Get to

know
Students

Attendance
When I say your name, answer the question for the day:
Monday: What is your favorite food?
Tuesday: Where do you want to travel?
Wednesday: What is your favorite movie or TV show?
Thursday: What is your favorite season?
Friday: How many siblings do you have?
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all
learners. ASCD.

Attendance
Rationale
At the beginning of each class period, I will put up a question for the students to
answer while I take attendance. Instead of the student saying here, they would
answer the question that is on the board.

This activity will help build a strong classroom community because the students and
myself will get to know each other based off of these simple fun questions. Studies
show that students work and learn better when they feel comfortable with their peers
and teacher, To help prepare for an optimal learning experience, teachers can create
a sense of connection from the start. Get students out of isolation and into community
and you will help their learning immeasurably (Erwin, 2004, p. 47). Asking students
questions about what they like shows them that you care about their life and interests.
This will foster a great community for the students to learn in, developing positive
and healthy relationship with students not only encourages academic success, it also
prevents discipline incidents (Erwin, 2004, p. 47). Building a strong classroom
community will lower the chances of behavior problems because the students will
respect you as a teacher, since you respect and care about them.

Pie Chart

Draw a circle. This circle represents your interests

Choose a variety of interests that represent who you
are.
Then create a pie chart based on the things that
interest you the most.
Draw these interests in the pie chart with the percent
that represents how much it interests.
When everyone is finished, you will present your pie
chart to the class explaining your interests.
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all
learners. ASCD.

My Pie Chart
FRIENDS / FAMILY
50%

My Dog
25%

Sport
s 15%
Traveli
ng 10%

Pie Chart Rationale

Not only do the students get to know each other, they also get to know me. It is important they know
about my life and interests because it helps build a strong relationship, Students generally have enough
buddies; what they need from a teacher is a positive role model and a friend (Erwin, 2004, p. 54). This
activity will help the students feel comfortable with the teacher and their peers. I will present my pie
chart and it will give them a glimpse into my life and what I enjoy to do. Along with this, having the
students do this activity will help give them a sense of who they are and what they love. According to
Eriksons Identity vs. Confusion Stage, students need an adult support to help them to establish their
identity (Eggen & Kauchak, 2007). As a teacher, it is my job to support these students and guide them to
become successful young adults. This activity will help the students identify who they are and they will
see that their peers, along with myself, care about their life.

Students will then create their own and present to the class. This will build a strong class community
because the students will learn more about their peers and what they might have in common. Along with
this, I will learn what interests my students. This will help me create interactive and engaging lessons
based on interest.

Once this activity is finished, I will introduce percent's and probability. Students will be interested and
engaged because their pie chart is about their interests and the math relates to their life. I will hang
these pie charts around the room. This will show the students I care about their interests and the work
they did. Along with this, it personalizes my classroom and shows the students accomplishes, You can
personalize classroom space by displaying materials that reflect the cultural backgrounds of the students
in your class, especially as they relate to your subject matter (Weinstein & Novodvorsky, 2015, p. 38).
Displaying my students pie charts around the classroom will help develop my classroom community
where everyone feels comfortable and safe.

Life Soundtrack

Think about your life, your interests, your

personality
Create your own life soundtrack and pick 3 songs that
describe who you are. These songs must be SCHOOL
APPROPRIATE!
You will present your life soundtrack and explain why
you chose these songs.
I am then going make a class soundtrack that we can
listen to when it is earned.
For example, on a Friday after a great week of working
hard!
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all
learners. ASCD.

My Life Soundtrack
1.I am from New York
2.I love the beach and
Disney music
3.I am very brave, a
risk taker, and love
trying new things.

Life Soundtrack Rationale

This activity will help build a very strong classroom community. Students will learn a lot about
each other and will have fun doing it. It is so important that the students have a strong
relationship with their peers, but also with their teacher. Building strong relationships in a
classroom will help foster student success, "...developing positive healthy relationships with
students not only encourages academic success, it also prevents discipline incidents" (Erwin,
2004, p.47). Creating meaningful relationships will pay off because you can effectively teach the
students since they trust, respect, and look up to you.

