To create a friendly, non-threatening classroom environment, here are

some strategies gathered from seasoned educators who create a warm and
welcoming environment for their students every day.

You can start on creating an environment that is conducive to learning and

maximizing student social and academic growth in 10 easy steps:

1. Greet your students each day with enthusiasm. Find something

positive to say as much as possible or as much as time will allow for.
2. Provide students with time to share happenings, events, or items
with you. Even if you set a certain time frame aside each day for 3-5
students to share, it will help to create a friendly, warm, and welcome
environment. It shows them you care and it provides you with
opportunities to learn about what is important about each of your students.
3. Take the time on occasion to share something that is important
to you. This could be the fact that your own child took their first steps or
that you saw a wonderful play that you would like to share with your
students. Your students will see you as a real and caring person. This type
of sharing shouldn't be done every day but rather from time to time.
4. Take time to talk about differences within the
classroom. Diversity is everywhere and children can benefit from
learning about diversity at a very early age. Talk about varying cultural
backgrounds, body image, body types, talents, strengths, and weaknesses.
Provide opportunities for your learners to share their strengths and
weaknesses. The child who may not be able to run fast may be able to draw
very well. These conversations always need to be held in a positive light.
Understanding diversity is a lifelong skill children will always benefit from.
It builds trust and acceptance in the classroom.

1. Say no to all forms of bullying. There is no such thing as a welcoming,

nurturing environment when there is tolerance for bullying. Stop it early
and make sure all students know that they should report bullying. Remind
them that telling on a bully is not tattling, it is reporting. Have a set
of routines and rules that prevent bullying.
2. Build activities into your day that support students working
together and building rapport with one another. Small group work
and team work with well-established routines and rules will help in
developing a very cohesive environment.
3. Focus on the strengths when calling upon a student. Never put
down a child for not being able to do something, take some one-to-one
time to support the child. When asking a child to demonstrate or respond
to something, be sure that the child is in their comfort zone and always
capitalize on the strengths. Showing sensitivity to each of your students is
extremely important in protecting their confidence and self-esteem.
4. Promote two-way respect. I can't say enough about two-way respect.
Adhere to the golden rule, always show respect and you will get it back in
return.

1. Take time to educate the class about specific disorders and

disabilities. Role play helps to develop empathy and support among
classmates and peers.
2. Make a conscientious effort to promote confidence and self-
esteemamong every student in the classroom. Give praise and
positive reinforcement that is real and deserved often. The more that
students feel good about themselves, the better they will be toward
themselves and others.