Welcome Bears!

JL Boren Elementary: 2022-2023

Hello Bears!
Welcome to Ms. Castillo's 2nd Grade Class! I am
so excited to get the new year started because I
have planned so many fun activities for us this
school year. Please mark your calendars for "Meet
the Teacher" night on August 11th at 6pm. Your
new classroom will be on the second floor in room
204. I look forward to meeting you all!
Sincerely,
Ms. Castillo

 Before the Students Arrive Checklist

• Room:
o Decorate the room
o Section out your room and find a place for everything (Math, reading,
science and social studies)
o Decorate your door and doorway
o Create Seating chart
§ Arrange desk in groups of 4 facing the front of the room (class
of 20)
o Create Nametags for each desk
o Seating Chart:

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5

Sally H. Bill P. Tyler M. Michael B. Mason H.
Tiffany N. Jacob C. Sierra A. Mary S. Bianca S.
Jackson H. Alexis C. Jose G. Aaron B. Luke S
Tanner M. Ashley N. Maryann H. Laura R. Kortney A.

• Curriculum:
o Create a First day Script
o Organize Student files
o Create a Bell Work activity for the first day
o Create a student list for attendance and check in at the door
o Create a form for parents “After school Pickup”
o Establish Procedures for your classroom
§ Create a visual to display in the room
§ Create a PowerPoint to present your procedures
o Create an activity lesson for students to role play procedures
o Create a Disciplinary list for students
§ Create a PowerPoint to explain how Discipline will be handled
in your class
 o Create a Visual for Classroom Rules (poster)
• Special Needs:
o Make sure you have ALL Special needs students IEP and BIP
o Create a modifications list for your students and include in lesson
plan (FOLLOW IEP)
o Create accommodations list for your students and include in lesson
plan (FOLLOW IEP)
• Bulletin Boards:
o 1st Bulletin- Will Display students work. This will allow the students to
be proud of the work they complete in class, and this will also allow
collaborative work and reflect off other students’ assignments.
o 2nd Bulletin- Will be devoted to Reading and Math. I plan on dividing
this bulletin board in half and providing helpful references that
students could look at to help them.
o 3rd Bulletin- Will be devoted to Science and Social Studies. This will
also have references, such as “presidents, timelines, planet names,
etc” for students to look at.
• As a future teacher, I plan to greet my students at the door upon arrival. I
will make it a priority to learn their names throughout the year. I am a huge
Star Wars fan, and I would love to incorporate a cool phrase to greet my
students as they are walking into class. My possible greeting may be “Hello
Sally, May the Force be with you today” and I will shake their hand. A
response I could teach the students is “May the force be with you Ms.
Castillo.”
Alexis Castillo-TMATE

Discipline Plan & Class Rules

In Wong’s book, he defined classroom management as the effectiveness of teacher instruction

and the effectiveness of student learning (2018). Discipline is defined as student’s behavior
within the classroom (Wong, 2018). I feel that there needs to be structure and procedures put into
place so that students know what to expect as soon as they walk into the classroom. If there is no
structure then that will result in confusion for the students, misbehavior in the class, and
frustration on the teacher. I feel that a classroom with good classroom management will result in
less discipline being taken throughout the year.

I feel that I will first set my rules alone, just so that I could have some rules ready for the first
day of school. I do not want to show up empty handed, because only then will I feel unprepared.
Once I have introduced the rules to my class on that first day, I will give my students the
opportunity to create two rules of their own. My students will already be grouped in groups of
four according to their seating arrangement. They will have five minutes to brainstorm and create
one rule they like. Once they are done brainstorming, they will share their rule with the class and
the teacher will write the rule on a giant post it paper. Once everyone has shared their rules, the
teacher will then allow each student to vote on two of their favorite rules. The two rules with the
highest votes will be placed on the classroom rules list. If the list is too long, I will omit one of
my personal rules instead of the students’ rules. I feel that if I create this activity, the students
will feel safe, respected, and welcomed into their classroom.

