The Box of Secrets
The Box of Secrets is a wonderful way of introducing a topic to children... or giving them a puzzle that they have to solve.
The environment we create for our students is equally as important as the content we teach and the learning strategies we use. This applies to all teachers of all age groups from preschool to graduate school. The environment includes the atmosphere, the traditions we set the furniture arrangement, the centres or special areas within the room, and the decorations. All of these things add up to create either a positive or negative environment for students.
Here are some tips to help you in creating a welcoming environment.
Students feel welcomed and inspired to learn from the moment they walk throughyour door.
This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Primary and elementary teachersmay want to decorate their door with a theme. It can be a simple welcome theme,your classroom theme, or a unit theme. Some examples might include:
Middle school and high school teachers may not want to decorate their door with a theme, but can use other items to show students that their room is a place of caring and learning. Some examples:
When setting up your room, first do a sketch to get an idea of how everything will look and to help you stay organised when moving everything around. Ask yourself:
Classroom walls and bulletin boards are covered with thought-provoking and stimulating material
Do you have any other suggestions for creating a welcoming classroom environment? Add them to the comments below...
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