1. Positive perspectives on parents and families
I feel that parents, families, and communities can make or break your experience as a teacher, so putting in the effort to really connect with them in a positive way is detrimental to both the teach and the student. In order to pull this into my lesson, I will send parents a note home before starting the lesson. This note will explain to them the information that we will be going on for the week and the subjects that we will be touching on. Parents will feel welcome to talk to their kids about experiences they have that may relate to the lesson, such as a time they saw a polar bear in a zoo or watched a documentary. Students can come to school with something to add to the class discussion as opposed to a blank stare.
2. Learning within the context of culture
Including the different cultures of those in the classroom is an important concept that all teachers should be doing. It helps students feel validated in themselves and with others, as well as build acceptance in everyone else. In order to bring in my class's culture, I need to first get to know the students in my classroom. I have in my plan that a student is an ELL from a Spanish speaking country, so perhaps I can have more visuals that show just what a polar bear is and what it does. I can also look up animals from the student's home country that could relate to the plot in the story, which has to do with helping abandoned baby animals survive. Drawing on animals that are more familiar to the student can engage him/her more in the lesson.
I feel that parents, families, and communities can make or break your experience as a teacher, so putting in the effort to really connect with them in a positive way is detrimental to both the teach and the student. In order to pull this into my lesson, I will send parents a note home before starting the lesson. This note will explain to them the information that we will be going on for the week and the subjects that we will be touching on. Parents will feel welcome to talk to their kids about experiences they have that may relate to the lesson, such as a time they saw a polar bear in a zoo or watched a documentary. Students can come to school with something to add to the class discussion as opposed to a blank stare.
2. Learning within the context of culture
Including the different cultures of those in the classroom is an important concept that all teachers should be doing. It helps students feel validated in themselves and with others, as well as build acceptance in everyone else. In order to bring in my class's culture, I need to first get to know the students in my classroom. I have in my plan that a student is an ELL from a Spanish speaking country, so perhaps I can have more visuals that show just what a polar bear is and what it does. I can also look up animals from the student's home country that could relate to the plot in the story, which has to do with helping abandoned baby animals survive. Drawing on animals that are more familiar to the student can engage him/her more in the lesson.