships mean a lot to me, and by building a bond with each student, I am able to reach their learning needs, help them make connections between their behavior and consequences, and foster a love of learning. We have multiple jobs and a "leader of the day" in the classroom each day. This is an awesome empowerment tool I use to give a bit of ownership to students. In doing so, an environment is created that gives children time to practice being responsible, respectful, and safe. It is inspiring to watch a classroom of young children step into a leadership role and help peers in need of a boost! We all need a little boost from time to time.
Encouragement
I believe in encouraging children to be positive in the lives of others. In order to pull this off, I make a point to praise as many "put ups" I see and hear each day. "Put ups" are things people do and say to help others. (They are the opposite of "put downs".) I am mindful to encourage each child throughout the day. In our classroom, we call this "filling buckets". We have a small bucket that collects warm fuzzies (puff poms) throughout the week. Warm fuzzies are given to students when they do something that is bucket filling, meaning it makes someone happy or is helpful to others. Once the bucket is full, we have a class party. Research within the field of education shows children are more successful in school when educators make a point to give three to five encouraging statements for every redirection / reprimand. It is incredible to see little learners find ways to problem solve with others when they are encouraged to do so. It makes my heart happy to watch it unfold throughout the school year!
