Help Them Grow Their Wings

How do you show your students what you feel about them? In chapter 4 of the Differentiation textbook it provides some good examples of what your students should feel or hear. Create that environment and space where they can grow and spread their wings. Don't stunt them with your own doubts and fears. They have so much potential!

• You are unique and valuable as individuals, and we are important as a class.
• We are here to help you find and develop abilities as individuals and as a class.
• Our goal is to help each person and our class become as capable as a possible.
• This is an important goal, and work we do to achieve it must be both important and challenging.
• The time we have to achieve our goal is valuable.
• Therefore, we have to figure out together how to work in the most effective and efficient ways we can.
• We'll need to learn about one another and ourselves, so we know where we need to go and how we're doing in getting there.
• We'll need to determine guidelines for working, so we can reach our goal, both individually and as a class.
• We'll need to figure out working routines that enable us to succeed in reaching our goals, both individually and as a class.
• We'll need to develop support systems to ensure that we continually grow, both individually and as a class.
• Like all important goals, our goal will require investment and persistence.

"You'll see those things in me as your teacher. I'll expect to see them in you as individuals and in our class as a whole. I need you to join me in making our class work for each of us." This is called a Map of Thought. It is the thought process that teachers can follow when weighing decision and actions.
The environment of the classroom is an important aspect when teaching. It is the first messenger of how learning will be in the class. The teacher is to act as the primary architect of the physical attributes and the climate.
In one of the scenarios Mr. Atcheson uses flash cards every couple weeks to gauge how his students are doing. On one side they write how they are doing in the class and on the other side they write something about themselves that they think he will find interesting and useful. He uses this as a way to build bonds with his students. The better he knows them the better he can teach them.
Ways to promote a positive classroom:

• Study Students Cultures
• Convey Status
• Commend Creativity
• Make Room for All Kinds of Learners
• Help Students Know About One Another (Word Jars, Idea Jars, Question Boxes)
• Celebrate Success
• Hold Goal-Setting Conference
• Use Dialogue Journals
• Incorporate Teacher Talk Groups in Lesson Plans

The book also offers some great rules or guidelines for classroom operation:

1. We will show respect for people, their ideas, and their property
2. We will work hard to ensure our own growth of others
3. We will persist, even when things are difficult and uncertain
4. We will accept responsibility for the quality of our work and for our behaviors and actions

Other strategies that will enhance classroom operation:

• Time is Valuable: use spare moments well
• Fair is ensuring all learners get what they need to succeed
• Teach up, work up!

Routines that support flexible teaching

• Use Visual Cues
• Pre-establish Groups
• Use Goal Cards Regularly
• Teach for Smooth Transitions

Supports for learner success:

• Vary Materials
• Use Graphic Organizers to Help Structure and Extend Thinking
• Provide Survival Packets
• Use Participation Prompts
• Build Language Bridges

Ways to help with shared responsibilities:

• Use Evaluation Checklists
• Involve Students in Scheduling Decisions
• Engage Students in Assessing Their Own Progress
• Help Students Learn to Set Their Own Academic Goals

There are so many fabulous tools the book provides for making a classroom positive and effective for your students. Success is important, any help is good help!