RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum

Teaching Children to Care

What were the key points of your assigned readings? These can be listed in bulleted List any questions or discussion
format under each chapter. topics you would like discussed
Identify/Explain/Plan 1 idea from EACH chapter that you will “look for” or “try” in class.
during your RED 414 Clinical.
Section I Building a Learning Community
Chapter 1 Intentions
• The key points in this chapter were about discipline, classroom management and Classroom management/discipline
building a classroom community. vs. strict
• It is crucial to know that academics and social behavior go hand in hand. Students and o How do I avoid this?
teachers need the time to get to know each other. This will help with classroom
management and building a community.
• Self-control is the first purpose of classroom management. By creating independence
and responsibility in students, we are setting them up for success.
• Creating a classroom community means we are allowing our students to open up and
care for each other.
❖ In my six-week clinical, I want to see the growth in my student’s ability to
care for each other. I plan on helping students learn to work together,
solve problems as a class and teach them to care for all. This will help
their classroom grow into a strong, close community.
Chapter 2 I See You, I See Everything
• The key points mentioned in this chapter: teaching proactively, using
reinforcing/reminding/redirecting language, get to know the students by observing,
SEE children do things but also see them more symbolically, and also the three stages
of the first six weeks.
• In a classroom, less is more. Having too much going on in the classroom can limit the
chances to watch the students. Keep areas clean and simple.
• The first six weeks of school is the time to focus on the students, observe them, talk to
them and get to know them for who they are.
• Giving students our attention by observing, gives them more confidence and
validation in their school work. It shows the teacher cares.
• Use specific, and positive reinforcing, reminding and redirecting language.
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

• 3 Stages in the First Six Weeks:

o Stage 1: Focus on the class, as a whole. Take time to learn expectations for
behavior.
o Stage 2: Introduce the responsibilities for working in small groups and
independently.
o Stage 3: Initiate the skill and content instructions planned for the remainder of
the year.
❖ One idea I want to try in my clinical is to explore Guided Discovery with a
box of crayons. Guided discovery helps students generate ideas, share
thoughts and explore their thinking. In this activity, the teacher will have
a box of crayons wrapper in paper. Students will guess what is under the
paper, the teacher then reveals it is a box of crayons. The teacher then
helps guide the students to think of all the different kinds of colors in the
box, what they can be used for, where they can store the crayon box and
so forth.
Chapter 3 Making the Rules with Children
• The main ideas of this chapter were about creating rules as expectations together as a
class.
• Students learn rules at different stages. For first grade, students are in stage one. At
this stage, it is important not to use harsh threats towards the students when they
misbehave or break classroom rules, but specifically redirect them with a positive
tone.
• Creating the rules together will help the strength of the classroom community. To start
building a list of rules, the teacher will state their hopes and dreams. This establishes a
positive viewpoint towards the rules, meaning students are more likely to abide by
them. Next, move the teacher’s and students’ hopes and dreams into rules.
• Most of the time students will come up with rules like, “Do not push, do not yell, do
not break toys.” It is important to keep the rules positive and switch them from, what
not to do to what to do.
• Rules help make good things happen more often!
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

❖ I would like to create a list of classroom rules with my 1st grade clinical
and have all students sign it with their finger print. This is a unique way
to have all students agree upon the rules. We will come up with the rules
together, illustrate them on an anchor chart, sign the chart and hang it up
so it is visible to all who enter.
Chapter 4 Teaching the Rules
• The key points in this chapter are about modeling the rules, role-play, following the
rules and being consistent.
• When modeling the rules, be sure to demonstrate the actions and language patterns we
want students to learn.
• Another way to teach the rules is to use role-playing. This is a great way for students
who are visual learner to understand how the rules work.
• Following through with rules is a great way to remind and reinforces students for their
good behavior. We need to encourage and notice students’ good behaviors by using
reinforcing language.
• A good way to keep the rules consistent, is to use to when examining problems. We
can use the rules to examine problems or bad behaviors in the classroom.
❖ Role-playing is a great way to teach the rules. One way that can be done is
to gather the class and the teacher will describe a potential situation. This
is appropriate for a first-grade classroom. The entire class will discuss
what happened and different ways to appropriately handle the situation.
Especially for younger students, it is important to keep the role-play
short.
Chapter 5 The Critical Contract: A Student’s Individual Goal for the Year
• The key ideas in this chapter are making sure the students are involved tremendously
in their personal goal making, allowing the 1 st grades time to think about what is most
important, and be sure to involve the students, their parents and of course the teacher.
• When naming a goal, help the students set priorities and organize their time to achieve
that goal.
• Communicate with the student and their parents. This will help make sure that
everyone is on the same page and helping the child meet their goal. Parents know the
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

