Classroom Climate & Culture

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 During my first week at practicum, I spent a lot of time talking to students about the projects they had chosen and why, learning names, and getting acclimated with my teacher, her classroom, and the school. When you first walk into my Mentor Teacher's classroom, you feel very invited. For instance, my Mentor Teacher's classroom is decorated to show her personality, and make the room more inviting. She also is sure to incorporate her students' work in the room as well. For example, on the first day of school, Ms. Lejman had the students pick out a random page from a book that she had torn out. The students were to find a word or statement that explained their past, present, and future. At the end of the day, Ms. Lejman collected all of those, strung them together, and now they're on display in her classroom on the wall for everyone to see. Something else Ms. Lejman has is fidgets. She has an area in the classroom where students can walk over to sign one in and out. Ms. Lejman is also a newer teacher and is very laid back, but the students seem to really respect her. A lot of what she has the students do in class is student-centered and allows them to have autonomy which is so important. This upcoming week is Banned Books Week, so Ms. Lejman's 10th grade English Honors class is going to be participating in Lit Circles. Students will be able to choose between 6 different books, and then they will be getting into their Lit Circles(similar to a book club) to discuss the book, their findings, and complete activities and assignments. Everything that I've seen out of my mentor teacher just after this first week shows that she really wants students to be interested in what they're learning AND that she's willing to be a resource and an advocate for them. 

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