Tag: #Classroom Community

#Classroom Community, Behavior Management, Behavior Plan, Character Education, Class Meeting, Creating a Community, Education, Intervention, MTSS

A Fear Free Classroom

Kristine Barberio

In today’s world, it is easy to feel fear. This first week of school, with all of its excitement and challenges, was colored by events in our local community and in the nation that fostered fear. As an educator AND mother, the events happening make me fearful for other people’s children I have been entrusted to keep safe and for my own babies in the care of another teacher. We have much to do as a nation to begin creating a safer world for the next generation. However, as teachers, we have the ability to create a fear free classroom which fosters learning.

Why is a fear free classroom essential? Children will not learn when they are afraid. It is that simple. I have over the years done an exercise with my students at our class meetings where I put up Maslow’s hierarchy and ask them to rate which level they are operating on most of the time. When a student is at the bottom, attempting to get their most basic safety needs met, you have a true barrier in the way of their learning. When a child is on the next level, seeking the approval of peers and not receiving it, learning will not happen. Only when a student reaches emotional, physical, and social safety will they be open and willing to learn. This is the true secret of why schools are “performing” or not according to whatever standardized scale used. FEAR – the biggest roadblock to learning and the underlying cause of the most significant behavioral, social, and emotional needs. So, how can you foster a fear free classroom? Read on to see some of the most common types of student fears and how you can address them. My favorite communication tools for students to share their concerns and fears is my weekly class meeting and my weekly reflection both of which are available on Authentic Teaching TPT. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weekly-Reflection-4750316 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weekly-Class-Meeting-Lesson-Plan-Template-4837084

Children whose fear is based on missing basic needs – These children often enter our classrooms with the most challenges. There is much research being done today on creating a trauma sensitive classroom. If I am not sure where my next meal is coming from, where I might sleep, or experience violence regularly…how can I focus on learning? This child needs a teacher who first seeks out ways to support the child using every resource at their disposal. They reach out to the school counselor, psychologist, social worker, other teachers, cafeteria staff, community organizations, etc. They need a teacher who is advocating on behalf of them loudly and consistently. Even with this, a teacher may not be able to change the child’s circumstances. This is where a classroom should become a safe haven with consistency, routine, whatever basic needs the teacher or school can provide available, and where the child is explicitly taught ways to cope and overcome adversity. Here is an excellent starter article about ways to help as a trauma informed teacher. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-and-why-trauma-informed-teaching

Children whose fear is based on a history of academic failure – These children come in all forms… quietly detached, outwardly obnoxious, or openly uninterested in learning. I have seen dozens of students enter my room with the weight of being a “bad reader”, “dumb student”, “in the low group” on their shoulders. My goal is to foster a new sense of purpose in their learning by 3 specific actions. (1) Openly discussing the growth mindset and how I believe anybody can learn anything. (2) Teaching passionately about subjects that kids will be interested in (3) Looking for ways for that child to shine beyond the traditional modes of learning (check out guided reading on Authentic Teaching TPT for the way this model fosters this excitement in learning). https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Small-Group-Novel-Study-Guided-Reading-4836948 If you consistently and authentically do these 3 things, even the most reluctant learner can overcome their fear of failure and that is why we should all teach…for those moments.

Children whose fear is based on socialization issues – Kids who do not receive the support of their peers, only seek the praise of their peers, and/or are mistreated by their peers will not learn. Why? Because if I am at risk of being mocked, laughed at, made fun of, or ostracized, what are the chances I am going to take an academic risk? The truth is, the learning will not happen at all or will happen to a very limited amount. This is where your classroom community, procedures, and expectations are essential. Take a look at an earlier post “You won’t get the WOW’s if you don’t know the HOW’s” to address these issues. https://authenticteaching.blog/2019/08/02/you-wont-get-the-wows-if-you-dont-know-the-hows/

Children whose fear is based on a special need – As a 5th grade teacher, I have seen several students make it through all of elementary school with a special need that is not diagnosed, misdiagnosed, or not addressed. Frequently these students are labeled as “serious behavior problems” who enter your classroom with a reputation of concern. If you have a child with a special need (anything that would qualify for an IEP or 504 Plan – Anxiety, ADHD, ODD, Autism Spectrum disorders, Sensory needs, etc.) and you do not actively create and implement ways to address their unique needs, you are fostering a climate of fear for that child and because of that child in your classroom. Simple things that meet that child’s needs can often stop many of the most serious fear based behaviors (like written, visual schedules or verbal cues before changes/escalation). Children with special needs frequently have the highest levels of fears THAT DO NOT LOOK LIKE FEAR. Their fear often looks like anger, tantrums, withdrawal, or disruption. Here is a great resource from Authentic Teaching TPT that can help you identify, address, and implement systems to minimize the fears of these students. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Student-Behavior-Motivation-Educator-Plan-4800920

