After 5 weeks of school, I finally feel like my classroom is coming together. I have been adding color, positivity, and meaningful decoration to the room for the past few weeks. I talked a little about teaching last month, but I am proud of how things are turning out and wanted to show off some of my favorite activities.

Social Contracts

On the left, poster-sized copies of each class’ social contract is plastered across the top of the wall. In the first weeks of school, the students created their own social contracts, which are agreements to respect each other and to create a beneficial learning environment for all.

They discussed how they wanted to treat each other, how to deal with conflict, and what kindness and respect looked like. They wrote down all their ideas, and I combined them into easily legible laminated posters, which they all signed. Now whenever an issue occurs, we remind each other of what we all agreed to do. It does not solve all the issues, but it gives us a defined starting point that the students helped form.

Small Group/Project Tables

In the middle, I have gathered my tables into groups of four. Because I teach English Language Development (English as a second language), many of our assignments include talking and reading in groups. I dislike generic classroom setups because it tends to isolate students, while this format encourages them to work together.

Recently we have been using table rotations, with each table group doing something different; partner reading; and small group discussions. As usual, the first try for each new activity is messy, but we are already showing improvement, and students are engaging with the work.

Vocabulary and Wall Decor

On the right, I have two posterboard areas. One is our vocabulary wall, where each new word we review goes up with a definition and picture.

The other is an activity we did on one of our first days of school. Each student wrote down a fear and a hope on a stickynote and placed it on the board. Then we discussed how similar all our hopes and fears were, which shows how we are all in this together.

Along the top of the cabinets are colored notecards, on which students have written encouraging and positive messages for their classmates.

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My hope is that by having students create some of the decoration, they feel like they have contributed to the community, making it a safe and more encouraging place. It is likely impossible to create a perfect classroom, but every little bit counts.