This week, Brittany Johnson presented some ideas and strategies that she uses in her Grade 1 FRIM classroom to create a calm and cohesive classroom environment.

Morning Check-ins

The use of morning check-ins are essential to form connections with students. Knowing that there is a trusted adult who cares about them at school would increase attendance and make them feel safe and loved. This is especially important if they don’t receive that kind of attention at home. Morning check ins can be in the form of tapping a colour on the wall as they walk in to the class, a sheet to fill out/colour in, or checking off the mood/character they feel like on the board. Knowing how your class is feeling can help a teacher gauge the overall class energy and decide what activities will be more/less successful.

Feelings sharing in a circle

Another strategy that Brittany shared in her class is sitting in a circle at the beginning and end of the day to share how the students are feeling and why. This can be done with showing thumbs up/down/to the side, or with holding up fingers. During this time in a circle around the carpet, there can also be grounding, mindfulness and breathing exercises.

Soft starts

• Play doh
• Kinetic sand
• Silent reading
• Drawing
• Hand printing sheets

Decorating the classroom

Brittany shared that she starts every year with a completely clear classroom. At first, I was skeptical because I imagined it being quite bland for the students, but the more she explained it, the more I liked the idea. She explained that creating learning resource posters, rules, and decorations with the class creates a sense of pride, and also better understanding from all the students. I think that the best decorations are ones that are created by students, because it gives so much more life and personality to a classroom than posters that you can buy.

Parent portal

Lastly, Brittany explained the concept of sharing student work online through the online portfolio. This helps keep parents up to date and allows for schoolwork and pictures to be easily kept and documented. This system also helps when it comes to creating report cards, because the teacher has already been working on evaluations throughout the entire term.