This approach to Classroom climate is tops!

https://youtu.be/Mxyn1aqGens

Crissy Calera
Grade 6 Humanities Teacher
Abu Dubai

 I have been teaching since 1994 and have been intentional about classroom climate that entire time, however the ideas that you encapsulate in ACEs really get at the heart of what most teachers are trying to achieve.  I want to make sure that new teachers see this.  Also, while you teach 6th grade, this feels right for high school as well.  I wonder (see what I did there) if people in this community have examples of how the do each of these elements of the classroom.  

Top Replies

  • What a great use of KWL charts! I love the idea of making the connection between past and present in this way.  This last year for our district focused on a year of purpose, The intention was to highlights…

  • Great share. This really has me thinking. I teach 9th (Big History Project) and 10th grade (World History Project) and  's approach has a lot more intentionality to it compared to how I…

  • I also teach 6th grade, and I love how you connect ancient history to students' daily lives.  I'd love to hear more about your lesson on stone-age technology and Apple.

  • Great share. This really has me thinking. I teach 9th (Big History Project) and 10th grade (World History Project) and  's approach has a lot more intentionality to it compared to how I've tried to connect current events to the history we are learning. Thanks Crissy! 

  • What a great use of KWL charts! I love the idea of making the connection between past and present in this way.  This last year for our district focused on a year of purpose, The intention was to highlights contributions and issues in Black America. I struggled to talk about police brutality and the tenants of Black Lives Matter while also staying true to my plans with Big History. I partnered with my co-teachers in ELA and did book clubs with books like, Brown Girl Dreaming and Ghost Boys. It was really awesome but I love this idea of it coming up more organically within our curriculum. I wonder how easy it is for students to make those connections on their own and how much of this would be guided. Thanks for the share!

  • I really like the way in which you approach the teaching of topical issues to your students Crissy and the way in which you make these topics relevant to students everyday live. I especially liked the way in which you encourage your students to bring in and discuss current articles from the news. One of my biggest challenges is trying to encourage my students to look beyond social media for information on current events. Thanks for sharing your ideas with the community. 

  • I also teach 6th grade, and I love how you connect ancient history to students' daily lives.  I'd love to hear more about your lesson on stone-age technology and Apple.

  • Thank you so much for the feedback. I'm so sorry for my delayed response!  I appreciate all the kind words and encouragement.  Eric, as far as examples on how to do each element in the classroom, I tried to give some basic ones, but it really is up to the teacher and their students.  As we all know, every classroom is different and it's about finding what is most relevant and meaningful to your students.  However, I'd be happy to offer more examples!

  • Thank you!  I try really hard to be intentional with everything I do in the classroom, and don't always hit the mark!

  • Thank you!  I would say it's quite easy for some students to come up with those connections on their own, depending on how aware they are of what's happening in the world, which is why that's such a focus for me.  Once my students have that awareness, though, they make the connections so quickly!  I'm always so impressed at how their brains work.

  • Thank you!  I believe relevance is key to engagement, and a great way to build relevance is through stories.  I'll be honest and say history was not a strong point for me as a student, and I know I would have been more interested if my teachers had taught events, people, etc using stories instead of just facts, and that's what I try and do now as a teacher.  As far as getting students to look beyond social media, maybe try making a lesson out of that.  I wonder if you could find some examples of inaccurate news on social media and share those with the students, then ask them to research the actual story or facts.  That could be a quick and easy way to get them to see how much more is out there and how unreliable social media is as a news source.

  • Thank you!  It wasn't so much a lesson on stone-age technology and Apple, it was just one of the ways my students connected the past to present.  A way that I show those connections is having an anchor chart displayed throughout the entire unit so my students can jot down the connections they make and display them for others to see.  This connection was made by a student on their own!

  • Thank you so much for the feedback, and I'm so sorry for my delayed response!  I appreciate your kind words.  As far as examples on how to do each element in the classroom, I tried to give some basic ones, but it really is up to the teacher and their students.  As we all know, every classroom is different and it's about finding what is most relevant and meaningful to your students.  However, I'd be happy to offer more examples!