2a Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport It is my aspiration to have a room full of students that are respectful and eager to learn. I want my students to feel safe and respected with me as their teacher. My students will know that I, as their teacher, am a student as well - I will continue to learn from them. Showing and teaching my students respect will lead to positive results beyond the classroom. In the lower elementary grades I see school as an opportunity for human development in addition to learning how to read and write. We will all be better humans at the end of each day.
I am sharing two of my favorite pictures that depict respect and rapport. There's so much love for my students! Look at all these smiles!
2c Managing Classroom Procedures I am very eager to provide the students with an opportunity for creativity. My personal interest in art is likely reflected in my teaching style. I also like to help students feel confident in their individuality and artistic ability. I am including two artifacts to show my willingness to present a lesson wherein each student follows direction to yield the same result. A student that does not feel assured by their artistic ability still ends up with an art piece that meets the purpose of the lesson. Step by step demonstration allows students to complete the steps together, ending with a similar result. I have provided a picture of a few student products for the Alien Window. This project was completed at the close of the Solar System unit at Purple Sage Elementary. The second image is of a step-by-step drawing of a rover for the Mars lesson in the Solar System unit. Students were excited as they completed each step and were impressed with their own artistic abilities.
2e Organizing Physical Space I chose to use this artifact as a way to illustrate my feelings of the importance of seating arrangements. At Idaho Arts Charter it was my responsibility to arrange seating for the ELA class and my homeroom. Teamwork with my lead teacher allowed us to place students in groups based on student or lesson needs. Sometimes I would seat students to allow for social interaction reasons, other times I would seat them in a situation that allowed them more "thinking" room. I am always moving around in my classroom so that I can recognize and tend to my student's needs.
I have provided pictures of both classrooms in which I have taught. Each environment was different and the layout and strategic placement of desks changed often to accommodate the lessons presented. The picture on the left is the third grade Idaho Arts Charter classroom. The six chairs in a circle were a common theme to encourage peer collaboration. The picture on the right is the first grade classroom at Purple Sage. The teacher does a lot of roaming in the middle of the layout, which allows the teachers to have a better awareness and helps us to respond quickly to questions.