Creating Your Dream Elementary Classroom from the Inside Out

A Practical Guide for Teachers

Becky Hunt

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138586604
• eBook ISBN: 9780429997129
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Classroom Management

What are the magic ingredients to a dream classroom and how can you create one for your own students? In this inspiring new book, Becky Hunt shows you how to transform the elementary school classroom into a special place where students are excited to learn. You'll gain practical strategies on key areas such as classroom environment, community, routines, procedures, expectations, lessons, and professionalism. You will discover how to:

• Design a classroom environment in which students feel safe, happy, and eager to learn;
• Arrange and facilitate regular class meetings so that students can express themselves freely, without judgement;
• Maintain professionalism in and out of the workplace;
• Set guidelines, rules, and expectations that students will understand and respect;
• Construct a targeted lesson plan with a clear beginning, middle, and end;
• Approach each day with a positive attitude by managing health and wellness;
• And much more!

Special features in each chapter include a "Tips from the Pros" section and "Reflect and Write" boxes to help you pause and apply the ideas as you go. There are also "Discussion Questions" and "Notes to Trainers and Mentors" so you can easily use the book for new teacher training, induction, book studies, and PLCs. With the practical tools and heartwarming examples in this book, you can have your own dream classroom starting today!

1

You Can Be a Dream Teacher

The teacher is the key to creating a Dream Classroom! The focus of this chapter is to help you to think back to the time in your school experience when you had a Dream Teacher. What made that teacher so special? Why did students love that teacher? What are the attributes of a Dream Teacher? Once you have identified the positive traits of your favorite teacher, you will begin to look at yourself and make a plan to become a Dream Teacher that makes connections with your students and makes learning for every student a dream come true!

Looking Back

Do you remember being a student in a Dream Classroom? It is very likely that your most vivid memory will be the Dream Teacher that created that classroom. Without a Dream Teacher, there will never be a Dream Classroom. It is the teacher who is the magic ingredient that makes a Dream Classroom come true.

My Dream Teacher was Mrs. Howard. I remember her voice as if she were speaking to me today. She was always so pleasant and calm. She smiled when she talked to us, and we loved her the first day we met. Mrs. Howard greeted us at the school doorway each morning and helped us to get our coats hung up and our lunch boxes stored before we went into the classroom.

Mrs. Howard began each day by reviewing the schedule and talking to us about the plans for our day. She encouraged and praised us on a daily basis. She reminded us of her high expectations, but she never seemed to lecture or scold us. If we needed correcting it never took more than a raised eyebrow to get us back on track. Mrs. Howard taught us the basics, but she gave us plenty of time to read on our own and create unique projects. I remember designing our own kites and having a kite flying contest in March. In May, we made May baskets and hung them on the doorknob of friends and neighbors on our way home. We played softball in the spring. We prepared skits and songs for school programs that our parents enjoyed. And I remember listening to her read The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, on cold winter days after lunch. I loved school because I loved my teacher. I learned so much from Mrs. Howard, and I am thankful to her for modeling for me how a Dream Teacher creates a Dream Classroom. She showed us every day how much she cared for us, and she made learning meaningful and fun.

So now it’s your turn. Who was your Dream Teacher? How did your Dream Teacher make you feel? What lessons did you learn? What made that teacher special? What attributes did your Dream Teacher have and what were the actions of your Dream Teacher that made him/her special? If you don’t remember a specific teacher create your own idea of a Dream Teacher for the activity that follows.

Reflect and Write

Write your reflection and include details of your memories below.

My Dream Teacher …

Share your memories with your teacher partners. Together discuss the attributes of your favorite teachers and describe their specific actions. Based on your memories and reflections create a list of common attributes and actions of a Dream Teacher.

Now it is time to think of yourself as a Dream Teacher. Which of these attributes and actions do you exhibit that makes you a Dream Teacher? Be generous to yourself and make a list of your best attributes and actions that you demonstrate in your classroom. Then list one or two that you want to develop!

Now you have done some soul searching and have identified areas that you want to develop as you become a Dream Teacher. How will you make the changes needed? What potential roadblocks are there to implementing the changes?

Think this through and write an “I Can” statement to identify your goal. Determine an Action Step and write an “I Will” statement with steps to help you achieve your goal. Record your goals and action steps in the chart below.

