Culturally Responsive Classroom Plan Josie Wood Key Values

Culturally Responsive Classroom Plan Josie Wood

Key Values and Beliefs • Students should be in a safe learning environment that is catered to their personal needs. • It is my responsibility to recognize the needs of my students and teach to them rather than to a state test. • Students should feel connected to the classroom, both to me as a teacher and to their classmates. • Students should feel comfortable in the classroom so that they can share their ideas. • All students have the ability to learn and to further their knowledge.

Classroom Covenant We as a class will work together to make this a positive learning environment for all students. We will recognize that everyone learns at a different pace and in a different way. We will support our classmates in their learning process and help them out along the way. We will not engage in behavior that will hinder the learning environment we have established in this classroom. We will treat everyone, teachers and students, with respect and courtesy, encouraging them to do their best work and to learn everything they can in this class.

Goals for Students • Students should learn about the subject matter and improve their overall knowledge and understanding. • Students should grow personally, becoming more comfortable speaking in front of their classmates. • Students should strengthen their skills as a writer and communicator. • Students should gain an understanding of each other and a heightened sense of empathy. • Each student will met his or her personal learning goals.

Practices to Promote Goals • Classes and discipline should be learner oriented, not teacher oriented. • Students should be encouraged to set personal goals and work diligently to meet these goals. • As the teacher, I will work to give every student what they need to get the most out of the class and to optimize their learning experience.

Practices to Develop Community • I will have students working with each other in teams and groups as often as possible. • I will make sure that all students feel comfortable and included in the classroom. • I will give students the opportunity to get to know one another within the classroom. • I will encourage caring behavior in the classroom, especially with matters of discipline. I will help students to see caring behavior as vital to a fully functioning classroom. • I will create a classroom covenant with my class so students will feel like they have input into the decision making process. • I will make sure that all students are recognized for the unique and talented people that they are.

Practices to Build Positive Relationships with Students’ Families • I will make sure that parents feel comfortable coming to me with any issues that they might have with their child’s learning in the classroom. • I will send out newsletters or emails that let parents know what information we will be covering in the classroom in the upcoming weeks. • I will regularly communicate with parents about their child’s individual progress and the ways that their child is growing within the classroom. • I will work with culturally diverse families to make sure that they feel as though their voice is heard in the classroom. • I will make parents aware of the expectations that their child has in my classroom.

Ways to Promote Appreciation of Diversity • I will read novels in the classroom that focus on a variety of different cultures. • When using examples in classroom, I will make sure that the examples are culturally diverse. • I will call attention to the richness of the diversity in my classroom and encourage students to appreciate the diversity in each other. • I will accommodate my teaching style to culturally diverse students in the classroom. • I will recognize that there may be misunderstandings regarding behavior because of different cultural backgrounds and will be understanding of these differences.

Strategies to Motivate Learners • I will encourage students to make individual learning goals and work towards those goals. • I will make sure that assignments tie in with those goals. • I will hold individual conferences with students, especially about essays, that give students one-on-one attention in the classroom. • I will use students in examples as frequently as possible to keep them interested. • I will find subjects that students are interested in and find ways to incorporate the into the classroom. • I will offer students choices about the ways the complete assignments and the ways they choose to learn. • I will put the emphasis on learning, rather than on grades or task completion. • I will use a variety of activities in the classroom.

Ways to Address Varying Abilities in the Classroom • I will use students that may understand a certain concept as study partners for students that are still struggling. • I will use differentiation in the classroom by allowing struggling learners to focus on basic skills, while more advanced learners can focus on more complex parts of the topic. • I will modify assessments for different learners, giving each student the type of assessment that will best show me what they have learned. • When working in groups, I will change groups throughout the year, sometimes putting students in groups randomly and other times grouping them by ability so they can work with a variety of people.

Ways to Engage in Problem Solving with Students • I will work together with students to form a discipline plan that everyone agrees to. If a discipline problem arises, I will remind students that they helped create the discipline plan in the classroom. • I will have open communication where students can come to me with problems they may have with other students so we can work through the problems together. • I will take time to hear the student’s side of the story and consider the fact that I might be the person in the wrong. • When a discipline problem arises, I will work together with the student to help find solutions so that the problem does not happen again rather than immediately turning to punishment as a solution. • I will only respond to those behaviors that endanger a student or seriously alter the learning environment in the classroom. I will not stop in the middle of a lesson to address a behavior that can wait to be addressed until the end of class.