Student

Explanation

Each section will be explained to students during the first few days of school. If more
than one section is explained at a time, the teacher will have the students do a brain
break in between. Anchor charts will serve as reminders to students. The teacher
will continue to go over routines and expectations throughout the year.

Morning Routines – Day 1, Morning (40 minutes)
Show Modeling Video (see Attachment A).
Go over the steps 1 more time using Anchor Chart B and Anchor Chart C.
Have the students turn to a partner to talk through the steps using the anchor chart.
Have the students practice all of the morning routine steps. Bring Anchor Chart C to
the hallway.

Other Routines (including Transitions) – Day 1, Morning (15 minutes)

There are just a few more routines that we need to go over. In first grade, I know that
many of your teachers have a snack time. In our class in second grade, I am going to let
you pick when you would like to eat your snack. As a second grader, I trust that you
know when your body is hungry; I want to give you the freedom to eat your snack
when you think it is best. One rule for eating snack is that a book cannot be in front of
you. I care a lot about keeping our classroom library nice. Snacks can make our books
messy, even if we are really careful. So you cannot eat your snack if you are reading a
book. You may also go to the bathroom whenever you think it is best. As a second
grader, you should know when that is.

To get your attention during work time, I will ring the wind chimes. Ring the chimes
so students can hear the sound. If you hear the chimes, you need to stop what you are
doing or what you are saying, look at me, and listen. Sometimes, I will not be near the
wind chimes and need to get your attention. I may say a phrase like “Second graders…”
to get your attention. If we are going to transition to a new learning activity, I will put
on a song. During the song, you should finish what you’re working on or what you’re
saying and put away your materials. By the end of the song, you should be ready for
the next learning activity.

Have the students practice the transition and listening routines by giving them
topics to talk about with classmates and then implementing the routine.

Purpose – Day 1, Afternoon (30 minutes)

Write on chart paper “Why do we have school?” So, here we are, on the first day of 2nd
grade. I want you to think about why we even have school. Why do our parents make
us come here? Why are there laws saying students are supposed to be in school? What
is the purpose of it? I want you to think hard about this question. Think of something
creative that maybe no one else thought of. Then I want you to write your creative
thought on a sticky note and stick it up here on this paper. Pass out sticky notes and
pencils. Allow students time to think and come up with an answer. Write and place
your sticky note along with the others on the board. Group similar answers together
and discuss several interesting or important thoughts.

So, I wanted all of you to think about why we have school, but I have an answer too. I
wrote on my sticky note that I think we have school so you can all be successful in your
lives. To me, that means you can be successful now, while you’re in second grade, and
later, when you’re beyond second grade. That means I want to teach you skills and
topics that will be useful to you for your life.

We’re going to hang this poster up on the wall for a while, and we may revisit it later.
It is a good reminder to us why we’re here. We will also hopefully be able to add to it
over time. Something good for you to know about me is that I love doing things for a
reason. I want to know why I’m doing something before I do it, or it doesn’t seem as
important. When I don’t think something is important, I usually don’t try my best. I
want you all to think of why school is important to you so that you can try your best
this year.

Teambuilding Activities – Day 1, Afternoon (60 minutes)
Do several fun team-building activities with students, outside if possible, to build
community.

Community of Learners – Day 2, Morning (5 minutes)

The most important thing that you need to keep in mind this year is that we are a
community of learners. The decisions that you make affect yourself and others. I want
you to make decisions that help all of us learn. Everyone in a community of learners
should be helping others to learn. Let me give you a few examples. Being quiet during
silent reading time helps others learn from their books. Participating in a group
discussion helps others learn. Explaining your understanding to a friend who is
confused about a topic helps others learn. That is our primary focus in the classroom.

Learners are not perfect. They do not know everything. I do not expect any of you to be
perfect. You will make mistakes and errors. Sometimes, those mistakes will be spelling
mistakes or math errors. Sometimes, those mistakes will be when we make decisions
that are not the best decision. There will be consequences for our decisions, but I know
that we are still learning and improving in our decision-making skills.

I also get to be a part of this community of learners. We are all learning from each
other. You help me learn! I am learning more about students and about teaching each
day; since I am learning, I will sometimes make decisions that I need to fix. Just like you
are learning, so am I.