Here is an example:

Goal:

I can greet my students and smile at them every morning when they come into the classroom.

Action Step:

I will have my lessons prepared so I can be at the door to greet them every day.

I recommend you start with two goals. Once you have mastered these, you can work on others if you choose. Creating good habits starts with consistency. There is no magic to being a Dream Teacher. Training, experience, and following your heart will help you to become the Dream Teacher you have always wanted to be.

Turn and Talk

Share your action plan together with a partner. How can you support each other?

Professionalism is an Important Key to Becoming a Dream Teacher!

Being a Dream Teacher is a full-time job. Once you have accepted the responsibility and stepped into the role of being a teacher, you will not only be a teacher at the school, but you will be a teacher at home and in the community. As teachers, we are role models and it is not just our students who are looking up to us. When you signed up to be a teacher you also signed up to be an inspiration to others, a guide, a beacon of hope to the world. You may be thinking, “Wow, that is asking a lot, I never thought of my role outside of school! When do I get a break?” Well here is the truth, and I am mentioning it because this is a lesson that I have learned over the course of a long career in Education. People do respect teachers. Most people would be the first to say they couldn’t do our job! However, over the years views of teachers have changed, some say we have lost respect. But, there are some reasons for this, and some of us have not considered how our appearance, our attitude, and our communication skills have slowly chiseled away the respect people have for teachers.

Professional Dress

Dream Teachers come in all shapes and sizes. When I think back to the teachers I respected the most I realized they came in all shapes and sizes. I don’t remember that they were fashion plates, but they all dressed professionally. It is essential to think about your appearance at school and present yourself as a professional. Your students, your colleagues, your administrators, and the parents are all watching and how you dress represents who you are and shows your professionalism.

When I first started teaching it was in the late 70s. I was a Flower Girl through and through. I had long hair and wore short skirts to school for my first teaching job. I was a 7th and 8th-grade reading teacher. One of my duties was to monitor inside a girls’ bathroom between class periods. My first time on the job one of the girls pulled out a cigarette and asked me if I wanted one. I was shocked! “I am a teacher!” I said. The girls laughed and ran out. I realize now that I was only a few years older than those girls and I probably shopped at the same shops in the mall they frequented! After that day I started to work on a new wardrobe, and I even got a stylish haircut. I wanted to be recognized and respected as a teacher, so I had to make some adjustments to my style.

Your Life on the Web

Of course, it is not just your style that people will judge you by, it is your lifestyle as well. Social media has shown a wild and crazy side of society, please don’t let your wild and crazy side show! Have you reviewed your Facebook page? How about your Twitter account? Everything that goes on Facebook reflects who you are, and how you live your life. Just be careful and sensitive to what you say and the photos you post on your Facebook page. We know some teachers have lost their positions because of words and photographs posted on their Facebook accounts, so don’t let that be you. Be yourself and represent yourself honestly, but consider the messages you are sending out to the world!

Put in the Time

The first-year teacher has a big job to do, and it will take more than the hours of your contract to make your first year successful. The hours you spend before and after school organizing your classroom, preparing schedules, planning lessons, setting up your grade book, evaluating assessments, communicating with parents, and MEETINGS will consume your life. Any new job will take time to adjust to, but if you are a teacher in a new classroom and a new school, you have your work cut out for you. But here’s the thing, it will make your life easier if you put in the extra time. The other thing I want you to know is, it will get better! I still remember the confidence and ease I felt during my second year of teaching. What a difference one year makes! So hang in there, you are striving to become a Dream Teacher, so you will feel pride when you look back at all you have done and the successes you have achieved!

Be a Team Player

Teachers are lucky because we have an opportunity to work together with our peers and colleagues every day. We all want to be on a great team, and it starts with being a great team member. Collaborating on lessons, projects, spe...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Meet the Author
• Getting Started!
• 1 You Can Be a Dream Teacher
• 2 Design Your Dream Classroom Environment
• 3 Create Your Dream Classroom Community
• 4 Develop Your Dream Classroom Routines
• 5 Plan Your Dream Classroom Lessons
• 6 Keep Your Dream Classroom Alive
• Thank-you Notes to Dream Teachers
• Acknowledgments