LESSON PLANS
LESSON PLANS
Jacky Mansour
Danielson Framework
Classroom Environment
2a: Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport
Instruction
3c: Engaging Students in Learning
InTASC Standard
The teacher works with others to create environments that
support individual and collaborative learning, and that
encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.
Standard 3: Learning Environment
Reflection
Creating a safe and happy environment in which they feel comfortable sharing their ideas and thoughts, is essential to my classroom learning environment. The artifacts I included: Building relationships, classroom community, establishing a routine, family communication, student engagement, classroom setup, and instructional materials work hand in hand to create an enriching learning environment for my students. The morning meetings or interactions with the students were ways that I helped promote individual learning as well as collaboration, social interaction, active engagement, and self-motivation in my classroom.
Building Relationships
I believe forming strong, meaningful, and authentic relationships with students are the most powerful classroom management strategy. I seek to build relationships with every student by getting to know them on a personal basis through our sharing time in the morning, personal conversations, and snack time. As I learn about each student, I incorporate their interests into lessons in order to increase engagement and make them feel valued.
Extracurricular -
Beyond building relationships in the classroom, I strive to maintain relationships with my students even after the school year ends. The image to the right is my students at the winter concert, that I went to and supported them all at. In doing so, I was able to talk to many parents and build my one-on-one relationship with them.
Classroom Community
Two sentimental that I emphasize with my students are that we are a team and we are a family. As a class, we discuss what this means, what this looks like, and how we can strive for this. These sentiments are echoed by my students throughout the year with their interactions, comments, and reflections with one another. The image to the left are books that help guide the discussions for inclusion.
I engage my students in collaborative activities that require them to utilize teamwork, creativity, and communication. These activities allow my students to get to know each other, develop mutual respect, and establish a classroom community. We have a morning meeting on a daily basis in order to reconnect and share with one another so we can continue to strengthen our relationship with one another. The image to the right is my students working together to create a leprechaun trap for St. Patrick's Day.
Establishing Routine
The class schedule is always displayed for the students to see. Along with that, we discuss it in the morning and in the afternoon after lunch. For my struggling readers, the images associated with all the events makes it easy for them to recognize the upcoming event happening in the class. The image to the left is the schedule that is posted in my classroom.
I create and display direction slides during independent or collaborative work time in order to remind students of the routine we follow for that subject area. This allows me to work with students independently without interruptions because there is no confusion about the routine in the place. This is something that has been a routine and modeled throughout the year.
Family Communication
Every Friday, parents receive a newsletter that informs them of everything their child learned that week. It also allows me to put any important reminders and dates. Along with any important news they should be aware of. In doing so, it allows the parents to stay up to date on their child along with maintaining the relationship with them.
At the beginning of the school year, I shared a letter with my students and their families in order to introduce myself as both a person and a teacher. This letter serves as an initial contact to begin forming a relationship with both the student and the student's family. I continue building relationships through positive notes home or through Classroom Dojo.
Student Engagement
Everyday, students are placed in centers for 20 minutes. Each center is usually led by a teacher as well. One center is a guided reading group, another is a math center, one is a student led center, the fourth one is teacher led with phonics, and lastly Imagine Learning on their iPads.
The guided reading groups all receive the same book, however, the strategy that is taught in each group is different. This is also the case for the other centers as well.
Movement is essential component of any classroom in order to increase engagement and allow students to be activate learners. I incorporate brain breaks, active games, or hand/body motions to get students out of their seats and moving their bodies. The image to the right is my students doing their math brain break that helps transition the time from lunch to math.
Classroom Setup
Surrounding the perimeter of the classroom are different anchor charts that we as a class have completed. The students are able to reference these at any point while they are in the classroom. The students enjoy filling the class with what they learned and look forward to the next anchor chart to be posted on the wall.
I always incorporate different seating arrangements for different lessons and activities. For example, students could be starting in their chairs, coming to the carpet, making a circle on the carpet, or walking across the room for a four corners activity. The constant movement the students have, the more engaged they are in the process of learning.
Instructional Materials
Instructional materials, like writing paper or the word wall, should be easily accessible to students during learning in order to promote use. I organize materials in a basket so students can easily grab items. These are usually updated to fit students' needs as well.
In the morning, before the students arrive, I make sure to go over all the lessons and take out all the necessary materials needed for that lesson. I prepare all of the materials by the carpet, so everything would be located in one place.
