Ms. Harkenrider's Teaching Portfolio
Rules
As a class, we would set the rules and expectations of the classroom. For the rest of the year, I would use visual and verbal reminders to remind students of expected behavior. It is important to begin the year with the rules set and keep the expectations consistent throughout the year so that problem behavior can be addressed and accommodations can be made if needed.
1. We all will raise our hands and speak in turn. 2. We will respect others and every voice. 3. We will come to class prepared. 4. We will use positive language.
Procedures
Arrival Procedures: I will greet students as they enter the classroom every day. I expect that students will enter the classroom respectfully and calmly. Students should enter the room and begin their morning work/activity. Tardy Procedures: At the beginning of the year, students will be notified of the tardiness policy. They will learn that when they arrive late to class they will receive a tardy. If a student comes to class late, they are expected to enter the classroom without disrupting their classmates. Absence Procedures: Homework and class resources can be located on our Google Classroom. If the absence is unexpected (sick, family emergency, etc.), the student's guardian should contact the school office on the morning of the absence. If they have any questions, they can contact me for clarification.
Positive Reinforcement
I will be incorporating a positive verbal reinforcement system in order to motivate students who are following classroom expectations to continue to behave positively. Our school policy also implements the ​ticket systems, and I will be following the school policy for giving out these tickets for good behavior, as well. Positive Reinforcement Some examples of how the positive reinforcement will look in my classroom: Adding tickets, candy, praise, lunch with teacher, etc. to the environment to encourage a student to continue their positive behavior.
Classroom Environment
Creating a safe and positive classroom environment for all students: (Including general education students, low SES, students with disabilities, and ELLs) Respect:​ Respect is central to my classroom in order to create a safe environment for each student. This goes two ways; teacher to student respect and student to student respect. I want to foster an environment in which students can feel safe to share their differences with others and not feel attacked or judged by their peers or by me. Security and Shelter Security and Safety are also a very important aspect of my classroom. If I have a student with a physical disability, such as a wheelchair, I will make sure to set up the classroom in a way that is efficient and productive for that student's needs to move around the classroom, which would look like proper spacing between all the furniture and desks that accommodate wheelchairs, for example. Diversity and Inclusion: I also want to ensure that all of my students feel represented within my classroom. I will provide diverse literature in which all students are represented (racially, socially, their gender, culture, etc.). I will also openly communicate with each students' family/guardians to ensure that if they have any suggestions or feedback on how to work best with their student and how I can make the classroom more inclusive for them. I plan to have an open door policy with my students, meaning that no matter what or when, the student can come to talk to me about personal or academic affairs.
Instructional Straqtegies
To engage all learners from diverse backgrounds, I want to incorporate many strategies into my classroom. For ELL students (emergent bilinguals), I can implement a word wall of frequently used academic words, provide students with sentence prompts for group activities to help them say what they need to say, and provide enough time after proposing a question to allow students the time they need to process. For ethnically diverse students, I will create an inclusive classroom with culturally diverse literature, I can dedicate certain days for students to explore different cultures (could be a research project and students can choose what interests them), or I could ask students to connect their cultural experiences to the larger themes and ideas of the class. For students with disabilities, I would ensure that accommodations and modifications are followed and respected, I would check in with these students often, and I would maintain open communication with their family and the other special education teachers in order to make sure all of the student's needs are being met.
Learn to Listen, Listen to Learn This instructional strategy uses journaling as a means for students to share their opinions with their peers. After they write independently, they get into groups, and share their thoughts with a few of their peers. After each member of the small group shares their thoughts, as a group, the students decide which aspects of their discussion they want to share with the entire group. This strategy encourages students to use their writing, listening, and speaking skills, as well as helps them to settle disagreements over opinions peacefully. Differing from a debate, this activity is just a discussion in which students share their ideas and thoughts and learn from their peers. Providing Feedback There are many directions that a teacher can take when giving feedback to their students, but the key is that any feedback is specific and helpful for the student. If I do not provide clear feedback to my students, they are not going to take the time to process and learn from their mistakes. Teachers can provide feedback on written work or verbally during class. When the teacher notifies the student on what their strengths are, the student can focus on what they need to work on, and can use their strengths in other areas of their learning. Another way feedback can be productive for students is to have a multi-step process. First, students can turn in a draft of an assignment, and the teacher can return the assignment with feedback, but without a grade. The teacher can then give the students the opportunity to revise the assignment and resubmit it for a final grade. This demonstrates the learning process and the importance of students learning from their mistakes. Lesson Goals/Objectives Teachers should always provide their students with lesson goals because students need to know what they will be learning as well as why they are learning it. Goals help students to self-evaluate during the learning process, and will make them more aware of the moments in which they need help. Goals also show the students the purpose of the lesson and instructions. Goals are also helpful for the teacher because it helps him/her keep track of the standards that need to be met in a lesson or unit. Goals should be clearly displayed for students to see and the students should have access to them during the entire lesson. The teacher should also verbally state the lessons and explain them both at the beginning of the lesson and at the end to show the students what they have learned.
Other Example Procedures:
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Lining Up
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Walking into the Hallway
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Cafeteria etiquette