Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

EDU 453 Hospitality Assignment - Coggle Diagram

- - - - After they greet me, they get another opportunity to show me how they are feeling through the "Daily Check-in" board. Every student will have a clothespin with their name on it. There will be a list of different emotions on the board and students will clip their pins on whatever emotion they might be feeling that day. When explaining the purpose of the board, I will encourage them to be honest as they participate in the "Daily Check-ins" each day. I will say, "I want to know how you feel so I can help you best". By showing that I care about how they are feeling each and every day, I want to help them understand that my classroom is a safe environment for them. Likewise, Dr. Swofford often assessed our feelings through an "emoji poll" and the strategy, "fist of five", in EDU 453.
        
        Little Locker of Needs
        
        My "little locker of needs" will look similar to this locker, but it will include items that will meet the specific needs of my students. In the article, "How to Maslow Before Bloom, All Day Long", Tom Berger talks about the importance of the article's title and the necessity of applying the rule to our classrooms. Food is at the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Sadly, we cannot guarantee our students have met these essential needs before coming into our classrooms. That is why I want a "little locker of needs" that will include snacks, hygiene supplies, and items to help with school. My TOPP teacher for my 4000s clinical, Mrs. Shadden, always makes sure her students have eaten breakfast before they begin the planned learning activities, even when they show up late to class. She recognizes the needs for students to eat before they can begin to get comfortable in the classroom and learn. To attain the supplies in my locker, I will make it clear that students should ask me first. However, they can come up to me at any time with these requests. This locker will ensure that I have the resources I need to help students be successful in my classroom.
        
        Classroom Schedule Display
        
        In my future classroom, I will have a schedule displayed that can easily be modified depending on the agenda for each day. During our morning meeting, I will go over the schedule with my students each day and discuss any changes or special events that will occur. I have learned from participating in Mrs. Shadden's classroom that a classroom schedule changes daily to fit in different areas of study, such as music, art, and physical education. I want my students to be aware of the schedule, so that they will be prepared for the flow of the day. When discussing repetitiveness, Ms. Bell talked about the importance of establishing a daily and weekly routine, as well as communicating that routine to students. Unplanned experiences can trigger the brain's alert system, or the amygdala. I want my students to be equipped for changes in the schedule, so that they will know that they are capable of handling those changes. I have seen for myself the need for students to know the agenda for the day. From the minute he walks into her classroom every morning, one of Mrs. Shadden's students asks her if she is going to be there the entire day. Students care about the day's agenda, so I will make sure I communicate it to them daily.
    - - A calming corner is a necessity for any classroom, especially with younger students. The calming corner in my classroom would include a comfy chair and different sensory items that they can feel and squeeze. However, I do not want my calming corner to become a distraction from the learning environment. So, I will put a timer in the corner and instruct my students to set the timer when they go into the corner. They can stay in the corner for as long as the timer runs. The corner will also include visuals of the emotions they might be feeling, such as anger or sadness. It will also include visuals of strategies they can use when they are feeling those negative emotions. During the early weeks of the year, I will explain to my students what these visuals mean and how they use the pictures to understand and improve their emotions. I want the calming corner to be a place where they feel safe, so that they will be able to regulate themselves. When a student's alarm system gets triggered, they need to regulate their minds and bodies before they can accomplish anything else. This calming corner will help them regulate so they can come back to a place of reasoning.
- - - - The game, "Four Corners", provides opportunities for students to participate in the movement they require in the classroom. Yet, the easy activity can be modified to assess students' knowledge, interests, and understanding. To play "Four Corners", a teacher poses a question to his or her students. The question could involve the content being taught, or a question regarding entertainment, such as, "What holiday do you enjoy more: Thanksgiving or Christmas"? "Four Corners" can be adaptable to involve "Two Corners" or "Three Corners", or however many options a teacher plans to give his or her students. The teacher will mark the areas and ask students to stand in a particular area depending on their answers. This chance for movement will activate the midbrain, which is right above the brain stem in Dr. Perry's Neurosequential Model. In my future classroom, I can utilize this activity to give my students a chance to move at any time, depending on my students' needs. I can also "beg, borrow, and steal" from Dr. Swofford and give my students "funny walking prompts" to engage their minds as they walk. For example, I could say, "March like soldiers to your corner". I plan to use "Four Corners" to assess my students and engage their bodies in movement as they learn.
        
        PlayDoh and Other Sensory Items
        
        This semester, with help from Ms. Bell and Ms. Schisler, I have rediscovered the benefits of playing with playdoh as both an energizer and a way to relieve stress. When I am tired during class or overwhelmed about something, I play with playdoh. I understand that my future students might not able to focus on learning and playing with playdoh at the same time. My future classroom will utilize items such as playdoh and other sensory items during brain breaks. In the article, "How to Maslow Before Bloom's", the author discusses the significance of taking breaks. Berger states, "Students lose focus over periods of direct instruction—for elementary students this starts after about 10 minutes—so shorter lessons with brain breaks in between boost a student’s ability to stay on task and allow for better consolidation of recently learned material". It makes sense that timed brain breaks can improve a student's ability to stay on task. I will be sure to use an online stopwatch to keep track of our brain breaks, so students will be able to see how much time they have to rest and restore themselves. I want these types of brain breaks to be scheduled into our classroom agenda, so that the breaks will promote repetitiveness in my classroom. Brain breaks provide an amazing medium to promote regulation and relaxation for students. Sensory items, such as playdoh, make the brain breaks effective.
        