Discipline Plan

Rules:

1. Be respectful towards everyone

2. Raise your hand before you speak
3. Be Prepared
4. Listen and follow Directions

Rewards for Good Behavior:

• Students will create their “positive jars” at the beginning of the school year. These mini
mason jars will be decorated to the students liking and with their name. They will be
placed in a designated area in the classroom. Students will have the opportunity to earn
“Token chips” each day for their jar. These token chips will be distributed by good
behavior and appropriate positive participation during classroom activities. To avoid
disruptions, students will place their earned token chips in their jars during the transition
periods of each subject or activity. These tokens can be spent on various of prizes at the
end of every week throughout the school year.

Consequences for Poor Choices:

• Consequences will be used for disobedient behavior in the classroom. There will be three
warnings before a consequence is set in place. This will allow the student the opportunity
to problem solve their misbehavior and give them the opportunity to fix the behavior. For
example, if a student is off task during an assignment, the teacher will respond “Class,
Alexis Castillo-TMATE

please stop and observe the room. What task do we need to be doing right now?” This
method will not point out the student directly for their misbehavior and they will have the
opportunity along with their classmates to get back on task. Consequences will be clear
for all students to understand at the beginning of class to avoid confusion. Other types of
consequences would include loss of recess time, apologies, collaborative thinking with
the teacher, and loss of an object or activity. Students will be provided the appropriate
resources that they need to adjust their behavior in the class. Students will also be cued to
the classroom rules and procedures in the room as a warning.
• Consequences for poor choices:
o Students will have a colored card system in a designated part of the room that will
follow this hierarchy.
§ Green- Warning: After the third warning the student will pull their green
card to inform them that they are moving into the consequence stage
§ Yellow- Reflection: Student will sit out 10 minutes for recess or have a
10-minute time out reflection time in the classroom along with a teacher
discussion on how to improve their behavior
§ Blue- Parent Communication: Parents will be contacted via phone call,
email, note sent home, and scheduled conference
§ Red- Referral: Student will be written up for misbehavior and sent to the
principal’s office
• Accountability Component
o On the first day of school the students will create a social contract on a giant
poster board that will be displayed inside the classroom. This social contract will
consist of adjectives on how the students want to be treated by their teacher,
guest, and classmates. Each group will brainstorm and create an adjective for each
person at their table. Once the students are done brainstorming the teacher will
write each adjective on the poster board to make sure every student feels heard.
Once all adjectives are written, the teacher will have the students initial the poster
board with a marker as a form of signature from the students. The teacher will
close out this activity by signing their signature on the poster board as a promise
to treat the students with respect in their classroom. The teacher will then
composite this social contract in a document form for students to send home and
have parents sign and bring back to the teacher.
 CMP-Procedures
Arrival
• As students are arriving to school, the teacher will be at the door every class morning to
greet their students. On the first day of school, the teacher will do a normal handshake
greeting, introducing themselves and welcoming the students into the class. After the first
day of school the teacher will teach the students their personal Star Wars greeting that
they will do every morning at the door. The teacher will greet their students by saying
“Hello (insert student’s name), May the Force be with you today” while shaking the
students’ hand. The students will reply “May the force be with you Ms. Castillo.”
• Students will enter the classroom quietly after being greeted by the teacher and will
follow the instructions posted on the projector screen. These instructions will include
placing personal items in their cubbies, grabbing materials from a designated area, and
starting on the bell activity before the lesson starts.
• Students will immediately place all personal items within their assigned cubbies. If
student’s needs to have a personal folder out on their desk at the beginning of class, the
teacher will inform them at the door. Students will also have these instructions on the
projector screen as a reference.
• Students can find necessary materials at the front of the classroom, placed by the teacher
for the lesson activity. Materials could also be found in designated areas of the classroom
to avoid clutter and disruptions. Students must read the projector to see where their
materials are located for the day.
• After students have grabbed their materials, students must begin on the bell activity. Bell
activities will be placed on each student’s desk by the teacher to avoid disruptions within
the classroom. Students are required to work on the bell activity independently and
