Intro

Week Day #1: Acknowledging Individuality and Basic Routines

Objectives

A. Students will know general classroom
routines.

B. Students will understand that taking
initiative promotes efficiency in the
classroom.

C. Students will know how to listen and take
notes while others are speaking.

D. Students will know their peers and
teacher.

E. Students will understand that each person
brings unique background, experience, and
perspective to our class.

I value capitalizing on student
diversity to create classroom

community. This is perhaps
one of

my most important objectives for

students at the start of a school year.

Activities

Welcome/Introduction (5 min)
Train wreck (5 min)
Go over basic classroom routines with
student interaction and review (10 min)
Set Up Classroom Blogs (10 min)
Quiet-Attentive-Listening (10 min)
2 Truths & 1 Lie: Teacher (5-7min)
2 Truths & 1 Lie: Students w/ Partner Grid
(20-30min; 5 to explain, 5 to create, 10 to
Partner Grid)
Administer Student Interest Inventory
(10 min)
Wrap-Up (5 min)

Assessments

A/B. When going over classroom routines, the
I utilize
teacher will pause after explaining each routine. partner
At this time, students will take 20-30 seconds to conversation
explain this routine to a partner. The teacher will to ensure that
listen and re-explain if necessary. The teacher will students hear
verify that students have successfully set up their and
understand
blogs through Word Press with the correct
expectations.
settings.

C. During Quiet-Attentive-Listening students will
write ideas on sticky notes and place them on a
large t-chart. The teacher will read the sticky
notes as students bring them up and plan to fill in
gaps when going over the lists as a whole class.
After this class period, the teacher will write the
Q-A-L norms onto the chart to display in the
classroom. Students will reference these norms
throughout the year. The teacher will collect
student Partner Grids to review notes taken
during partner discussions.

D/E. The teacher will explain why we are doing
icebreaker activities (i.e. to get to know each
other in our classroom). While students are
playing Train Wreck and later completing Partner
Grids, the teacher will listen to and observe
student interactions. The teacher will collect
Partner Grids to review what students learned
about each other. Students will also complete an
Interest Inventory for the teacher to review.

Intro Week Day #2: Creating a Respectful Environment for Classroom Work

Objectives

A. Students will know typical desk
arrangements for the classroom and the
importance of working together.

B. Students will know what to do while they
are waiting for peers to finish their class
work.

C. Students will understand that the
classroom is a supportive space for learning
and growing.

D. Students will know their peers and
teacher.

Activities

Welcome (5 min)
Finish Interest Inventories (5 min)
Partner Grids (8-10 min, 2 new
partners)
Desk Arrangement Game (15 minutes
- end with desks in pairs)
Silent-Patient-Waiting (in small
groups) (10 minutes)
Owners Manual Writing/Image
Gathering (5 min to explain, 25-30 to
work)
Exit Card (5-10)

This activity allows
students to create
an "Owner's Manual" about
themselves. Students write about how
they operate, what to do when they
malfunction, what they can be used
for, etc. This metaphor gives them an
opportunity to reflect on who they are
as individuals, demonstrating my
emphasis on self-awareness in the
classroom.

Assessments

A. Students will play the Desk Arrangement game to
practice typical room settings. The teacher will
observe how students approach the task and time
how quickly students complete each arrangement. If
students struggle to efficiently rearrange the room,
the teacher will provide pointers to approach the task
differently.

B. Students will complete the Silent-Patient-Waiting
activity. Similar to Quiet-Attentive-Listening, the
teacher will facilitate student responses and create a
classroom list of Silent-Patient-Waiting norms that will
be posted in the classroom for students to reference
throughout the year.

C. The Owners Manual activity will be completed
online in student blogs. They will need at least THREE
images from online to complement their typed
Owners Manual in their blogs. This activity will reveal
student strengths, weaknesses, ideas for
improvement, and creativity. The Exit Card will also
require students to share their favorite part of the
Owners Manual and why. This will help the teacher
see what interested students most, or what they find
most important for other to know about themselves.

D. Students will continue getting to know each other
by completing another, shorter Partner Grid following
the same procedures from day one. The teacher will
collect these to continue reviewing what students are
learning about each other. The Exit Card will also
require students to write down one thing they have
learned about ANY of their partners thus far. This will
help the teacher see what students are learning about
each other.


Intro Week Day #3: Establishing Norms and Safe Learning Space

Objectives

A. Students will understand that we can find
common ground in spite of our differences.

B. Students will know ways that their peers
operate in the classroom.

C. Students will understand the importance
of working coherently and efficiently with
peers.

D. Students will understand that they are
part of a team in the classroom and that
their actions and words have an impact on
those around them.

Activities

Welcome (2 min)
Partner Grid Do-Now (8-10 min)
Common Threads Game with string
(10-15 min)
Share Owners Manual with a
partner and practice blog comments
(10 min)
Home Court (40-45 min)
Introduce (2-3 min)
Partner Brainstorm (5 min)
Partner Prioritize (5 min)
Share Out/Norms (10 min)
Writing Prompt (5-10 min)
Partner Share (5 min)
Closure (5-10 min)

"Home Court" is a metaphor that compares

the classroom to the "home court advantage"
that many athletic teams experience when
they compete on their own turf. This
comparison lets students explore why there
might be a home court advantage and what it
would look like to create the same advantage
in our classroom. Students often consider the
comfort of being "home" as well as the
exceptional support from fans. Using this
metaphor, I help students generate norms that
will help our classroom reflect the support of
being at home surrounded by fans.

Assessments

A. On the first day, students played Train
Wreck to learn about each other individually,
but to begin seeing things they have in
common. During the Common Threads
game, students will again share individual
facts, but before they share, they will have
to connect it to something the previous peer
shared. This requires students to think of
ways they are connected to their peers while
using the web as a visual representation. The
teacher will observe and participate in the
game, stepping in when students might
become stuck trying to make connections.

B. Students will share their Owners Manuals
with a partner. This will further help students
get to know each other, and it will also
reveal student strengths, weaknesses, ideas
for improvement, and creativity with a
partner. While students are sharing, the
teacher will listen to and join conversations.

C/D. The Home Court activity will emphasize
the importance of collaboration and trust in
the classroom. Students will work together
and self-reflect on ways to make this
happen. The teacher will observe and
participate in conversations. The teacher will
collect writing prompts and review students
self-reflection.

The "Common
Threads"
activity visually
represents
community to
students in the
classroom. This
requires them
to find ways
they are
connected,
bringing to light
that our class
can be a
cohesive unit
made up of
unique
individuals.