Having the students create a life soundtrack about who they are will develop these strong
relationships. The students and myself will learn a lot about each other from this simple activity.
At the start of the year, it is important to have the students learn about each other to create a
safe learning environment where the students trust each other, "Creating safe havens for
learning begins with designing classroom activities at the beginning of the year that allow
students to interact with one another for the purpose of feeling comfortable together" (Brown &
Knowles, 2014, p. 113).

Along with this, I will create a class soundtrack based off of the students songs they picked. I
will let the students know that I will occasionally play this soundtrack while they work. This will
give the students motivation to work hard and something to look forward to.

The Line Up
LEFT SIDE OF THE ROOM = YOU ARE AN EXPERT
RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROOM = YOU STRUGGLE WITH THIS
How good are you at
Sports?
Art?
Acting/theatre?
Dancing?
Video games?
Singing?
Running?
Math?
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to
engage all learners. ASCD.

The Line-Up Rationale

I will get a group of students to come up the the class. I will explain that one side
represents that they are experts at this and the other side represents that they
struggle with this.
The students will move to where they feel they are with the specific question. I will
ask personal questions so the students can get to know each other.
At the end I will explain to the students that we are all different and at different learning
levels, but by the end of the year I expect that we will all be experts because I hold you all
to high expectations.
This activity will get the students to see each others strengths and weaknesses. They will
see that everyone is different, while learning a lot about each other. Students will also see
if they have anything in common with their peers. If they see they have similarities with
each other, it will help create new relationships, Although it is extremely important that
students feel a sense of positive connection with and acceptance from their teachers, it
may be even more critical that they experience a sense of belonging with their peers"
(Erwin, 2004, p.54). Finding these similarities will give the students a sense of belonging
and help them make connections with their classmates.

Foster Growth
Mindset

Overtly Foster Growth Mindset

Fostering Growth Mindset shows the students that they have the ability to
grow and achieve, Students who believe their intelligence is malleable (i.e.,
who have a growth mindset) tend to persevere in the face of hardship. Those
who believe their intelligence is fixed (i.e., who have a fixed mindset) tend to
be stymied by challenge (this is true whether students see themselves as high
achievers or low achievers) (Doubet & Hockett, 2015, p. 13). Students need to
know that I believe they have the ability to grow and progress as long as they
try. To make sure my students know that success comes from effort and they
have to work hard to do well, I will hang posters all around my classroom. I
find that posters can be very motivational.
On the first day of class I will also show that video about the Famous Failures.
Many students are afraid to fail, but if they see this video, it will help them see
that failing is ok. This will motivate them to succeed and do great in school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYECIjmnQs - video is below as well

Covertly Foster Growth Mindset

To make sure that my students know they can grow and progress
I will praise for effort, not intelligence. Every student is different;
they learn differently, they are on different learning levels, they
grow differently So if I praised for intelligence, students would
think they do not have to grow and learn or they do not have the
ability to grow and learn.
This is why praising for effort is key in a classroom. This will let
the low level learners see that they can progress and it will show
the high level learners that there is always more room to keep
learning and growing.

What is Fair?

I will ask the students to talk with their group and come up with a

few words to describe what fair means.

We will come together as a group and create a definition for fair.
I will then get two volunteers, one short student and one tall student.
I will tell the students that I am going to stand on this chair holding a
dollar. The two students have to try and get the dollar, but they
cannot jump or climb The student who gets the dollar first, keeps
it.
I will then ask the students if that was fair.
We will then come up with a new definition of fair.

Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all learners. ASCD.

Growth Mindset Rationale

Fostering growth mindset plays a significant role in student progress and achievement. If a
student has a fixed mindset, they believe they cannot learn or grow. On the other hand, if a
student has a growth mindset, they believe that they can grow and progress as long as they
try. In order for students to have a growth mindset, they need to be praised on effort, not
intelligence, In Carol Dwecks (2008) investigations into the link between praise and
mindset, she determined that praise focused on students intelligence could shut students
down, whereas praise centered on their effort could push them forward (Doubet & Hockett,
2015, p. 14). It is my job as a teacher to make sure my students believe they can grow and
communicate this belief. Students need to understand that they can improve if they work
hard and put a lot of effort into their work.