My Values/How to Be Successful in my Class – Day 2, Morning (10 minutes)
Use Anchor Chart D

There are a few different things that I value. You will hear me talk about these things
again and again, for the WHOLE year! I wanted to make sure you all knew them right
from the very start so that you will know what is important to me and what our class is
going to be focusing on. We already know that I value our community of learners. That
is my big umbrella value; all of these things fit underneath that category.

The first thing I have written is problem-solving skills. It is really important to me that
during this year you are growing in your problem-solving skills and that you all leave
this class knowing how to solve problems. It is important to me that during this year
you are growing in your problem-solving skills! This is so important because if you are
a problem-solver, you do not need me all the time. This applies to problems in subjects
like Science, Math, and Language Arts. It also applies to other things, like problems
with materials. I expect that if you accidentally drop your snack on the floor, you can
decide on how to best clean it up. I will be here to help you. Remember, we are all
learners, so you are not expected to have the best solution to every problem on your
own. You are expected to work on coming up with a solution. Sometimes that solution
will include asking classmates for help or telling me about the problem.

The next thing that I value is collaboration. This means working and talking together
about ideas and problems. I value this because I think that we learn from each other.
Everyone has different ideas and different ways of viewing things; these different ideas
help us to learn. Sometimes others know more about certain topics; we can learn from
them in this way too.

Another thing I value is deep thinking. Deep thinking means thinking really hard about
something. It’s when you take a problem or an idea and think through it. You can think
about other possibilities and solutions than just your initial thought. I want you to take
your thinking and deepen it this year. You will see many examples of deep thinking this
year, and I will point them out so you know what I’m talking about.

The last value I’m going to talk about ties the rest together; it is “openness and
acceptance of diversity.” Now, those are all really big words! Let me explain a little
more. Having openness means we have an open mind; we are willing to see that others
are different from us and not judge them for it. Diversity is a way of saying differences;
when we are open and accepting of diversity, we accept other people’s ideas,
personalities, experiences, and culture. Since we are going to be doing so much
problem solving, working together, and thinking deeply this year, we are going to
work on accepting and being open to others’ ideas and experiences.

Values in Practice – Day 2, Morning (90 minutes, with break)

So, now we are going to have a chance to try out those skills we just talked about! I am
going to give you a problem to solve as a class. So, this year we are going to have
classroom jobs. Each person in the class is a part of our community, so each person will
get a job. They will keep their job until Winter Break. I want you to work as a class
choose the jobs we think are necessary to our classroom. I want you to begin discussing
ideas in small groups before we come together as a large group to make a final
decision. Remember, we’re working on our problem solving, our teamwork, our deep
thinking, and accepting others’ ideas!

Students will be in groups that were picked collaboratively the day before. Give the
students ample time to discuss the jobs needed in groups. Encourage students to
record their ideas on paper or sticky notes. Help groups think though their ideas
more thoroughly. Give suggestions if groups get stuck. After sufficient time, play a
song to get the class back together. Discussion solutions and thoughts. Record the
thoughts on chart paper or the white board, possibly using sticky notes if most
groups used them. Highlight the values displayed during the discussion.

Repeat the collaborative process (group work, discussion, etcetera) to decide how to
pick who gets which job.

Rules – Day 2, Afternoon
Use Anchor Chart E

We have a few rules in this classroom. Some fall under the category of respect. Our first
rule is about listening when someone is speaking when we are meeting as a whole
group. “Have listening ears and quiet mouths when someone is speaking.” This shows
our respect for that person and what they have to say. Our next rule is “Be kind to
others.” This means we should say kind words and do kind actions. We should also
“take care of property and belongings.” We need to respect our building and the
materials that we have to work with, as well as our classmates’ belongings. Anything
we borrow we should use gently. We need to respect the materials our school has given
for us to use.

