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- I believe students learn best when they are in a comfortable and inviting environment. They need a space that is relatively free from distractions and makes them feel welcomed and comfortable. I want to be the kind of teacher that welcomes students into my classroom and gets them excited to be in class. I want to get my students to feel they are valued and that they are capable of doing the projects I have assigned.
- Seating arrangement. I have a huge room. It has a lot of space to move around as well as large windows and a counter along one side of the room by the windows. I want to create a discussion area around the interactive panel to have the students gather there for discussions about assignments as well as a place they can go and be comfortable when they are done with their work to sit and sketch. Since my room is so large keeping the students at their tables would not be good to keep them focused on what we are discussing.
- Students with learning difficulty will be kept at the tables closest to me. So I can easily keep an eye on them to make sure they understand the assignment. I have several desks that have the partitions on them that I am keeping for the autistic kids. The assistant principal suggested I keep them since the students she knows they have like to be in their own space and being at an open table can be intimidating for them. Those desks will be close to my desk but will also have space so they don’t feel confined.
- Students will take an active role in discussing rules and consequences. There will be a couple of rules that are non-negotiable and then some rules that we can discuss that the students feel are fair. We will also discuss appropriate consequences for any rule infractions, levels of offenses and their appropriate intervention. The basic outline of the discussion will include the following areas:
- Being respectful to each other, class materials, and artwork.
- Following instructions and staying on task.
- Proper clean up expectations.
- Make-up assignment expectations.
- What happens when someone writes or draws on one of the newly resurfaced tables or any other surface in the art room.
- I will have students sign a behavior contract. I will have sign that states our classroom expectations and my even include the entire contract each student signs. The contract will cover the areas discussed above in the rules and consequences and have a place for both students and parents to sign. I will also have the returned signature worth a small amount of points to make sure it gets returned.
- Minor offenses, like speaking to table mate during a lesson, I would ask the student to stop.
- Moderate offenses like interrupting a lesson or throwing paper if it is a common occurrence, I might email the parents and ask them to speak with their student.
- Major offenses like physical altercation or worse would most likely be taken to the office to be dealt with using the appropriate school rules.
- Procedures and Routines
- Beginning of Class
- Students who are absent will be given the chance to make up work. Once the other students are working, we will go over what they missed. The student will be given the opportunity to come in before school to work on the projects if needed.
- Tardy students and absences will be kept track of daily with each class having a sheet on. A clipboard where I can keep quick notes of behavior issues, effort grades etc.
- Students without proper materials will be given loner materials that may be pencils with something undesirable for the students to have to use. Definitely something they won’t want to take from the classroom.
- Distribution of materials and worksheets will be done by a student that will be the helper for the day. Each day a different student will be assigned to this duty and we will rotate through the class. Materials will be distributed differently for paint, charcoal, printmaking, clay etc. Each medium will have a full explanation of proper use and clean up. Graded projects will be kept in each student’s portfolio until they are done with my class.
- Warm-up Sketch book prompt. Each student will complete a quick doodle as part of their sketchbook grade.
- Each new assignment will have a new set of procedures based on the materials we will be using. There will be a clear explanation of proper use of materials as well as the proper clean-up of the classroom when we are done.
- Work Time
- Once students have been given instructions for their current project they will be expected to work at their tables. They can get up and down to get materials but within reason. They will need to have a reason if they are out of their seat. They can chat amongst their table as long as they are working. If students have a hard time staying on task then they will not be allowed to chat for a period of a few minutes.
- I will signal attention by ringing a bell or calling out, “Class, class” for them to reply, “Yes, yes”
- Once the work is completed, they will be given extra sketchbook assignments or allowed to sit and sketch in their sketchbooks on their own if they don’t want to use the prompt given. I have many zentangle sketch challenges I used with my 5th and 4th grade students last year that can be used for the extra activity.
- Other Procedures
- Homework will only be assigned when a student doesn’t complete their work in class or has been asked to bring back a piece of information about an artist or process in art to share in discussion with the class.
- Students will only be allowed to go back to lockers rarely. Most materials will actually be in the classroom and students will not take work home very often. My classroom is actually very far away from student lockers so letting them go to their lockers would waste a great deal of class time.
- Bathroom and water breaks will be allowed once initial instruction is finished. Luckily a restroom is right outside of my room. Students will be encouraged to use it before class.
- Students will be given clear instructions for each their assignments and the procedures used to pass out materials before they are sent to their seats. Students coming into class late in the semester will be given all the papers from the first days of class and I will go over all the rules and expectations. I will make sure they are comfortable and welcomed into our room and introduced to some fellow students who can help them if they need it too.
- Substitute teachers will have a lesson plan for each grade level given to them if I have time to prepare for my absence. For the days when I am not expected to be absent, I will have an emergency sub plan folder that a sub can grab an easy activity to use for the day. At the end of the day they will take the lesson out of the folder and leave it on my desk so I can take it out of the rotation, so it won’t be repeated. The binder will include seating charts, class attendance lists, and a set of classroom rules and expectations. I will also include a full set of instructions on how to use the attendance lists to mark down any issues students had with the assignment given, behavior, and how to mark each student who is absent or tardy. The binder will be clearly marked on my desk. Being a substitute for many years has made this part very important to me.
- Reasoning behind my plan for my classroom:
- The class will be involved in creating the set of rules and expectations “Allow students to help develop the rules. Rules and procedures are more likely to be remembered and followed when students provide input into their creation.” (Durwin, p. 347)
- My classroom will be an inviting and comfortable environment. “effective classroom managers are planful in structuring a productive learning environment” (Durwin, p. 345)
- My student’s diversity will be celebrated and included in my instruction. “Culturally responsive teaching helps to bridge different ways of knowing and engages students from non-dominant cultures in demonstrating proficiencies in language usage, grammar, mathematical knowledge and other tools they use to navigate their everyday lives” (Kozleski)
- A guided discovery approach works very well in the art room. “Teachers can foster meaningful learning by using one of two distinct methods-discovery learning and expository teaching-or both.” (Durwin, p. 372)
- I will differentiate instruction for the different abilities and needs of my students. “It requires the ability to provide meaningful learning opportunities for every student, taking into consideration what makes them unique.” (Hobgood)
- I will integrate academic language into my lessons so that using the academic language becomes part of their routine. “Help students translate from academic to social language (and back):Model how to say something in a more academic way or how to paraphrase academic texts into more conversational language.” (Finley)
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