child the best, so conversing with them is one way to understand if the child is
succeeding or struggling.
• The teacher can discuss the goals with the parents at conferences before the school
year and during, and also with students during one-on-one meetings. Once a goal has
been set, it is smart to have everyone sign a contract, stating they are there to help and
support the student in accomplishing their goals.
• Create individual goals towards the end of September, early October. It is important to
strive to accomplish them all year long. By helping students work towards their
personal goals, it shows the students and their parents that you care and want only
what is best for their child.
❖ One idea I would like to apply to my clinical is to have the students
brainstorm a personal goal and document the goal by having them draw a
picture of themselves doing that goal. The drawing would be their
contract that they would also sign. This is a great way to have students
personalize their goal even more. It lets them be creative and independent
at the same time.
Section II Making the Community Work
Chapter 6 Using Logical Consequences When Rules are Broken
• They key points in this chapter were about using logical consequences when rules are
broken and how to respond properly to misbehaviors. It also was about natural
consequences and the importance of the, “Stop Step.”
• Logical consequences are effective because they reinforce a student’s desire to have
self-control. Logical consequences are not to humiliate students but to help students
rethink their behaviors.
• Sometimes, consequences occur naturally. Although sometimes these are good
lessons, we need to protect students from the natural consequences that fail to teach a
lesson.
• When a behavior is occurring, it is important to stop it before it increases or makes a
situation worse. Stop the behavior in an appropriate but stern tone.
• When implementing logical consequences, be sure to respond to student’s choices and
actions, practice the consequences with empathy and structure, the consequence
should describe the demands of the situation, consequences should be placed only
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

after the situation has been assessed, use stop and think and finally, logical
consequences should help restore student’s self-control and self-respect.
• The three types of logical consequences are: Reparation (having students fix their own
mistakes), Breach of contract (meant for older students, instills independence), Time-
outs (temporarily remove a child from a situation, have a student take a break).
❖ One application I will use in my six-week clinical is to use the, Stop Step.
This will help me have classroom management and also gain respect and
trust from my students. I want to be sure that my Stop Step is not
distracting, so I will use a non-verbal step. I want to use a gesture, touch
and if need be, a few words.
Chapter 7 Time-Out: Establishing Boundaries and Promoting Self-Control
• This chapter was about establishing time-out boundaries and promoting self-control in
students. When time-outs are used correctly, it allows students to make mistakes and
learn from them in their own way. Time-outs give students time to think about their
mistakes and help them build their self-control.
• Time-outs help teachers create a safe environment for the students. They prevent
further behaviors and issues.
• A time-out is most useful to regain the attention of students and to help them return to
successfully participate in classroom activities.
• Time-outs should be introduced carefully to students. They should be mentioned the
first week of school and be taught within the classroom routines. Every time-out is
different for each student. Some may need to be in a certain area, some need more
time, etc.
• Time-outs are not meant for discussion. They are a classroom rule and they need to be
followed. Once a time-out is enforced, be sure to allow the student to be heard. It is
important to value the students’ opinion, but also to be firm with classroom rules.
• Time-outs emphasize the student’s choice. It is showing that their choice was not
responsible or respectful to the class.
❖ When using a time-out in the classroom, I like the idea of dismissing the
student from their time-out with a non-verbal gesture. It is less of a
distraction for the rest of the class. It also draws less attention to the
student in the time-out.
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