There are also a few other rules. The next one is “give your best each day.” It is
important to me that you give your best to your learning and others’ learning in this
classroom. We talked about the things that are important to me, and I said the most
important thing is our community of learners. If you give your best, you should be
helping yourself and others to learn. I want you to know that I expect your best, but I
understand that it might be different on some days. When something sad happens at
home or you have a cold, your best for that day will probably look different. That is
okay, but I want to see the best that you have to give for that day. Remember how you
get to tell me how you’re feeling each morning when you come in the classroom? If you
tell me something is bothering you, I can work my best to support you throughout the
day and understand your behavior.

There are two more rules. “Make safe decisions” means that you need to think about
the decisions you are making, and ask yourself if they are safe before doing them. The
last rule “use your best judgment” is about being a problem-solver. You will need to
make many decisions in this classroom, and sometimes may have to make a difficult
decision on your own or with the help of a classmate. In these cases, you should use
your best judgment. Remember, we are all learning, so if I see something happening
and I am confused, I will ask you why you are doing that behavior. It is important to
me that I don’t assume or blame you without hearing from you first. Sometimes you
are using your best judgment about a situation that I don’t know the whole story
about.

Consequences – Day 2, Afternoon

This year, I also want you to understand that you control yourself. You are responsible
for your own decisions. I am not going to try to control you; you are the only person
that can control yourself. You get to make your own decisions. I will try my best to help
you make the best decisions you can make, but it is up to you.

In our class this year, you will have consequences for when you don’t follow rules and
make choices that are not appropriate. Part of my job is teaching you how to make
good decisions in your life; consequences are a part of this. The decisions you make will
have an affect on yourself, others, and sometimes property. The effects can be good or
bad. When the effects are bad, you will have a consequence. Since I want to teach you
how to be successful outside of this classroom, your consequence for a negative
behavior will match the behavior. If you’re talking to your friends when I am modeling,
the consequence might be that you will work by yourself later and write your thoughts
rather than sharing them.

Methods with Expectations – Day 3, Morning
Use Anchor Chart F

We are going to have SO many different ways that we learn this year! I want to make
sure that we talk about those so you know what they are and so you know what my
expectations of you are when we participate in different learning activities. The reason
we have so many different ways we learn is that our brains are capable of learning in
different ways and some ways work best for certain topics or certain people. We want
to have a variety so we have the best learning experience.

Modeling means that you get to watch an expert do a problem or show a strategy.
Sometimes, I am the expert. Sometimes, you get to be the experts! The expert might
also think aloud so we can understand what is going on inside their head. When an
expert is modeling and talking, I expect that you will have listening ears and quiet
mouths like our first rule says. If you have questions, you may ask them after the
modeling is over.

We will also do mini-lessons sometimes. This means that you will listen to an expert
share ideas and information. I also expect you all to have listening ears and quiet
mouths. If you have questions, you may raise your hand to ask.

Another thing we will do is have discussions. This means that our whole class or a
small group will be contributing ideas about a topic. We will share our thoughts, ideas,
and experiences with each other. During discussions, I expect that you will listen to
whoever is speaking and wait your turn to speak. I also expect many people to
contribute. We will talk more later about how discussions work.

Another thing that you will often see me do in our class this year is write down our
class ideas. This is called “Visible Thinking.” Since our thoughts are inside our heads,
we want to share them to get them outside of our heads! Sometimes we share them
aloud and sometimes we share them through writing. Either way, I like to make sure
that our thoughts during important discussions are recorded so we can look back
later. It helps all of us remember what was said and understand better.

Now let’s talk about what ways we are going to learn during work time. One way we
will work this year is individually. During this time, I want you to focus on your work
and think inside your head. Some people really like working individually and like a
quiet environment. When we do assessments, some of them will be individual so I can
see what thinking you can do on your own.

Another way we will learn during work time is through collaboration. That means
working together in pairs or groups. We will learn by exchanging ideas with others.
We’ve talked about how I value us working together, so we will do this a lot.
Sometimes, we will do collaborate after individual work. That way, you will have time
to think in your head and then share with others later.

Now let’s talk about what we’re actually going to do during work time. One thing that
we will do often to organize our thoughts are thinking routines. This is just a fancy
way to say charts that help us put our thinking on paper in a helpful way. These help
us to understand our thoughts and help us to show them to others. Most of the other
things that we do during work time will be projects and problems. During these, I want
you to use your deep thinking, the knowledge you already have, and your problem-
solving skills. These help us to have something engaging to do where you can use your
knowledge rather than just practice. For example, we won’t do very many math
worksheets practicing addition problems, but we will have problems to solve that we
need to use our addition for.