Fear…it is an essential emotion that is genetically designed to keep us safe. Flight or fight – the response that stopped our neanderthal ancestors from being eaten by a saber tooth tiger. In today’s modern world, we often forget that fear is still consistently a part of our lives. We like to act as though we are impervious or oblivious to fear. As teachers, helping students face their fears and learn to use fear for positive outcomes, is our most essential and underlying goal. Seek out a fear free classroom so that in today’s world your room becomes the calm in the storm for every child!

Behavior Management, Behavior Plan, Creating a Community, Education, Intervention

You won’t get the WOW’s if you don’t know the HOW’s!

Kristine Barberio

Here is an updated version of this post that I launched my blog with. I thought mid-year…on the long haul to Spring Break…it would be a great time to remind all of us the importance of procedures, classroom expectations, and building a community. I would love to hear your WOW success stories or a video detailing a challenge you are asking for support with. I will answer your concerns with advice that may help YOU and ME! All of this will use an amazing program called flipgrid. You simply have to click on this link: https://flipgrid.com/af6a49a4 Password is Athowsandwows You will be prompted to add flipgrid to your computer, phone, or tablet. Once you have added it – you will submit a video that will be part of our community link. Others can see your post and celebrate or provide support. I will approve all video posts before they go live on the site. I hope this will be a great chance to share some wow’s and remind ourselves of some how’s.

Each year, teachers start full of excitement for the amazing year they plan to have. Everything is fresh and new. The possibilities for WOW moments and results seem endless. Unfortunately, no teacher feels this way all year long. Teaching has highs and lows that great teachers learn to manage by self-reflection, student self-reflection, and using data in every area to drive their decisions. Teachers that do this – get those WOW’s! WOW moments are the ones that make it all worthwhile. It’s the moment you realize a reluctant reader loves their first book or a child who entered your room with pain as their companion has found a safe place to be authentic each day. It’s the moment your kids come together to support each other or the test results that show that every kid has grown. Teachers get paid in WOW’s (way more than their check) and get rejuvenated by WOW’s. They make a kid leave your classroom at the end of the year feeling like they had the BEST YEAR EVER!

For new teachers, burned out teachers, stuck in a rut teachers, or just your standard doing their thing teachers; creating a classroom community that fosters a love of learning and a sense of inclusion can be the most challenging part of their jobs. However, this is the absolute, most essential part of great, authentic teaching. Some teachers think classroom community is not their job because they teach a subject (math, reading, science,etc.). Some teachers have no idea how to do it, so they avoid it until the classroom implodes. Some teachers are furious they are being asked to meet their student’s emotional and social needs when there are trained counselors to do that. Some teachers feel all this mumbo jumbo takes away from their instructional time. Whatever the reason teachers avoid crafting this community…. IT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THEY CAN DO TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS ACADEMICALLY.

I have seen time and again that students must take ACADEMIC RISKS to learn. This means a student must feel safe enough (emotionally, socially, physically) to raise their hand, ask for help, admit they don’t understand a concept, or even work with their peers. If a student thinks they will be made fun of, criticized, mocked, pushed, or any other unsafe behavior; they will not take an academic risk. Without an academic risk, students simply will not grow academically to their full potential.

That leads us to the 5 HOW’s! So, you want to get those WOW moments in your classroom to increase, expand, and just generally happen as often as possible? You need to intentionally create a classroom community that fosters learning by creating a safe atmosphere where students take academic risks. Taking the time BEFORE you start the year to reflect on your day and the procedures and expectations you need to create and teach will be the best gift you can give yourself as a teacher. So, watch each video where I explain the HOW’s and then think through the guiding questions below. On Teachers Pay Teachers, you can download a planning sheet for free to use while you read this article and watch the videos. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Sellers-Im-Following/Add/Authentic-Teaching-By-Kristine-Barberio Please comment on the blog with ideas, suggestions, or questions! Teachers get all their best ideas from watching someone else do it better!

GUIDING QUESTIONS – HOW DO STUDENTS ENTER/START?

