One of the sure-fire ways at the beginning of the year to set character education in motion is a welcoming classroom setup, focusing on responsibility and ownership and allowing designated areas of the room for specific uses. Here are two tips:
1. I always start a comprehensive jobs list at the beginning of the year and the duties rotate on a weekly basis. The students are responsible for their own jobs for the week and they are rewarded for completing the jobs effectively on a daily basis. I always introduce them with the premise that we, as a class, are a team, and we must all help to keep our classroom running smoothly and effectively. This helps us to build community. Some of the jobs are as follows:
- Class DJ
- Botanist
- Librarian
- Homework Checker
- Attendance Checker
...Amongst many others!
2. I have a designated place for conflict resolution in my classroom. It is in a quiet corner, and it is comfortable and away from the others. We use a conflict resolution template in order to write down our feelings before we discuss them, and the talking is done in a structured, safe format. I have found that this teaches the kids to think before acting and they learn how to effectively solve problems and understand other points of view.
Do you have any tips? Please write them in the comments!
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