Swivel or Knees Please
Swivel or knees please is a preventative tool that can be used in any classroom when the teacher would like all the students to stop what they are working on and face the teacher, giving their full attention.
Preventative
Texture within the Classroom
The correct use of texture within a classroom can make the room more aesthetically pleasing and make the classroom environment more enjoyable for everyone. The wrong use however, can prove to become a distraction for students and has the potential to over stimulate them.
Greeting Students at the Door
Greeting students at the door helps us as teachers know how our students are doing on that particular day. Students also know you are ready for a wonderful day of class.
Student Friendly Callbacks
Student friendly callbacks are a technique that teachers use to get the students attention in a quick and fun way. This tool is helpful because it is an easy fun way to get students involved and not having to repeat yourself.
Team Poster
The team poster is an activity that is designed to build relationships between students.For this poster making activity you have two students hold a marker and have them try to make a picture between the pair, while being completely silent to allow imagination and creativity.
“Hey, Me Too!”
Teacher asks questions and student will be given a paddle to raise if it relates to them. Students will be able to see what they have in common with their peers. This strategy can be used as an ice breaker to build connections.
Get to Know You Dice
Get to Know Dice are used for an icebreaker at the beginning of the school year. Students create their own dice with questions on each side related to what they want to learn about their classmates. It is a helpful way to begin creating a community of students that know and care about one another.
Classroom Scavenger Hunt
The Classroom Scavenger Hunt is an activity for the first days of school instruction, used for reviewing classroom expectations, procedures and the location of classroom materials. How this is an effective tool is because it reinforces classroom rules and procedures while making students feel confident and successful in their new classroom.
“Get To Know Me” Bulletin Board
Each student will have a dedicated section of the room to themselves where they will post their work throughout the year. The first thing they’ll put on their bulletin board is a house they’ve decorated to make look like theirs. This is helpful because it will make each student feel like they have a sense of belonging in the classroom.
Life Skills – Kovalik
Kovalik’s lifelong guidelines and life skills include anything and everything that one can use over the course of their lives to help form the foundation for positive, valued relationships. The particular skills your class focuses on can be exactly what’s listed, or can be created collaboratively by your classroom according to the skills that they find most important. These life skills also help shape the culture of the classroom along with a creating a pathway to good classroom leadership and encourage reflective thinking.
