Teacher/Student Organization Setting up the Classroom Classroom Environment

1. Teacher/Student OrganizationSetting up the ClassroomClassroom Environment BCIU#22- Summer Induction 2010 August 10, 2010 8:00-11:00 Celi Morganesi, Emily Slabek, and Jennifer Wilde

2. Purpose • To provide professional staff with information, materials, and techniques- which can be adapted or modified- to facilitate a good start and lay the foundation for a successful year.

3. Activity • Creative Roll Call - Each person will state their name, position, school, and favorite TV show

4. Top 5 List • 1. Set up your classroom • 2. Read over student folders • 3. Do lesson plans • 4. Make classroom behavior plan • 5. Timeline - IEPs, ER/RR, Induction follow up meetings, Summer Open House, Back to School Night, Field Trips, CBI

5. Ice Breakers • Icebreakers provide a lot for students, such as language, social skills, discrimination. • Icebreakers also provide information about students for staff to get to know students better.

6. Activity • Let’s try some ice breakers! 1. Help Me Guess 2. True True False 3. Match Game

7. Icebreakers • Lollipop/Jolly Rancher pairs • M & M Activity • Guess Who • Gift Bag • True True False • Jingo • Find Someone Who… • Scavenger Hunt • Autographs Please • The Name Game

8. Tips for the First Day/Week • KWL Activity 1. Grab a few post its and write: - What you KNOW about your school/position - What you WANT to know about your school/position

9. Emergency Situations • Check for specific school procedures • Train and review with staff and students • Be a role model for students and staff • Be prepared - forms - copies of emergency forms - “go to people” - bag of tricks - practice

10. Break • Take a 5 minute break 

11. Initial Communication with Students and Parents First impressions are lasting impressions. • Be clear and professional • Send home surveys/questionnaires • Send home welcome postcard/letter - communicate Pre- September Visit/Summer Open House information - supply/material list

12. Pre-September Open House Tips • Post a daily schedule • Make seating arrangements • Conduct a classroom “tour” that highlights special areas of the room, such as the reading corner, class library, bulletin boards, and so forth. • Mention classroom “highlights” to look forward to: learning stations, specific field trips, new materials, etc. • Offer simple, non-messy refreshments such as juice, cookies, and pretzels • Smile 

13. Getting to Know Your Class • grouping (testing) • medical needs • feeding needs • bathroom needs • daily schedules • inclusion schedules

14. SchedulesMaking a daily schedule • Post a daily schedule and discuss each morning. This allows students to see what is coming up for the day. Have students participate in planning whenever appropriate. • Alternate activities throughout the day. Provide highly preferred, non-preferred to maintain attention and behavior. • Include inclusion. Plan and teach the routines necessary for transitions. Middle and high school teachers and therapists need to organize and manage time most precisely. • When appropriate, include toileting and feeding on a student’s individual schedule.

15. Writing the IEP • You can use: - standardized tests - instructional assessments - inventory of basic skills - observations/records - progress reports/report cards - RR/ER - guidelines for special education - academic standards/alternative standards - previous IEP - cumulative record folder

16. Preparing for the IEP Meeting Some simple guidelines that IEP teams may follow to improve communication • Speak to others as you would be spoken to • Listen to others as you would be listened to • Check to insure you understood and were understood correctly • Recognize that problems have solutions. Our task is to find them. • Above all- remember that this meeting is about what the child needs and how we can address those needs.

17. Preparing for the IEP Meeting Some special tips for parents to consider • Ask questions. • Provide pertinent information about your child • Respect others’ perspectives • Be aware of existing agency limitations (e.g. school personnel, time, financial constraints) • Stay on topic during the IEP meeting

18. Class Materials You will need: - ordering procedures - purchase requisition forms - bid sheets - petty cash form - request for xeroxing - tips for receiving new orders - responsible for obtaining catalogs *Procedures will vary depending on your supervisor. You will also need each spring: - To inventory and reorder supplies and consumable worksheets - To anticipate students entering and exiting your class

19. Room Arrangement • The physical arrangement of a classroom should: - Provide a setting that is safe and orderly - Give easy accessibility to materials and supplies - Guarantee clear visibility between the student and teacher and between the student and teacher areas - Allow adequate space - Reduce or increase visual stimuli depending on students

20. “I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.” - Hiam Ginott