  • What is your vision for your morning check-in time with your students?
  • What do you want your students to accomplish during morning check-in time?
  • How do you want students to enter your classroom?
  • What do students do while they are waiting for class to start?
  • What do students do once you started whole class guided practice?
  • How do students enter into workshop groups or start a workshop time?
  • What do students do when they enter the cafeteria?
  • What do students do when they enter special area/elective classes?
  • What do students do at the beginning of a test or assessment?
  • What do students do at the start of an assembly or special program?
  • How do students get their materials/supplies/work when class is starting?
  • Where are you during morning check-in?

GUIDING QUESTIONS – HOW DO STUDENTS EXIT/LEAVE?

  • What do students do when you announce class is done?
  • How do students line up or leave your room?
  • What do students do when you end one subject and start another in your classroom?
  • How do students behave in hallway?
  • Where do students wait or go for next class?
  • What do students do with their materials/supplies/work when class has ended?
  • How do students leave their workshop group and return to whole group?
  • How do students clean up and leave the cafeteria?
  • What do students do at the end of a test/assessment?
  • What do students do at the end of an assembly or special program?
  • How should students be waiting at the end of a special area/elective class?
  • How do students leave your classroom and go to dismissal?
  • Where are you during dismissal?

GUIDING QUESTIONS – HOW DO STUDENTS MOVE?

  • How do students move around your classroom?
  • How do students get supplies/materials in your classroom that are not with them?
  • How do students get in line?
  • How do students walk/behave when they are in the hallways or public spaces?
  • How do students play at recess?
  • How do students behave in P.E. or Sports settings?
  • When can students get out of their seat in your room?
  • How does a student go to the restroom, to get water, or to the nurse?
  • If you need something delivered, how do students go without the teacher? (ex. in pairs to office, groups of 3 to nurse, etc.)
  • How do students move in a fire/tornado/earthquake/lockdown drill?
  • How do students come to the rug/carpet?
  • When/how can a student sharpen a pencil?

GUIDING QUESTIONS – HOW DO STUDENTS WORK?

  • When you are giving direct instruction, what should students be doing?
  • How are you going to teach group work expectations?
  • What system will you use for putting students into groups?
  • How do you teach partner work expectations?
  • What are your expectations during a workshop time? Where will you sit to maintain supervision?
  • Where do students have to sit during work time? What are the expectations for where they sit?
  • Can students work with other students on assignments other than individual assessments?
  • What happens if someone is not working effectively on their own? in a partnership? in a group?
  • Where do students who need extra support sit? Who gives the extra support? How often?
  • Are you going to have a help or answer station for students?
  • How do you help students problem solve first before asking for your help? What systems and/or explicit instruction can you give them to increase their independent learning?
  • What do students do when they are done? (This is a trick question – they should never be done! A classroom rule for me is “If you are doing nothing – you are doing something wrong!” One of my concepts is called 3 OUT. You should always have 3 activities a student will be able to complete if they are done early. These can be pre-made centers, online extension activities, reading with response cards pre-made, etc.)
  • Where do students place their work when done? What are your expectations for how it looks? What is on it?
  • What are students doing their work in or on?
  • What is your procedure for giving students feedback on their work and how can they fix work?
  • Do you give extra credit work?
  • What is your policy on late work?

GUIDING QUESTIONS – HOW DO STUDENTS TREAT/SPEAK TO EACH OTHER?

  • What are your expectations for the ways students talk to each other?
  • What happens if a student teases, name calls, or makes fun of another student?
  • What happens if a student speaks in a rude or unkind tone of voice?
  • How do students solve problems with each other? Peer mediation? Teacher problem box? Classroom Meetings? Morning meetings?
  • What happens if students are horseplaying?
  • What happens if students are doing minor physical actions – pushing, tapping each other, kicking, tripping, pinching, the latest “slap” game, etc?
  • What happens if a student does a major physical action (like hitting, starting a fight, etc.)?
  • What is your system if a student needs a cool down time or space?
  • How does a student let you know of a problem? Can it be in front of the class? Can it be loudly in anger?
  • What is the procedure for tattling vs. reporting a concern?
  • What is your policy for problems that arise from social media activities outside of school hours or jurisdiction?
  • What system do you use in your classroom for management? Is it school-wide? Do you need something additional?
  • How do students learn to intentionally praise each other? (ex. morning meeting or class meeting with compliments, “Fill your bucket” program, etc.)
  • How are students expected to behave with a student who has a behavioral/emotional need? (Sadly, some students with significant behavior or emotional concerns are mistreated by their class often with the unintentional “blessing” of the teacher who feels that they child “deserves” it because of the way they behave in the classroom.)
  • What happens if a student makes fun of another student after they have been redirected/reprimanded by you?
  • Do you have a whole class system for addressing whole class concerns that allows students to generate their own solutions?