Domain 2: Classroom Environment
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Classroom Setup
I have designed my classroom to accommodate for the two types of teaching that happen within: choral performance and general education. On one side of the room, I have my choral risers set up. As proper singing posture is best achieved standing, I do not use chairs in my choral rehearsals. If the need to sit arises, we just have a seat right in our riser spots. On the other side of the room, I have a stack of chairs. As a majority of my classes are choral performance, these chairs remain stacked until they are pulled out and set up for 7th grade General Music, high school Music Appreciation, or Intro to Theater Arts. Our school district functions in block scheduling with 80 minute class periods. As such, I do allow for a bit of flexible seating in my general classes. For example, when we work with keyboards in 7th grade, they may take their keyboard and sit on the risers. It allows them to get up and move a bit within the class period. |
Choir Goal Setting
In order to help my students take ownership of their learning, each of my choirs took part in a goal-setting activity involving a scaffold of individual, small-group, and whole-group goal writing. Individual goals were written in a collaborative Padlet board. Small groups then used a "think-pair-share" method inspired by the individual goals to write a shared goal on the colored Post-its (to the left). We then had a whole group discussion, narrowing the ten small group goals to three goals that we could strive for this school year. These goals will remain posted in my classroom throughout the school year as a reference to guide and assess our learning (to the right). |
(Daily Agendas/Choir Daily Procedures
Each day when my students enter my classroom, they retrieve their choir folder from their assigned folder slot, they scan in for attendance using a personalized QR code on their folder synced with my Attendance2 app and they check the daily agenda projected at the front of the room. This agenda (created in Google Slides) will contain either a QR code linked to a Google Form bellringer or it will have instructions to complete an assignment in eBackpack (our district's LMS). It also contains the agenda for the day and any announcements that may be important to them. With over 70 students in my ensembles, this has been very helpful in keeping us all on task and engaged. |
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