THIS IS US
Philosophy
We will use respectful language and behaviors.
We will motivate and encourage each other.
We will be accountable and responsible.
When I think of Home Court Advantage, I feel it is the place we feel safest, know extremely well, and try our hardest because we know our biggest fans are watching us. My goal will be to build and create our classroom... as our Home Court. By learning in this safe, caring, and respectful environment, students will have the support to take on new challenges, the security to discuss and collaborate together, and the motivation to discover and investigate this amazing world around us. We will strive to become a team of individuals with unique strengths, working together to achieve goals through support, motivation, and a commitment to excellence.
Learning can be intense, difficult, and challenging, therefore students should feel they have the necessary support team to grow through struggle or persevere through frustration. "Within each conflict there is an opportunity to gain new knowledge" (Gibbs, 2006). Each school day is a fresh start and an opportunity to learn and grow.
This teaching philosophy is implemented the first day of school, heavily supported the first 2 weeks until it becomes part of the fabric of each day where students truly feel part of a team.
Day 1
Getting to know you. Knowing ourselves well. I AM... activity. Students will participate in an I AM writing and photo activity leading to the creation of an I AM classroom book.
Day 2
Norm creation. Students will develop the norms of the classroom and agree to being AWESOME every day. Students will put their own individual stamp on our Be Awesome Today poster as a way to show their commitment to the classroom norms. Students will begin to reflect on how they are going to commit to being an AWESOME classmate every day in their own way.
Day 3
Spider web activity. Students will work on listening skills and begin to build inclusion and community. Each person will have the chance to share something about themselves and pass the ball of yarn. As the web is created, students will have the opportunity to reflect on what the web symbolizes - inclusion, belonging, and unity.
Day 4
A great classroom. Students will create a poster with their ideas of what A Great Classroom looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Students will continue to build community and explicitly understand the expectations of the classroom.
Day 5
Knowing each other well. Sharing exercise designed for students to listen, learn, and share about each other. Each student will have to introduce their partner to the class.
Day 6
Team building. Students will share about what a good teammate looks like and what a bad teammate looks like. Table teams will have the opportunity to name their table team, building excitement, ownership, and accountability to their team. Students will create posters with their team name as well as names of all of the team members.
Day 7
Team building continues. Students will participate in a collaboration activity, where each table team will be asked to choose a member to send to the middle... who has the longest, shortest, smallest, wiggliest, etc. But the fun part is they will not know the longest what? Or the shortest what? Until they get to the middle.
Day 8
Simple acts of kindness. Students will read together The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig and reflect on how little acts of kindness can make a huge impact. Throughout the day students will receive jelly beans for all of the small acts of kindness they do during the day. Symbolizing how sweet it feels to be kind.
Day 9
Gratitude chain. Using a fun song students will trace and produce their own clapping hands using paper. They will write why they clap including, when they are happy, when they work hard, when it's raining. Students will connect their project together as a symbol of our classroom holding hands and being thankful to have each other.
Day 10
Hard work and determination. Students will begin to understand what is hard work and how to persevere during a challenge. Students will be asked to do various tasks alone, with a partner, or the whole group without talking-- at all.