A huge part of growth mindset is to make sure the students understand what the meaning of
fair is. Students definition of fair usually tends to mean the same. However, I need to
challenge their thinking and get them to see that fair does not necessarily mean the same. In
order to do this I will implement the What is Fair activity I mentioned above. This will
teach the students that they all are trying to reach the same goal, but they might use
different steps to get there, There are proactive steps teachers can take to help adolescents
understand that what is genuinely fair is to hold the same expectation of growth for every
student while varying the tools and paths used to help them achieve that growth (Doubet &
Hockett, 2015, p. 14). Students will understand that in order for the whole class to be
successful, some students will need different support and accommodations to get them
there.

Physical
Environment

Classroom Setup

Symbolic Identification I will have personal items around my desk that represent who I am and what I like. I will have
student work posted around the classroom to show what they are doing and their accomplished work. Students enjoy
seeing their work on the walls because it shows that I care about their work and effort.
Security and Shelter In one corner of my classroom there are a couple of bean bag chairs. This is an area for students
to feel at home and comfortable while in school. This can be used for a couple of different things, one being if a student
needs to calm themselves down or if students are behaving they can sit there while they do work. Along with this, I
created a Zen Zone. This is for a student to sit by themselves to relax or do their work independently. This is a spot for
students to feel free.
Pleasure I will have motivational posters hung around the room, plants, student work, comfy chairs This will make
the room look welcoming and fun.
Growth I will have a poster in the back of the classroom for each unit test. This will have the unit number, the class
average, the percent of students who scored above a 70% (SOL passing score), and a goal for the next unit. I will fill
this out after each unit test. This is for the students to see how they are growing throughout the year. This also gives
them a chance to set class goals (ex: help each other more, study, work well with others) I will also have a basket in
the back for missing work. This will be a basket with files for each day of the month. When students are absent, the
next day they will come in, go to the correct file and take the work they missed. This will help students grow because
they will learn how to be responsible and accountable for their work.
Task Instrumentality I have three different classroom setups; partners, groups, and testing. Each set up is for a
specific purpose and activity to maximize student learning.
Social Contact I have three different classroom setups; partners, groups, and testing. Each of these have a different
purpose based on social contact.
Weinstein, C.S., & Novodvorsky, I. (2015). Middle and secondary classroom management: lessons from research and practice. McGraw Hill Education.

Partner Work Setup

Students will be sitting in rows, but with a partner. This is great for a math
class because they will be working with a partner throughout the period.
Social Contact Students will be working with a partner. This gives them the
opportunity to help or get help from a peer. Students will also be matched up
heterogeneously. The reason for this is that the above average students can help and
teach the lower level students. The lower level students will improve because they will
be getting one-on-one help from a peer who can help explain the concepts at their level.
The above average students will improve because they will have the opportunity to teach
the material. Being able to teach the material to someone will help these students reach
a higher level of understanding.
Task instrumentality This set up is for when I have some teaching and modeling to do,
but the students will also have the chance to work with a partner to practice the math
learned. Having the students sit in pairs is very beneficial to incorporate think-pairshare. Students will feel more comfortable and confident having a partner to work with.
Students will be taught at the beginning of the year when and how to arrange the desks.

White Board

My
Des
k

Bean Bag
Chairs

Missing
Notes

No
Names

Unit % Score
Poster

Zen
Zone

Group Work Setup

Students will be sitting in groups of four. This setup is meant
for planned activities.
Social Contact Students will now have a chance to work with
more than one person. They get to collaborate and work with a
whole group.
Task instrumentality This is for when I have group activities plan.
Putting the students in a group of four allows for group discussion.
This is meant for activities where the students can put their minds
together and collaborate.
Students will be taught at the beginning of the year when and how
to arrange the desks.

White Board

My
Des
k

Bean Bag
Chairs

Missing
Notes

No
Name

Unit % Score
Poster

Zen
Zone

Test Setup
Students will be sitting in single rows facing my
desk. This is meant for when students take a
test.
Task instrumentality This is a serious setup for
when the students take a test. This will help limit
any cheating.
Students will be taught at the beginning of the year
when and how to arrange the desks.

