Classroom Skeleton

In a post earlier this week, I mentioned that I need to finish up my classroom skeleton but I never explained what I meant.

A skeleton is the foundation upon which our body is made. Without it we would be a messy blob that couldn't function. The same thing is true of our classroom. We need a skeleton, a framework in which everything else is supported by.

As a teacher this framework must continually be evaluated and improved. It is a continual work in motion just as our bodies are. When we are born we are small and soft as we grow our bones become stronger with proper nutrition and exercise. The same is true of teachers.

We must feed (evaluate our skills) and work out (gain new skills) in order for our students to succeed but first we have to have a skeleton. Just as we have different bones in our bodies, there are different areas in which our framework must be built.

There are the obvious things like:
1) Procedures & Rules
2) Expectations
3) Classroom Management
4) Educational Philosophy

But what about the less obvious things like:
5) Professional Demeanor
6) Collaboration
7) Organization

All of these things are necessary and support our lesson planning but most of us have been taught this over and over again. What we have failed to realize is that we must also provide muscles to make the skeleton work.

Each subject must have a set of muscles upon which you build your lesson plans. Just as with our bodies, when we select the right exercise for the specific muscle of our bodies, our muscles grow. We become faster, stronger, and increase our endurance.

This is the goal for all of our students. We want them to grow, to be more fluent, to be more knowledgeable, and ready for the next grade level. We want them to succeed not just in school but in life.

To do this we must first know what muscles we are using. For many teachers, the curriculum provided is the muscle but too often that proves to create mediocre results. To reach the maximum potential of the student, we must first create the muscle and make the curriculum work to exercise it.

We have all seen this work and succeed. Just think of the Daily 5 or CAFE. The Daily 5 is the muscle upon which the school's curriculum is exercised. It is not the curriculum exercising Daily 5.

My goal for this summer is to create a muscle for each of the areas of Common Core. I would like to add more muscle later but one only has so much time.

What is the framework - the skeleton & muscle you use in your classroom?

Don't forget!