#2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. We chat every Tuesday night at 8 pm EST using #2ndaryELA. We'd love for you to join us!
Roman from Ontario, Canada. HS ELA Teacher/Student Success Leader/Agent of Transformation. Great to check in tonight with #2ndaryela My blog site: https://t.co/TlIj7nxFax
A1 As of right now, there are no specific areas. As I redesign my classroom, my students will help me design the space. I started documenting my journey on IG today to show the evolution and learning. #2ndaryela
A1: I’m in 3 classrooms and they are all different! My resource room has a designated library and reading nook, a student supply area, and a table for small group. #2ndaryELA
A1 Well, I used to be organized and have designated areas for supplies, extra copies of assignments, and the classroom library. But now, I've been evicted to a cart, so I have designated shelves for my teaching materials... #2ndaryela
I used to only have round tables. I left to a leadership role for 3 years. Coming back in 3 weeks to desks and rows. I will be implementing a transition to flexible choice seating. #2ndaryela
A1: I have a a huge counter in my room. I have that organized & divided so they know where to turn in work, where to place notebooks, & where materials such as markers, crayons, & glues are located. #2ndaryELA
A2 Start of the class procedures that include a daily bellringer and Ss filling out their ELA log. I give a classroom expectations the 2nd week of school. I also give every S a laminated cheat sheet of the procedures to tape in their agenda.#2ndaryela
A2: Warm ups are important to have! My students know that as soon as they come in they have something to do. This helps students go to their seats, get the materials they need, and also allows me to do attendance or walk around the classroom to attend to their needs. #2ndaryELA
A2 It is all about building relationships. When there is trust & respect, procedures flow in class. This year I am designing a personalized learning environment. We will be co-building our procedures & expectations. #2ndaryela
A2: I try to keep things running as smoothly possible by having an established routine for entering the room and starting class. Streamlining all assignments & notes on Schoology also helps. #2ndaryela
#2ndaryELA A2: Making sure that I have a warm up on the board, ready to go, as soon as students enter the class. This established routine gives students time to get settled and me time to call roll.
A3 I use tickets in my modified class that can be cashed out for prizes later on. S can also earn emergency passes that grant them a 24 hour assignment extension with no penalty. They like those. We have class reward days to keep them motivated. #2ndaryela
A3 For positive behavior, all about modeling & taking time to talk & congratulate for the respect & kindness they show. For negative, all about individual conferencing. Never discipline in front of others. We need to listen to understand, to talk with, to work together #2ndaryela
Q3: I actually use ClassDojo & my older kids love it. Whenever I click on a student's name & it makes that sound, they start furiously working harder. #Ihavereallyawesomekiddos#2ndaryela
A3.2 For negative behaviors, a lot of my students have behavior plans, so I just follow that. Otherwise, I honestly react on a case by case basis, but I always reiterate that just because a bad choice was made today does not impact how we should feel tomorrow. #2ndaryela
A3: Last year I began doing a student of the week. I’d observe all the students & at the end of the week I’d choose 1 student. It was never the same person. They’d get a personalized note & some candy! Also I love making positive phone calls! #2ndaryELA
A4 This will all be new for me. Redesigning with my students. A full classroom transformation. Guaranteed I want motivational quotes, reminders for kindness and empathy, info and ouctures about books, authors, reading, anvases of my students. But I want their input. #2ndaryela
A4: I use the color black a lot because I can easily add bright colors! I always have a data wall, an amazing work bulletin board, and a section where I put all the notes, drawings, and pictures that students have given me. This year I plan on adding a vocab section. #2ndaryELA
A4 I used to design my room to match the book we were reading. We start with Hugo Cabret, so I would create the train station in our classroom. I also had a Starbooks Cafe bulletin board which, honestly, really hurt to take down.
Trying to get a bell for my cart ;) #2ndaryela
A5 This year I will let each parent choose how they want to communicate. I will share various methods to keep lines open and positive and will experiment (Flipgrid, Voxer, Remind, emails, phone calls); time to be creative #2ndaryela
A5: I love using apps such as Remind & ClassDojo! It’s such an easy way to send reminders, or for parents to contact you. Also on my class website I have a feature that allows parents to send me messages. I get them straight to my email. #2ndaryELA
A5 E-mail is always my preferred method of communication, because unfortunately, special ed needs a paper trail. I also use a course web page to post the daily agenda and upcoming assignments, and I leave individualized feedback in our online grading program. #2ndaryela
#2ndaryELA A5: My district requires teachers to maintain a teacher website that features a calendar at minimum. I put my lesson plans on the calendar, so parents/students can check it at any time. Other than that, I use email as the primary form of communication.
