B1 Creating a climate that promotes fairness
· I rotate tasks and group leadership among students.
· I refuse to tolerate disrespectful language and put downs between students.
· I include student self-assessments in evaluations of their work (see link below for sample self-assessment).
B2 Establishing and maintaining rapport with students
· I attend sporting events at my school to show students my interest.
· I was invited to a guitar concert in school by several of my students.
· I chat with my students in the halls about school and non-school concerns.
· If a student seems troubled, I inquire if everything is okay.
· I made an effort to learn students names quickly and to use them frequently.
· I share my own middle school experiences with students.
· When I have had substitutes, the students have felt comfortable with giving me their own feedback about how things went (I take this with a grain of salt, but I do appreciate it!)
B3 Communicating challenging learning expectations to each student
· I repeatedly encourage students to make revisions even if they received a passing grade for a writing assignment.
· I have assigned a mock trial of Columbus and a mock colonial newspaper to give students intellectually stimulating group (or whole class) projects. (see link below for assignment.)
B4 Establishing and maintaining consistent standards of classroom behavior
· I had students and their parents sign the classroom behavior expectations policy at the beginning of the year (see link below).
· I have given detention and administrative referrals when students did not respond to other corrections.
B5 Making the physical environment as safe and conducive to learning as possible.
· I use a variety of seating arrangements as appropriate to the particular lesson activity and, with consideration of the learning styles of each student.
· I use a color-coded system of organizing classroom folders and other support materials.