White Board
Students Face this
way

My
Des
k

Bean Bag
Chairs

Missing
Notes

No
Name

Unit % Score
Poster

Zen
Zone

Classroom Setup Rationale

The way ones classroom is set up is a key part of student learning. The way the
desks are arranged should be appropriate for the lesson or activity, As you plan
the arrangement of students desks, you need to think carefully about how much
interaction you want among students because different arrangements facilitate
different amounts of contact (Weinstein & Novodvorsky, 2015, p. 30). I have
three different classroom setups that depend on the activity taking place. The
partner work setup is for students to be able to talk and conference with a
partner. This is great to do think-pair-share. The students can help each other
learn and understand the material. Group work setup is beneficial when I want
students to work with more than one partner to collaborate together. According
to Vygotsky, teachers should create learning activities that involve social
interaction (Eggen & Kauchak, 2007). Group work and partner work will foster
positive relationships and team building skills that will improve student learning.
Students will learn these arrangements at the beginning of the year so
transitions and activities run smoothly.

Student Student
Relationships

Face to Face
Arrange your desks in a line so that you are sitting across from

a peer.
There should be two rows of desks facing each other so that
you will be facing your partner.
You will look on the board and discuss the topic with your
partner (who is sitting across from you)
You will discuss the prompt until I say Switch
Switch You will move two seats over counterclockwise.
There will then be a new prompt to discuss with your new
partner.
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all
learners. ASCD.

Lets find out about each other!

Questions
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be

and who would you bring?

What is your favorite season? Why? What do you like to do
during this season?
What is your favorite TV show and Movie?
What is your most embarrassing moment?
If a movie was going to be made about your life, which
celebrity would play you?
Would you rather travel anytime in the past or anytime in the
future?

Face to Face Content

When students come into class after a night where they had
homework, they will arrange the desks for this activity.
At the start of the activity, there will always be a greeting
question to build on the classroom community.
Ex: What are your plans for the weekend?
Students will then go over and discuss their homework. They
will look for mistakes or errors they made and will try to fix
them.
This will force students to go over their homework and if they
made a mistake they will understand how and why it
happened.

Face to Face Rationale

This is an interactive strategy that allows students to get to know about each other. It will
form strong relationships between the students. It is important to build a strong
classroom community so students feel safe and comfortable in class, A successful school
for young adolescents is an inviting, supportive, and safe place a joyful community that
promotes in-depth learning and enhances students physical and emotional well-being
(National Middle School Association, 2010, p. 33). This activity will force the students to
meet new people and learn more about their peers. Students will feel safe in my class to
make mistakes and try new things. In addition, having the students participate in
community building face to face will prepare them for when they do this activity based on
content.

Face to Face is very beneficial for homework because it forces students to do their
homework and find any mistakes they might have made, Encouraging students to
complete their homework. Checking problems, questions, or readings completed for
homework. Engaging all students in discussion or accountable talk (Doubet & Hockett,
2015, p. 124). Face to Face activities will help students develop strong connections with
their peers while learning and reinforcing the content.

ThinkDots

Get into groups of six.

I will pass out a die and six cards to each group
Everyone will roll the die and this will determine what number you are
In the chart given, write the names of your group next to their number
You will then take the card with the number that you rolled
Once you have your card, get up and create a group with your peers who have
the same number. (ex: all number threes are at this table)

With your new group, discuss the questions on the back of the card
Write down your groups responses in the chart given
When everyone is done, you will return back to your original group and talk
about what you discussed.
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all
learners. ASCD.

Community-Building ThinkDots
If you could have
dinner with anyone,
dead or alive, who
would it be and
why?

If you could do
anything you
wanted right now,
what would it be?

If you could go back

in time, what year
would you travel to?
Why?

How would your

friends and family
describe you?

If you were a super

hero, what powers
would you have?
Why?

What is your dream

career and why?

ThinkDots - Content
Instead of the questions being greeting questions, they will be math related. However,
the start of the activity will always be a greeting question to get the students engaged
and talking.

