IDEAL Classroom

My IDEAL Classroom:

Physical set-up of my room
Since both of my classrooms have 30 computers in them for each of the students, the layout of each of the rooms is fixed due to computer wiring. 

Ninth grade room - In this room, there are tables at the front of the room and computers at the back of the room. I plan to start the year with the students at the tables doing community building and engineering activities. Once we start in on learning Inventor on the computers, then the students will sit at the computers all of the time. I plan to then teach from the back of the room so I am closer to them and can see what is on their computers.

High school room - The students will sit at the computers during the entire class. I will circulate around the room as I teach, moving from front to back. There is space on the side of the classroom for the students to do some community building and engineering activities. 

Communication between me and students and/or parents before (or when) school begins
      At the beginning of the school year, I will send out an email to all of my students and their parents. This email will explain how to access my class information, grading policy, and how to best communicate with me. It will include a picture of the laser engraver in the high school classroom. It will also offer an open invitation to any parent who would like to come in and help or present or share what they do specifically if they are an engineer.

Community building activities for the first days and weeks of school

First Week:
Tuesday (first day) of school:  Sentence Completion - Have the group introduce themselves by completing a low risk sentence. Examples: favorite food, animal, cartoon strip, musical group, funniest story they have ever heard, best joke, hobbies or interests, funniest relative, what would they like to do if they had two extra hours today, what would they do if they won the lottery, etc.

Wednesday: Foundation & Structure (Roots & Leaves) - Provide students with paper and markers and ask them all to draw a house. It must include a foundation (basement): things about you that are not easily visible (where you are from, values, important life events, achievements, things you struggle with, long term goals, secret dreams, etc.) and a structure (walls): things about you that are readily visible (hobbies, demographic information, important people in your life, distinguishable personal traits, favorite music, things you do well, etc.) Have students share and describe their house to the class.

Thursday: Find Your Match - Create index cards that contain easily linked individuals or businesses such as Beyonce and Jay Z, Bill Gates and Microsoft, George Bush and Condoleezza Rice, etc. Once students have found their match, they will sit and interview each other and answer the following questions:

• What middle school did you attend?
• What is your favorite book?
• What really annoys you?
• What really makes you happy
• What are 2 of your hobbies?

After the interviews are complete, each pair will introduce their match to the entire class presenting information gathered during the interviews.

Friday: Four Corners - Have students count off by four and go to the corner of the room corresponding to their number. As a group, they must come up with two similarities and choose a spokesperson. That person will explain the similarities to the group.

Second Week:
Where Are You - Have each person say where they were and what they were doing on July 4th, 2013.

Pick a Side - Students are asked to choose their preferences between the following dichotomies. They go to one side of the room or the other (designated by the facilitator) to show which one they prefer. No one can be in the middle. Discuss why people made the choices they made.
1 - Play before you work or finish your work so you can play
2 - Design a house or build one
3 - Jeans or sweatpants
4 - Would you rather be a bat or a baseball
5 - Texas or Montana
6 - Plan your vacation or decide what to do when you get there
7 - Morning or night
8 - Would you rather go see a play or go to a football game
9 - Chocolate or strawberry
10 - New York or California
11 - Hangout with a few close friends or get together with a large group of people
12 - Listen or speak
13 - Country or pop music
14 - 007 or Batman
15 - Happy Gilmore or Terminator (I or II)

Third Week:
Skip Greeting - roll a dice on the computer projector screen and skip that many people to the right and then greet them and say their name

Color, Car, Character - Each person writes his or her name on a piece of paper. Under their name, they write which color they feel best fits their personality. Beneath the color, each writes the name of a car that fits their self-image. Finally, under the name of the car, each participant is to write the name of a fictional character with which they identify. One at a time, group members identify themselves by stating their names, colors, cars, and fictional characters. In the introduction, each participant is to provide a brief rational for each of his/her three choices.

Fourth Week:

Cube Toss - write a question on each side of a cube and toss the cube, the person who catches it answers the question where their thumb is closest

Commonality - Prepare 3-4 sets of 3x5 cards that have names on them that are related. Then pass them out randomly and have students find their matches. For example, prepare 4 cards each one with a different name such as Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa. Once those 4 students find each other, they should realize they are the Simpsons. Use band members, movie characters, presidents, etc. Use something students will know. Once they find each other, have them sit together and introduce the group to the class. This is a great activity to get students into random groups.

Plan for use of community building activities throughout the first semester
I plan on doing a daily community building activity in my classes for the first week of school. After the first week, I plan on doing community building activities twice a week for the rest of the first month of school. After that, I will do a community building activity once a week or once every other week.

Rituals/Traditions I plan to use
This year, I want to create an engineering community within my classroom. I plan on doing this with the other teacher that teaches engineering in the same classroom. I will be taking pictures of my students working on projects and take a picture of each class and put these pictures on the walls in the room.

I want to take my students on an architectural field trip of the Twin Cities and have that become a tradition that I do every year.


Reflection:
Work on more classroom building activities
Send email to parents and students