        Hand Motions
        
        Incorporating hand motions into the morning routine and lessons is a simple way to engage the midbrain. I plan to teach my students hand motions as they learn the "I Can" statements early during the lesson. By teaching them hand motions early in the lesson, I am involving the midbrain in movement before I continue to engage the higher parts of the brain. Hand motions are an easy way to involve kinesthetic learners, and help students remember important concepts. Mrs. Shadden and Ms. Lea, my TOPP teacher from Cedar Ridge, utilized hand motions often to help their students with recall.
        
        Classroom Cheers
        
        Before EDU 453, I had never thought about using specific classroom cheers to encourage students and get them moving. In my future classroom, I want to display a poster that explains cute, specific cheers that I will teach my students. When a student meets their goal or shares something they've created, I will give them the opportunity to choose what cheer they want to receive from the entire class. These cheers will get the whole class up and moving, which will engage their midbrain. The cheers are typically rhythmic as well. I want my future classroom culture to be a place that encourages students and teaches them how to encourage each other. These cheers will also give students opportunities to be relational with each other. By cheering their peers on, they get to interact with each other's progress and presentations.
      - 2-4 Corners
- - - - For my future classroom, I plan to let my future students tell me their story through pictures and words in a timeline format. Students will bring pictures of themselves and their families and decorate a timeline which will display major events that occurred in their lives. Through this assignment, I can learn about my students and their backgrounds. Yet, this assignment helps them practice a variety of skills. First, it helps them grasp the concept of time and gives them experience with number sense. Second, it gives them experience with telling their own stories, and helps them see that stories always have a "beginning, middle, and end", which is relevant to the Missouri Learning Standards. This assignment can be adaptable to involve all learning styles as well. Students will bring or draw pictures of their lives. I will give them each an opportunity to verbally tell their story as they construct the timeline. Lastly, with paper and glue, they will engage in intentional movement. When all my students are done with this assignment, we will participate in a Gallery Walk where they will get to observe the stories of their peers. A timeline assignment also encourages a respectful classroom environment. My students and I are taking the time to get to know each other through the sharing of our backgrounds and histories. I will be sure to create and share my own timeline as well with my students, so they will get to see an example. By giving all my students a chance to share their stories, I am creating a sense of security in my future classroom.
      - Color Poetry
        
        In my future classroom, I want to scaffold my students so that they will be able to write a color poem. A color poem is a piece of poetry inspired by a certain color that details how our five senses can experience that color. It is a mixture of two mindful minutes that we have done in EDU 453, Rainbow Thoughts, and the grounding exercise that involves the five senses. Since it is similar to those mindful minutes, students can regulate themselves as they work on the assignment. Additionally, it gives them a chance to describe interesting things that they experience. Young students love talking about their favorite colors, and this assignment gives them a chance to explore the reasons behind their love for their favorite colors. To introduce the assignment, I might lead them in those mindful minutes. This time will give them a chance to regulate. As we brainstorm ideas for the poem, they will get a chance to relate their lives to the prompt itself. Lastly, as they write the poem, they get an opportunity to reason how they can best describe the color that they chose. This assignment gives them an opportunity to meet each of the three "R"s on Dr. Perry's sequence of engagement that Ms. Bell discussed.
- - - - Monthly or Weekly Newsletters
        
        As a teacher, I want to keep communication open with my students' parents through the use of newsletters. The newsletter will include specific goals and content areas we plan to cover, as well as pictures of students' participation the previous months' activities. I will include a section title, "Ask your student about..." that would include a list of conversation starters for parents and students regarding the month's activities. My students and I will create the newsletter together. I will ask them what topics we should put in the newsletter. If I end up teaching older grades, I would have students take turns writing sections of the newsletter themselves. Through the newsletters, I want to show my students that I care about them and want to involve their parents or guardians in our classroom. I want them to take ownership of our classroom communication as well. If I highlight student participation in the newsletter, my students will be more motivated to get involved in the activities. Ms. Bell discussed the importance of keeping classrooms relational between teachers and students. If my students see that I care about the people that are most important to them, the quality of our relationships are bound to improve.
      - I would assess my students' likes, dislikes, and personality traits through another "check-in" that would be part of the Daily Check in board. Next to the spot where they can tell me about their emotions, they will be two or more pictures displayed. These pictures will represent the options for the day's "Would you Rather" question. Students will place their clothespin onto the picture they like most. Examples include, "What's your favorite candy?" Students can put a clothespin by a picture of M'Ms or Skittles, etc. Students enjoy expressing what they like, and this is an opportunity for me to show them that I care about them at the beginning of the day. If they are upset about something, there is a good chance they will be encouraged by the opportunity to tell me what they like. This activity will be a repetitive experience that will encourage relationships in my classroom. I will take a picture of the chart every day and return to it as I plan my lessons. This data will help me personalize the lessons according to their interests.
        
        Question of the Day
      - A Team-Based Reward System
        
        To reward students for meeting expectations and to promote classroom community, I plan to utilize a specific "team-based" reward system in my future classroom. Mrs. Shadden uses this simple strategy to motivate students and to teach them responsibility. She broke her class into three teams, naming each team after the students' favorite animals. The teams were organized according to the classroom's desk setup. When she saw a team meeting the expectations, she rewarded them with one point. When a team gets five points, they get a special reward that the team decides on beforehand. The rewards get students so excited. They could eat lunch with Mrs. Shadden, get a piece of gum, or take off their shoes in the classroom. Ms. Bell discussed the importance of rewards in the classroom as she stated, "We remember how we feel, not what we heard". Rewards can boost students' motivation and help them understand their responsibilities to meet the expectations of the classroom. Meeting these expectations not only impacts themselves and the teacher, but it also impacts the experience of their peers. This "team-based" reward system will encourage teamwork and give students an incentive to meet the expectations of the classroom.