What does Classroom Community Look Like & Sound Like? by Melissa Hess

Greeting students at door

mhess1_17 — 2024-09-16 12:17:30 UTC

Cultivate active listening

2024-09-18 14:57:58 UTC

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Protocols for shared responsibility/ies in the classroom

provide different kinds of opportunities to show mastery

2024-09-18 14:59:17 UTC

Balance between teacher instruction and collaborative work

2024-09-18 15:00:33 UTC

_Reflective Rainbows

Grouping students with intention

2024-09-18 15:00:46 UTC

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Learning each other's names and insisting students use each other's names correctly

Roberta the ReflectiRaptor Says:

2024-09-18 15:01:08 UTC

Give students rolls within small groups - gives each student value and a chance to share ideas.

2024-09-18 15:04:56 UTC

Ask students to build on another's comments or who can help a person with their response when struggling (during class conversations)

2024-09-18 15:06:10 UTC

Provide conversation stems, especially when it comes to critiques

2024-09-18 15:38:55 UTC

Creating opportunities for group reflection after assessments. Encourages vulnerability and accountability.

Celebrating when students take risks and show vulnerability

Class Lookbook!

2024-09-18 15:39:37 UTC

Each student has a slide that they fill out with their pronouns, words to describe them, fav movie/tv, what they like to do for fun and what they are dedicating their year for. Each day for our bell ringer, we have 2 students present and then students (or myself) ask follow up questions. It's a nice way for students to make connections and for me to learn more about them as individuals.

Communicating w/ students what we are doing in class and why. Acknowledging when I am asking them to do difficult things.

2024-09-18 15:40:13 UTC

Busy Bees

2024-09-18 15:40:16 UTC

Change groups often so that students get to know one another well and feel comfortable talking to each other.

celebrating effort and progress

2024-09-18 15:42:45 UTC

In our band classes, students are regularly encouraged to play alone in front of the group to demonstrate their learning at various points throughout the process. Kids do a great job celebrating effort and growth of their bandmates by shuffling their feet. We also give feedback to one another giving everyone opportunity to build up our band. Shared agency of our collective success!

Having students work toward a Class Playlist on Friday

2024-09-18 17:13:14 UTC

At the beginning of the year, students worked with classroom adults to develop shared expectations in a Class Contract. If they follow the classroom norms throughout the week, I post a Class Playlist suggestion box on classroom where they can post music they're enjoying/listening to. We listen to the playlist during independent work on Friday. The suggestions are anonymous and help students connect with each other over shared music interests, as well as discover new music they like.

Classroom Rituals and rewards

2024-09-18 17:14:32 UTC

Fun games, riddles

New way to create class norms

2024-09-18 17:14:34 UTC

Synonyms for expectations in the class (i.e., the SOAR acronym) & break down how to do each, thus creating classroom norms

Elevating Private Questions

2024-09-18 17:14:48 UTC

Though the floor had been open, no students asked public questions. Shortly after, a student asked a very helpful question that would benefit many. I told the student I wanted to address the question with everyone and asked permission to use her name to model one way of elevating a question safely. (This could have been addressed anonymously as well.)

Classroom Community

2024-09-18 17:15:31 UTC

Asking students about their lives - how their sports team/extracurricular activities are going

Fun questions in weekly reflection questions

Talking about class norms

Making sure they introduce themselves to eachother

Birthday Celebrations

2024-09-18 17:18:56 UTC

Give students a little birthday card for their bday

Risk-Taking Raptors: Creating a classroom playlist for students to listen to while doing independent work

2024-09-19 15:02:17 UTC

Risk-taking Raptors: Intentional group seating to facilitate think-pair-share, turn & talk, etc. more easily

2024-09-19 15:02:50 UTC

Open-Minded Arachnids

2024-09-19 15:05:55 UTC

Show & Tell

Beginning of class check-in questions

Beginning of year ice breakers

Quick emotional check-ins during stretches

Tangram puzzles with partners

Goal of breaking fear of speaking with others (especially keeping our ELLs in mind)

The Empathetic Elephants Say...

2024-09-19 15:07:04 UTC

We discussed classroom culture in our rooms: Encouraging students to help each other and self reflect on their behavior through use of class created norms. Students create the culture in the room by responding to each other, etc. We model how they should carry out those interactions and encourage them to interact postively.

Principled Prancing Pigs

2024-09-19 15:07:08 UTC

Classroom set up in pods to have community, strategically seating students based on academic and social needs, establishing norms before discussions, check ins about the week or friendly banter- find things we can relate to their interest like sports

Inquiring Edu-Gators

2024-09-19 15:08:50 UTC

-Having students share the ideas of their peers instead of their own idea when they share out to the whole class.

-In a language class, give each student a name in the course language

Communicating Catchers

bggiannetos — 2024-09-19 15:09:01 UTC

Random pairing and grouping of students to build peer to peer relationships and classroom culture.

Caring Care Bears say:

2024-09-19 15:59:40 UTC

Norms are established, everyone introduces each other at the beginning of the year, and give plenty of opportunities for all students to interact with each other throughout the year in various types of activities.

Reflective Racecars

2024-09-19 16:00:55 UTC

1) Establishing Norms and providing space to get to know each others names.

2)Classroom contract with norms and accountability as well as shared goals that require a community process.

3) Community SEL check ins. That are established in different work groups.

4) Small groups where kids are able to work and socialize before bringing work to whole class.

Open-Minded Skies

2024-09-19 16:02:28 UTC

Students work in groups, are able to talk with one another about their work especially when it is independent practice. Establishing norms and provide the time for students to help establish them with the teacher and hold students accountable to following them

2024-09-19 16:54:50 UTC

Creating small critique groups of 2-3 students that rotate frequently.

Displaying student work in-process (not just finished pieces) and frequently referencing it to support others when they struggle.

Also, I celebrate each student birthday by reading a birthday fortune in class on their bday or on the Friday before (if it falls on the weekend).

Communicating Capybaras

2024-09-19 17:01:05 UTC

Class created norms signed and posted in the classroom

Group work--> Sharing answers as a group and sharing what a classmate said rather than your own answer

Nose goes--> Using "nose goes" to choose who to call on. Makes it fun and competitive!

2024-09-19 17:01:57 UTC

This Mayan-inspired poem is written in this way to express that one's classroom community is a reflection of who they are, and that we are all interconnected. This has proven helpful to establish norms before my students share original, vulnerable work with each other.