Creating Class Rules: A Beginning to Creating Community, Essay Example

This action plan will help to increase the social and emotional development of the classroom community in three specific strategies. As NAEYC 1B governs, positive relationships must be built between teachers and children. In order to stimulate self-regulated learning (SRL), we will focus on classroom rules and expectations. By establishing rules and expectations, the children will progressively learn the concept of following rules and living up to expectations. This also creates the healthy relationship between teacher and children, because children understand the rules that the teacher has enforced and will be respectable in following them. Following this part of the action plan will also maintain classroom management. (NAEYC, 2015)

NAEYC 3A governs to design enriched learning environments. Mrs. Clark’s classroom presents an open space with offset boundaries in the middle of the classroom that can be put to use as a learning approach for life. Improving this physical environment will assist in the social and emotional development of the classroom. Considering NAEYA 3A01 and 3A02, we will apply the second strategy by integrating teamwork with the teacher and the classroom along with children’s health and safety. Together, the teacher and children will work as a team to establish boundaries in the open space; this will also improve health and safety as they will not be free to run around opening to the risk of collision. (NAEYC, 2015)

The third strategy will consider NAEYC 4B, using appropriate assessment methods. Social and emotional competency is important. This part of the action plan will assess at the end of every week information about the children’s cognitive skills, social and emotional development, problem behaviors, and approaches to learning. Such information will then be used to implement new activities that focus on areas of needed improvement. (NAEYC, 2015) (Taran, 2012)

In order to execute this action plan using the three strategies, we will need certain resources, tools, and materials. The first action plan strategy will require a rule board, listing classroom rules the children can read and understand. This rule board should be colorful and appealing to make the learning experience more artistically fun for children. The second strategy will require tape to establish the boundaries. Again this tape should be colorful and fun. Tape would be better than putting up walls or shelves because tape gives the children the ability to choose between crossing a boundary or not. This will stimulate integrity at a young age. If there are walls or shelves set up for boundaries, the children will be forced to follow them, which is a form of dictatorship at a small level. The third strategy will require the teacher to improve consistency in joining the children in play to support their interactions and expand their ideas. This is an opportunity for the teacher to get an inside look at how the children are developing emotionally, socially, and cognitively. (Goularte, 2015)

The strategies used in this action plan will surely promote positive outcomes for the children in the classroom. We can predict that relationships will become stronger between the teacher and children as the children learn to respect boundaries. The children will also engage in interaction with each other in the form of teamwork by collaborating with the teacher to establish the boundaries in the classroom. Teaching effectiveness will go into play when the teachers assess the children using the third strategy of the action plan. With information obtained from the children, the teacher will know what guidance strategies to use to improve the learning environment. (Taran, 2012)

Bibliography

Goularte, R. (2015). Creating Class Rules: A Beginning to Creating Community. Retrieved from Read Write Think: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/creating-class-rules-beginning-136.html

NAEYC. (2015, April 1). NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Criteria. Retrieved from NAEYA Accreditation: http://www.naeyc.org/files/academy/file/AllCriteriaDocument.pdf

Taran, R. (2012, September 5). Activities to Build Social and Emotional Skills in Elementary Students. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/sel-for-elementary-school-randy-taran