Safe+Classroom+Environment

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/734 Your classroom is "home away from home" for you and your students.
 * 1. ****Make it attractive and functional **: Consider grade/age level appropriateness, the type of classroom activities you will be implementing, and your particular style. For example, consider the various areas of the classroom and design those areas for use in a variety of activities. The physical aspects of your room include room arrangement, seating, bulletin boards and black/white board displays and physical climate. Each of these should be carefully considered with both individual students’ needs and instructional goals in mind.
 * 2. ****How to arrange your classroom **: The seating arrangement should be designed in a systematic way so that the organization of the seats helps the students to feel more organized; assigned seats will also help. Also, seats and entrance should be arranged to reduce traffic and distractions. Always allow plenty of space for walking traffic within the classroom, especially around areas where supplies are stored like pencil sharpeners, cubbies, etc. Be sure to adapt to classroom needs. Some classes work better being seated in row, while others work better in groups. Whichever arrangement you decide it is always a good idea to switch it up every now and then.
 * 3. ****Your classroom’s lighting and temperature will affect student achievement **: Lights and temperature should be comfortable and should promote student learning. Some students need more light than others; some may want it to be warmer or cooler than others. These things will have to be worked out through compromise. From year to year these also may need to change depending on the group of students.
 * 4. ****Plants ** are an excellent way to make any room look more welcoming. They also improve the air quality in air-conditioned buildings.

Creating a safe environment for student learning is crucial for every teacher. There needs to be a balance of trust, as well as, proper correction in each class. This helps students feel engaged, yet, safe enough to contribute ideas.


 * Benefits of a Safe Classroom Environment:**
 * When students are challenged to go out of their comfort zones, they learn to expand their understanding, to take in a new perspective, and to stretch their awareness.
 * "Students' internal reactions to class activities and classmates-feelings of annoyance, anger, anxiety, surprise, confusion, or defensiveness-may be signs that their way of thinking about things is being challenged."
 * "Tension in the classroom, when it does not get out of control or explode, can prompt learning. Safety is not a goal in itself, but a prerequisite for the kind of classroom climate that can result in learning."


 * Ways Teachers Can Promote a Safer Classroom Environment:**
 * Arrange the classroom in a way that maximizes interaction; ideally, students should be seated in a circle or horseshoe shape that maximizes the amount of eye contact students can have with each other.
 * This is not always true. It is important to adapt to classroom needs. Some classes work better in groups, while others work better in rows. Whichever you decide it is a good idea to switch it up every now and then.


 * Encourage but not compel participation in whole class discussions. The teacher may state that s/he will not call on students individually to participate, and students have the right to not participate. The teacher can bring people into discussion indirectly- using prompts, eye contact, and statements such as "Let's hear from the back (or second) row" or "Let's hear from some people who haven't been talking." Perhaps most importantly, do not expect minority students to educate their peers, to speak for their race or group.
 * Be clear about the distinctions between course grades, teacher expectations of students, and class norms.
 * Introduce the concept of triggers.
 * Model learning about diversity.
 * Actively intervene in the class when necessary.

//Source: http://www.uww.edu/learn/diversity/safeclassroom.php//

Teaching Respect
Respect is a difficult word to define because it means something different to each person. If you want your students to be respectful, you must model respect. It might not be easy to get students to be respectful in your class. But they will not be respectful if you are not respectful. You can not be a hypocrite.

Try to say only positive things about people. Stop students from gossiping about other students. Creating a safe classroom environment is difficult when slander is present.

Try to make all your students feel like they are an integral part of the class. Every student is different, there is no need for you to point this out. If a student wants to share how they are different, that is ok. But you pointing it out is not ok.

Try to be consistent with your rules. An example would be: if Johnny can't wear his bandana, Sally can't either.

Try to say please and thank you when making requests. Students might be shocked by this and might think it is a sign of weakness. But you are modeling correct behavior for your classroom.

Try to get the parents involved in the positive things their child is doing. When parents are invited to come to school, they may speak about and remember all the positives of your class. The more you integrate the parents on positive aspects of your class, the more likely they will support you when things go bad with discipline issues.

Try to go to every meeting regarding your student, especially IEPs. Responding to parent's phone calls and emails promptly is important but time consuming. Using a website where students and parents can access password protected grades or homework assignments can help time management.

Source: http://www.lessonplansinc.com/classroom_management_safe_environment.php

It's important to start the school year off right by establishing classroom rules and consequences. Although rules may seem to restrict the classroom, they establish clear boundaries and expectations for student behavior which helps create a safe classroom environment.
 * Establishing Classroom Rules and Expecatations: **

Some teachers involve their students in creating the classroom rules and consequences - surprisingly, most students will likely pick similiar or even stricter rules as the teacher because students ultimately thrive when they know exactly what to expect and what is expected of them.

__Ways to create student-led classroom rules__:
 * Classroom Behavior Contract
 * Starts by asking the students four questions:
 * How do you want me to treat you?
 * How do you want to treat on another?
 * How do you think I want to be treated?
 * How should we treat one another when there's a conflict?
 * Students share their responses in small groups and with the whole class - responses are recorded on a large sheet of paper and when thoughts are repeated, they are marked with a star or checkmark
 * After the rules are established, every student signs the contract
 * The paper can be laminated and posted in the classroom and smaller versions can be created for student's to keep in their binders or notebooks
 * Characteristics of Good Students
 * Students are divided into small groups and come up with a list of qualities of a "good student"
 * The class comes together and writes down similar observations
 * That information can be used to: (1) create a list of classroom rules, (2) create a poster of an actual "good student" for more visual learners, (3) create a list of consequences for inappropriate behavior
 * The "Perfect Classroom" Paragraph
 * Students write down a paragraph of what they think a "perfect classroom" looks, sounds, acts like
 * Students are divided into small groups and underline a few important words or phrases
 * Papers are passed around among students so that other students can underline important words/phrases or agree to the already underlined words/phrases
 * The class discusses the results and chooses the five or so most important words/phrases
 * From there, those words/phrases can be used to create a list of classroom expectations or a classroom vision statement

[]

This website offers some examples of classroom rules for the elementary school level. It seems like creating a safe classroom environment may involve classroom rules that are more positive like a lot of the following rather than a list of "don'ts". Consistency is key to implement classroom rules and to gain the respect of the students. [|Classroom Rules]

A sense of safety comes from consistent, attentive, nurturing, and sensitive attention to each child's needs. Safety is created by predictability, and predictability is created by consistent behaviors. And the consistency that leads to predictability does not come from rigidity in the timing of activities it comes from the consistency of interaction from the teacher. If a schedule is consistent, but the teacher is not, there is no predictability for the child. Predictability in time means less to a young child than predictability in people. How can a teacher provide this? Use your most powerful teaching tool, your personality. Your smile, your voice, and your touch make a child feel safe. Face-to-face, "on the floor time," and eye contact are essential in this process. Be predictable in your interactions with the child and not in the number of minutes spent in each activity. Be attuned to each child's overload point. Let children find some space and solitude when they seem to be overwhelmed. In these quiet moments the child can find pleasure in reviewing the discoveries of the day. http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/safety_wonder.htm

The Scholastic website offers a great tool to visualize the setup of your classroom in order to promote safety. This helps educators see what their classroom setup will look like without actually being in their classroom. This is extremely useful for the teacher because it allows them to give their setup more thought. http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/class_setup/