DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Reflection:

 

In making sure that we keep building community every day throughout the unit and making sure that we keep students' needs in mind, we created these classroom procedures:

  1. First-bump in
  2. Warm-Up
  3. Community Builder
  4. Break/Energizer
  5. Exit Slip/Survey
  6. Unity Clap
  7. Fist-bump out

Everyday before students come inside the classroom, they fist-bump both my team teacher and I. This allowed us to have an individualized welcome to each student. When students would come late, we would still go to them and fist-bump them to make sure they know that they are welcomed into the class. After this, students knew to look up at the projector where their warm-up assignment was. The warm-up served different purposes each day. It was either to help them collect themselves before starting content or to help them start thinking about the content for the day.

 

Following the warm-up, students and teachers all participated in a community building activity that allowed us to learn more about each other and get comfortable in the class. We found this to be essential, because for the first two weeks we had class in the morning which we knew meant some students didn't eat breakfast or were sleepy. Sometime during the class there was a scheduled break and/or structured energizer. My team teacher and I made the decision to add this to our classroom procedures, because we understood that 105 minutes is a long time for any student. We wanted to make sure students had a specific time to continue building community and/or get energized to finish the class. This was useful, because students were engaged in class before and after the break.

 

Lastly, our closing activities were the exit slip, the unity clap, and a fist-bump out. These closing activities were essential in helping students reflect on their learning and class, helping students feel solidarity, and say bye to each of us. We had an exit survey each Friday which was 15 minutes long, because we wanted students to take the time to give us, the teachers, feedback on activities and content. This allowed us to know what each students' needs are and what we need to provide more clarification on or we would have to re-structure. The unity clap was essential to the classroom environment, but also to our content. We taught students how the unity clap came from the United Farm Worker Movement and was an action of solidarity between Mexicans and Filipinos and just like them, we were building solidarity among each other. Just like the fist-bump in, the fist-bump out allowed students to get an individualized good-bye. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.