Welcome! Tonight we are talking about creating a community in your classroom. Please introduce yourself. Name, role in education and share one accomplishment so far this school year. #QuietKidsCount
For me, building a classroom community is about making a classroom that enables the students to feel safe and supported by both teachers and classmates
#QuietKidsCount
Q2 - Kids learn best and thrive when they feel they are a part of a something. Share some ways to develop a strong classroom community. #QuietKidsCount
For me, I like to tell the kids they are "my" kids. I tell them you will be with me 6 hours a day for 184 days this year. I let them know I will protect them, teach them, and love them and I let them know I want them to do that for each other too. #QuietKidsCount
I use a lot of humor in my class and try to help kids not take themselves too seriously in order to develop a thicker skin so that they aren't easily hurt by what others say. #QuietKidsCount
And then I try to get them to feel they are a part of something important. Encouraging each other, helping one another, and being there for their classmates. #QuietKidsCount
Q3 - Most kids want to belong but some struggle with the social aspect of a school community. What are some ways to include these kids? #QuietKidsCount
Had kids turn and talk, make connections to some books we read in the first few days of school, think about how they want our class to be with a focus on the positive. Not, "Don't do this..." kind of rules. #QuietKidsCount
Those kids that don't easily reach out are always the hardest ones to get to know and for the others to get to know too. At the beginning of the year, I take them out a few times for free play and I just watch them. #QuietKidsCount
The turn and talk really helped the quieter kids get out their thoughts without having to raise their hand or speak out in front of the whole group. #QuietKidsCount
I take notes and I pay attention to who and what they are playing. Then I use that information to get to know them better and try to make them feel more comfortable with me #QuietKidsCount
I do the free play for PE. No admin has ever said anything about it, but if they did, I would show them my notes and explain why. I don't think they would object if I said that I was trying to get to know them better. #QuietKidsCount
I built in free play/recess/snack time each day (about 15 mins) to give kids a bit of a break from the academic. We go from 8:25-12:35 with no official break. That's a lot of stimulation for introverts. #QuietKidsCount
I am immediately at ease with other quiet people. With "talkers" I feel like I have to be "on" in order to be in the loop. Make sense? Sometimes it's just too much pressure. #QuietKidsCount
I married a talker and my two closest friends are talkers! Haha! So I guess I am attracted to them also. But sometimes it's just so much work to be around them and keep up. #QuietKidsCount
When I see a student playing alone, I watch first... is there a reason they are playing alone? Then, after watching, I will try to pair kids together who aren't playing with anyone, or I will encourage a group of kids playing to invite the lonely one to play.
#QuietKidsCount
We had buddy benches at my last school...place where kids went when they had no one to play with...other kids were suppose to come and get them to make them feel included. It ended up being a disaster! More like a bully bench! #QuietKidsCount