We’ll be using these teaching methods all year. I wanted to tell you them so you have
an idea of what to expect from this class.

Grading & Assessment – Day 3, Morning
Use objective board.

You can see that up on this board every day, there are learning goals we are working
towards. Sometimes, a learning goal for one topic will stay on our board for a long
time. Sometimes it will only be up there for that day. These are the learning goals that
I am going to be assessing. As a teacher, I have to decide whether or not you
understand and can solve certain problems. Sometimes, I need to know these things so
I can decide what to teach next. Sometimes, I need to know these things to put them in
report cards or to tell the principal or the district how all of you are doing. When I
decide how much you know or can do, I try to find evidence. I look at your assessments,
look at notes I’ve taken, things I remember from class time, projects you’ve handed in
to me, and more. I look at all of those things and find evidence that shows you
understand.


Attachment A – Script for Morning Routine Modeling Video

Scene View Lines

1. Walking In 1A Front view of Mrs. B with backpack on N/A

outside of school

1B View of outside of school

1C Rear view of Mrs. B walking into the

building and through the halls

Props:
Backpack

2. Locker 2A Side view of Mrs. B wearing jacket, rain N/A

boots, backpack, and carrying lunchbox

2B Side view of Mrs. B looking up at poster

2C Front view of poster

2D Side view of Mrs. B taking off backpack

and putting lunchbox and backpack in
locker

2E Front view of locker, Mrs. B putting

backpack and lunchbox in locker

2F Side view of Mrs. B taking off rain

jacket and rain boots

2G Front view of locker, Mrs. B putting rain

jacket on hook and boots on bottom shelf,
taking gym shoes out

2H Side view of Mrs. B putting on gym

shoes

2I Side view of Mrs. B grabbing permission

slips and pencil box

2J Front view of locker, Mrs. B grabbing

permission slips and pencil box

2K Side view of Mrs. B closing locker and

walking

Props:
Jacket
 Rain boots
Backpack
Lunchbox
Gym shoes
Permission Slip
Pencil Box

3. Greeting 3A Rear view of Mrs. B walking up to a Teacher: Good morning! How are
teacher at the door you doing today?
Mrs. B: I am doing great! We won
3B Side view of conversation between our soccer game last night and
teacher and Mrs. B then we went out for ice cream!
Teacher: That’s awesome! What
Props: was the score?
Permission slip Mrs. B: It was 4-2, and my friend
Pencil Box Josie scored the winning goal!
Teacher: That’s excellent. I see
that you have a permission slip
for me.
Mrs. B: Yes, here it is.
Teacher: Thanks for bringing it in
today. Nice to see you!

4. Materials 4A Rear view of Mrs. B entering the N/A

classroom and walking to her desk

4B Front view of Mrs. B putting down her

pencil box

Props:
Pencil Box

5. Lunch 5A Rear view of Mrs. B walking to pocket

Choice chart

5B Front view of pocket chart, Mrs. B

taking out lunch card

5C Side view of Mrs. B contemplating her

lunch choice

5D Front view of menu board

5E Side view of Mrs. B putting her lunch

card in a hot lunch choice bin

5F Front view of lunch choice bins, Mrs. B

putting her lunch card in a hot lunch choice
Mrs. B: Oh wait! I have a cold
 bin lunch!!

5G Front view of Mrs. B walking away,

stopping, making a shocked face

5H Rear view of Mrs. B walking back

5I Front view of lunch choice bins, Mrs. B

putting her lunch card in the cold lunch
choice bin

Props:
Pocket chart
Lunch cards
Menu board
Lunch choice bins

6. Book Bin 6A View of Mrs. B grabbing her book bin, N/A

finding a comfy spot to read, and taking out
a book

6B Front view of clock

6C Front view of Mrs. B reading, turning a

page

6D Front view of clock, 9:00 am

Props:
Book bin
Comfy furniture
Clock

Anchor Chart B

Anchor Chart C

Anchor Chart D

Anchor Chart E

Anchor Chart F