Chapter 8 The Five Percent

• This chapter was about helping the five percent of the students cope with their
behavioral skill deficits and power struggles. These five percent of students may take
up a lot of energy and time in a teacher’s day.
• When helping these students, it is important to manage them with direction, guidance
and limits.
• There are two different groups within the five percent of students: students who
intentional engage in power struggles and those who lack in emotional/cognitive
skills.
• When bargaining with a student, be clear, specific, and establish a good mood. This
will help avoid a power struggle and will also help create peace in the situation.
• When dealing with students who have behavioral skill deficits, it is important to allow
them to have more of an open choice in the situation. Threatened consequences will
increase the behaviors, rather than calm the confrontation.
• When approaching these students during their difficult times, it is important to be
flexible and think of using the strategies, “Time-Out Place” and “Bargaining.”
• As a teacher, it is important to develop different strategies to help the five percent of
students deal with their behaviors. A positive approach to these situations, will help
students strengthen their independence.
❖ One application I want to use in my clinical experience is a, “Time-Out
Place.” This is a place a student chooses to go to when they cannot control
their actions. This place can be quiet and peaceful. The time-out place will
give the student time to recover their self-control and help them get ready
to cooperate with the class.
Chapter 9 Working Together to Support the Rules
• The main idea in this chapter was about working as a team to support the classroom
rules. The team consists of the main classroom teacher, the students, a buddy teacher
and school administration.
• When the team is actively working together, they reinforce the classroom expectations
in building a community. Supporting the rules with a team effort will help build
communication within the team and strengthen the discipline within the rules.
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Teaching Children to Care

• Use the buddy teacher system when dealing with a student’s behaviors. A child may
need to be removed from the classroom in the following situations: Distraction
continues, student repeats the behavior, behavior overwhelms the class, the teacher
needs a time-out from the student, and the behavior is serious.
• In some situations, it is better for the teacher to be less involved in the student’s
behavior or actions as it could possibly overwhelm the student.
• After the student has returned to class, allow time for the student to calm down more
and leave the discussion for later in the day. It is important to come to an agreement
on how to handle future behaviors.
• When a child is sent out of the room, involve the parents. This is help with
misunderstandings and encourages a group effort to resolve the issue. It is a team
effort to resolve behaviors. Teacher, students, parents and administration are all in it
together to prevent future behaviors.
❖ In my clinical, I want to be sure to have the support of students, teachers
and administration when handling a student’s behavior. I will do my
absolute best to make it a team effort to resolve issues and help students
become more independent when dealing with their self-control and
behaviors.
Section III The Voices of Teaching
Chapter 10 Empowering Language: Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
• This chapter’s key ideas were about, “Say what you mean and mean what you say.” • Is it okay to countdown? I
Words having meaning and they make a difference in a child’s life. It is important to have heard that counting
be careful what we say, but also be firm and supportive in our tone. down is not a good way to
• When placing demands, keep the short and simple. Simple demands are important in gain attention.
transitions (time reminders), noise levels (reminding and redirecting language),
Organization (schedule/room changes), and behaviors (redirecting to positive
expectations).
• Say what you mean: Before speaking, anticipate what is to come. Be sure to come to
a more rational mind before you say something that could be upsetting or
misunderstood.
• Mean what you say: Be firm with students when speaking. Students need to know
that expectations need to be met. Follow through with what you say.
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Teaching Children to Care

• Use inviting language when seeking cooperation.

o Make it fun (Countdown)
o Ask for help (Shows respect to the teacher)
o Provide choices (Choices set boundaries)
• When communicating with students, we need to be clear and specific with
expectations. Honor our words by following through with what was said.
❖ In my six-week clinical, I want to try to make cooperation fun for the
students. By having a countdown to line up, students will focus on lining
up and not on their distractions.
Chapter 11 Stress the Deed, Not the Doer
• The key points in the chapter were about, stressing the deed, not the doer, helping
students share their feelings in constructive ways and also help them become better
problem solvers.
• Be specific when using, “I voice.” Make connections with the students and recognize
their feelings when using the, “I voice.”
• When helping students, “stress the deed,” we would like them to develop and practice
constructive language. Ways to do this is to: Model appropriate techniques, provide
regular opportunities for students to practice these skills and use everyday situations
to teach skills.
• When students are appropriately using these skills, we need to reinforce the positive
behaviors.
• Teaching students to use encouraging and constructive language will help increase the
student’s attention levels in the classroom and also their social discourse with peers.
❖ One application I will use in my clinical to help improve student’s
constructive language will be a, “Compliment Share Time.” It will be like
a normal share time, but after students are done sharing their item, the
other students will complement the student about their share item or
about the student themselves.
Chapter 12 The Voices of Authority
• The main ideas of this chapter were about the different voices a teacher should use in
different situations. The three voices of teaching are: The Voice of Principle, The
Voice of Procedure and The Personal Voice.
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

