I had a very challenging class a few years ago!
I admit, I loved each and every one of them, but the combination of kiddos really was exhausting. I had behavior challenges, learning challenges, and a whole lot of kiddos who needed to talk and who needed to move a whole lot! They needed plenty of attention, and plenty of opportunities to let off steam.
I've had all these challenges before, but I never had so many challenges all in one group!
After that year, I made sure I enjoyed these luxuries during the summer:
-extra cups of coffee - while they're still warm
-relaxed conversations with grown-ups
-reading books written for adults
-eating breakfast in my jammies
-going to the gym, with the energy to work out
and most of all...
-peeing when I need to!
But I also spent a lot of time thinking about that group, and trying to come up with ideas that I could start at the beginning of the year that could prevent some of the issues I had.
My dad always taught me:
and that's just what I planned to do!
After much thought, I decided on the most important strategies I wanted to focus on in my classroom.
I decided to spend a whole lot of time at the beginning of the school year teaching these strategies for success!
I made posters with an explanation for each strategy.
I made one for each of the six strategies, and made strategy response booklets for the children to write their thoughts.
Be safe
Be respectful!
Be responsible!
Be a team player
Be mindful!
Be an active learner!
As you can see, the posters are available in color as well as black and white for the kids to color and think about.
Plus, there are other items to share with the children:
These posters for bulletin boards, student "strategy response booklets, and bookmarks help internalize the concepts of each strategy!
I have students complete self-assessments quarterly, usually just before report cards or parent conferences. If their assessment doesn't match mine, we have a talk!
These pages could also be used in interactive notebooks.
My plan was to take a day or two discussing the meaning of each strategy, listing the children's ideas, giving examples and non-examples, and making sure the children really understood what each strategy meant before they completed that page in their strategy response booklets.
The Mindfulness strategy took a little longer, especially those who came from classes that didn't do any mindfulness activities in the past.
I did manage to find a few websites with some awesome explanations and activities for helping children understand and practice Mindfulness.
What Happened Next?
After much discussion, we decided on a gesture for each strategy. Every morning, after the Pledge of Allegiance and the school chant, my students would recite the 6 Strategies for Success, complete with the gestures we created together. My plan definitely had a strong influence on the classroom community! They were safe, respectful, responsible, team players, mindful, and active learners!
Since I started using this system, confidence in my students has increased, and their awareness of the social/ emotional climate in themselves, as well as their classmates, has soared!
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