This will depend on the unit, but say it was multiplying and dividing fractions.
I would put a multiplication problem on the board and each prompt will have a
different question relating to this problem.
1. Solve this problem and talk through your steps with your group.
2. Create a new problem and solve each others problem.
3. What are some possible mistakes that can be made while solving this problem.
4. Create a word problem to go along with this multiplication problem.
5. Write a brand new word problem and solve it.
6. Write exactly how you would go about solving this problem, so that someone who has no idea what they
are doing can solve it.

Students will be able to work with their peers to complete the prompts.
This activity lets them move around and work with new people.

ThinkDots Rationale
ThinkDots is a great strategy that encourages group discussions. This activity ensures that
ALL students are participating and get a chance to talk, By using active discussion
strategies like these, teachers can ensure that the entire class engages with the material.
No longer can a few students carry the discussion on their own; rather, every student must
contribute to make the discourse successful (Doubet & Hockett, 2015, p. 110).
Community Building ThinkDots helps students get to know their classmates, To build
community, we have to create opportunities for students to learn about one another and to
discover the ways in which they are both different and similar (Weinstein & Novodvorsky,
2015, p. 78). ThinkDots is an amazing opportunity to let the students learn more about
each other and create new relationships.
After completing ThinkDots based on community building, students will do this based on
content. The students will be prepared and know how to complete this activity already
when they have to do this with more challenging material. This activity helps develop
students self-esteem. With their group, the students become an expert on their question.
They then go back to their original group and explain what they did. This will give
students the confidence they need to be successful in math.

Quartet Quiz

Write down anything you know

about me.
Then write down anything you
wonder about me
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all learners. ASCD.

Quartet Quiz - Content

Students will get a chart. The left side will say we know
and the right side will say we wonder
Students will fill this out based on what they are learning.
This is a great formative assessment to see how much the
students know and what they want to know.
Example
We know When you multiply by an even number, the product is
even.
We wonder What happens when you multiply by a negative
number

Quartet Quiz Rationale

This activity gives the students information about me as a person. Letting the
students know about my life shows them that I am a real person that they
can trust. It is very important that you get to know your students, and the
students get to know you, The second principle is that most problems of
disorder in classrooms can be avoided if teachers foster positive
relationships with students, implement engaging instruction, and use good
preventative management strategies (Weinstein & Novodvorsky, 2015, p. 7).
This activity allows the students to get to know me, which will foster a strong
bond between us. It is important that the students trust and respect me as
their teacher and mentor.

Quartet Quiz is also a great strategy to use in mathematics. This is a good

way to pre-assess the students to find out what they know and what they
want to know. Along with this, it will channel their interests in the topic,
which will make it easier to engage students.

Emotions
I will have a board full of different emoji's to represent
emotions. Students will come in everyday and take the emoji
they feel like today.
They will then stick this emoji on their desk where I can see
(there will be a Velcro spot). This will allow me to see how
students are feeling today. These emotions also might affect
how they are participating or working in class.
If I see a student who has a really sad emoji, I will take this
student aside and ask him/her if there is something wrong and
anything I can do. This will show the students that I truly care
about their feelings and their lives. Doing this will help me get
to know my students and build strong trustworthy
relationships, "We suggest that you develop the kind of
meaningful connection with each student that encourages
students to want to cooperate with you and others" (Brown &
Knowles, 2014, p. 108). This strong relationship will encourage
the students to respect each other, me, and themselves.

References
Brown, D. F., & Knowles, T. (2014). What every middle school teacher should
know. Association for Middle Level Education.

Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high

school: Strategies to engage all learners. ASCD.

Eggen, P. D., & Kauchak, D. P. (2007).Educational psychology: Windows on

classrooms. Prentice Hall.

Erwin, J.C. (2004). Classroom of choice: Giving students what they need and
getting what you want. ASCD.

National Middle School Association. (2010).This we believe: Keys to

educating young adolescents. Association for Middle Level Education.

Weinstein, C.S., & Novodvorsky, I. (2015). Middle and secondary classroom

management: lessons from research and practice. McGraw Hill Education.