• The Voice of Principle focused in on the, “Golden Rule.” The Golden Rule provides
teachers and students a choice. Encouraging students to think of and apply the Golden
Rule to their classroom and learning will strengthen their classroom community.
• The Voice of Procedure is to help keeps students safe and remind them of rules and
procedures. When stating rules/procedures, sometime the teacher did not create them,
and it is important to make sure students know that it is school rules/procedures and
they are there to keep them safe. It is important to keep students involved in the
classroom rule making, they gain respect for the overall system and process of making
the rules.
• The Personal Voice can be done in two ways: Personal “quirks” or preferences and
strong personal conviction. Use the Personal Voice when it is necessary to demand or
request something that has meaning and is important to the teacher and for the better
of the students.
• Use the, “I Voice,” when making personal convictions like, “It matters to me that
everyone participates.”
• Using voices of authority helps students stretch the children’s power to care and
attend to others.
❖ In my clinical experience I will try each one of the teacher voices. I believe
it is important to practice being comfortable addressing situations with
different styles of speaking. I will try to use The Voice of Principle in the
first-grade classroom, to help acknowledge that caring for each other is
very important and that it can go a long way in school and in life.
Section IV Further Strategies for Difficult Classroom Behaviors
Chapter 13 Problem-Solving Class Meetings
• The key ideas in this chapter were about different strategies in problem-solving and
arranging and constructing class meetings.
• Classroom meetings can instruct problem solving when the limits/boundaries become
scarce in students.
• Children and teachers can learn from their mistakes when provided the opportunity to
solve the problems with ethical thinking.
• Class meetings work at all grade levels, with the appropriate adaptations. For younger
students, they are beneficial because they help grow the classroom community.
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Teaching Children to Care

• Setting the environment of the classroom meeting is very important. Students need to
feel safe and welcome to voice their opinion. Students need to be comfortable and
focused in the meeting. Always keep the meeting vibes positive.
• The rules/skills for class meeting are:
o Try to solve problems
o Support one another
o Listen to each other
o Use the “I voice.”
• There are two main goals in a classroom meeting:
o Provide a constructive format for students to contribute to their classroom by
helping each other.
o Develop children’s capacity to solve problems.
• If meetings are conducted well, they allow all students to voice their opinion without
judgement. They also allow the class to come up with a solution together.
• I want to apply the steps of a problem-solving meetings to my first-grade clinical.
Keeping the meeting structured will help my students understand the meaning
behind problem-solving. I really enjoyed the step, “Brainstorm solutions.” I
think this is a great opportunity for the students to share what they feel will help
strengthen our classroom community and keep all safe.
Chapter 14 Teachers as Mirrors: Using Social Conferences
• The main ideas in this chapter were about noticing the students (who they are, how
they do) and using social conference to come to a solution with a child.
• Reflecting back with students, shows that we respect them, and we care for them. It is
important to pay attention to, “how they do,” not “what they do.”
• A social conference builds a responsive relationship with the student. It creates two
elements: Behavioral boundaries (external discipline) and autonomy (internal
discipline).
• Often, students bring a lot of baggage to school. Be sure not to judge the student for
their past. You are there to help them succeed in their future. Teachers are there to
listen, hear and offer a gesture or words of comfort.
• The teacher’s job is to observe and listen/respond to students’ feelings and emotions.
❖ In my clinical experience, I want to use the steps of a social conference.
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

▪ Establish what the teacher/student notice.

▪ Naming the problem and finding the need to solve it.
▪ Understand the problem.
▪ Generate alternatives.
▪ Establishing an agreement to try.
❖ These steps will especially help me in my first grade clinical because I will
be able to observe the students and see how they progress in just six
weeks. I want to get to know my students in the first six weeks of school
and I believe knowing these steps will help me even more.

