My Service Learning Observations: Part Two

The teacher that I am observing is very good about encouraging a positive classroom community. She makes sure to greet and welcome each student entering the classroom. The day begins with a short amount of time to finish any of their classwork or homework from the previous day. After that they all go to the rug where the students are given the opportunity to talk, share what they did the night before, how they are feeling etc. They then read a book together as a class! They also have their classroom set up into groups or teams and they can work together as a table pretty often throughout the day. The teacher frequently has times where the students are encouraged to work in partnerships too. These are just a few of the ways that my teacher encourages a positive classroom community.

My cooperative teacher also offers quite a bit of opportunities for the children to make their own choices. For example after they finish their work there is a box of books and they get to choose which book to read. Each table in the classroom has daily jobs and my teacher allows the students to pick which job they want for the day, for example there is a table runner. My teacher sometimes offers the students two choices for the book they read as a class and she lets the students vote on the one they want. These are just a couple of examples as to how the teachers allows students to make their own choices.

By making a positive classroom community my cooperative teacher has created a space where the students feel safe and loved. The students have made friendships and are comfortable enough with their teacher that they feel safe in this classroom. The students also feel comfortable enough to share their feelings with each other and their teacher. I have seen this frequently in the classroom. Just the other day a kid started crying and told the teacher that one of the other students had hurt his feelings and then the teacher proceeded to talk to the two students about the problem. The classroom is also set up in a way to promote the children's safety! Here are just a couple of ways my cooperative teacher creates an environment where children feel safe and loved.