Chapter 15 Individual Contracts

• The key ideas in this chapter are about creating an individual contract for students and
also the assumptions that underlies in those contracts.
• An individual student contract is an option that can help students when reminders and
redirections are not enough.
• By creating an individual contract with a student, we provide hope and change for that
student. It is important to establish a positive agreement between the teacher and
student.
• The teacher assumptions that go along with creating a contract are:
o Each student shares the same goals as the teacher.
o The teacher has an interest in understanding the child and their
interests/efforts.
o Before a contract is created, expectations must be discussed, modeled and
practiced carefully.
o A firm and supportive relationship is a basic condition for change.
• All individual contracts should consist of these five elements:
o Behavioral goals
o Communication system
o Success evaluation
o Celebration of achievement
o Clear consequences when boundaries are broken
RED 303 Community Development Johanna Bungum
Teaching Children to Care

• Contracts can also be set up by, “special teachers,” like art, gym, music, etc. These
contracts will help students keep a consistent pattern with the expectations.
• Individual contracts can help teachers, students and parents work together to improve
any behavioral problems. Keeping the contract structured with expectations, but then
in the end rewarding or celebrating their achievements.
❖ In my clinical, I want to have the opportunity to create a contract with a
student. I think this will help prepare me for future students and get me
more comfortable with different behaviors. I want to see my students
succeed in the classroom; this will be a great way to see their progression.
Section V Clear Positives
Chapter 16 Teaching by Clear Positives: Revisiting Ideals
• The key ideas in this chapter were about, creating, “Clear Positives” as a teacher and
applying them to the classroom.
• Clear Positives are our ideals or values in the classroom. They are our belief
statements as a teacher.
• Remembering and translating classroom ideals is essential to teaching with joy and
conviction.
• A top ideal is to have students be self-motivated, independent, reliable, kind, and
polite. The list can go on and on, but these are a few of the main ideas.
• Teaching student’s nonviolence helps students increase their communication and level
of care for each other. This also helps with understanding diversity and not fearing it.
• It is important to give students the chance to think for themselves and construct their
knowledge. This will help them gain impendence in their learning and become more
confident. Students will also have a better perspective about their learning and have
positive attitudes in school.
• By having students construct their own knowledge, we are preparing them for the
future. They will have to become independent decision makers in moral and ethical
issues. Their critical thinking will benefit tremendously from their creation of
knowledge.
• It is the teacher’s responsibility to stretch the student’s potential. One way to do that is
to arrange classrooms to encourage participation:
o Have materials available to students
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Teaching Children to Care

o Encourage universal participation

o Support everyone
o Have a responsive climate (respect mistakes, diversity, input, etc.)
• When students show more interest in school and are participating more, we are
stretching their potential in their education.
• Know the clear positives/ideals in the classroom, so that you can stretch your
student’s potential.
❖ When I help my cooperating teacher set up her classroom, I will be sure to
remember to arrange the classroom so that it can stretch the students’
potentials. I want material to be available and for all students to feel
welcome to participate. I will discuss this plan with my supervising
teacher and come up with a great classroom set up.
Chapter 17 Clear Positives in Action
• The key ideas in this chapter were about, apply the clear positives to the classroom
and how to use them in specific content areas.
• Clear positives can be introduced in whole group or small group settings. They can
also be specific for the entire class, or even one student.
• Using clear positives in the classroom, communicates to the students that we have
faith in them to succeed.
• Clear positives can be used in specific content areas like: reading time, science
lessons, transitions, homework, planning and organizing.
• Cleat positives provide a sense of challenge for students. They need to be stated
positively and show a purpose towards their work.
• Clear positives help show teachers faith and confidence in their students work ethic
and behaviors.
❖ I want to apply my clear positives to transition time in my clinical. I will
do this by discussing what a transition is, how it should be done and what
the expectations are. I will be sure to explain to students what our specific
goal is. For example, “Transitions will take place in five minutes or less,
materials will be put away in their correct places and we will remain safe
while moving and preparing for our next activity.” I believe this will be
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Teaching Children to Care

beneficial for the students to learn early in the year, so that it becomes a
natural thing to do all year long without any issues.