quietly, unless instructed otherwise. Once students have completed the bell activity,
students will turn in their assignment in the designated area of the classroom. Students
will take a seat and remain quiet until the lesson begins. Students are allowed to use the
bathroom and fill up their water bottles after they have completed their assignment.
• Once the morning bell rings, the teacher will take attendance for the day. Students will
continue to work on their bell activity and follow the above procedures until the lesson
begins. The teacher will take attendance in reference to the seating chart to avoid verbal
distractions in the class.
Tardy
• Students who are tardy must report to the main office to receive a tardy pass from the
school secretary. Once the students have gotten their pass, they will head to class and
enter the classroom quietly without disrupting the lesson. The student will drop their
tardy pass in the bucket located by the classroom door and follow the above procedures.
 • If the lesson has started, students are not allowed to work on the bell activity for the day.
The student must put their bell activity in their homework folder and begin on the lesson
that the class is currently working on. If the student has free time during the day, the
student will have the opportunity to work on their bell activity during that free time.
Absence
• When a student is absent, the “table leader” will be responsible for collecting extra copies
of the assignment and placing it in the absent folder found on the student’s desk. The
folder will contain all assignments that were given on the day/days that the student was
absent.
• The table leader will be asked to keep all assignments in order as it was given. Only
missed work will be placed in this folder during the student’s absence. The absent folder
will not leave the student’s desk until it has been given to the absent student or parent at
pick up.
• At the end of the day, the teacher will staple an Absentee form with the student’s
information, due dates of each assignment, and further instructions if needed. Parents will
sign off on the form once all assignments have been completed by their student.
• Once the student has completed their missing work, they will bring the folder back to
class and place the folder in the “absent bin” for the teacher to grade.
Homework
• Homework will be given once a week to students to allow them to participate in their
extracurricular activities after school. Students will be given their homework assignment
on Monday, and it must be completed by Friday morning. This will give students a week
to complete due to their personal schedules.
• Students are required to have a red folder for the classroom at the beginning of the school
year. If a student does not have a red folder, the teacher will have extra folders for the
student to have. This red folder will be their homework folder used throughout the year.
The left side of the folder will be labeled as “To Do” and the right side will be labeled as
“Finished.” This method will keep the folders organized for the students and teacher
throughout the week. The teacher will grade and empty everything on right side of the
folder at the end of the week.
• If the student is falling behind on classwork assignments in class, their classwork will be
placed inside of their homework folder to complete on their own time.
Getting the Class’ Attention
• Student’s will be taught and rehearse attention grabbers on the first week of school.
Students will learn four different attention grabbers that will help notify them that it is
“time for the next lesson” or if they are being “too disruptive” in class.
• For example, one attention grabber, for a disruptive class, will show the teacher saying,
“Tootsie-Roll, Lollipop” and the students will respond “We’ve been talking, now let’s
stop.” This attention grabber will notify the students that the class is talking way too
loudly, and they must remember to stay on task and use inside voices if they are working
 on a group activity. A more positive attention grabber will be used for a transition into
the next activity.
Visitor in the Room
• If a classroom visitor is planned, the teacher will notify students days before the visit to
explain the purpose of the visit and help eliminate distraction the day of the visit.
Students will be informed of their expectations of the class and are expected to continue
the day as a normal day. The teacher will have a designated are for the visitor to sit and
will continue the lesson normally.
• If a classroom visitor is unplanned, the teacher will stop the lesson briefly to welcome
and introduce the visitor to the students. The students will welcome the visitor as a class
to avoid wasting class time and continue with the lesson plan. The teacher will designate
the visitor on where to sit and the teacher will continue with the lesson plan.
• If a visitor comes in for a moment to ask a question, the teacher will instruct students to
work independently and quietly while the teacher helps the classroom visitor. If the
students have any questions about their work, they will be instructed to ask a partner or
the table leader for help or save all questions until after the teacher has helped the
classroom visitor.
Getting the Teacher’s Attention
• If a student is needing to get the teachers attention, the student must raise their hand or
use the taught sign language they were given at the beginning of the year. For example,
students will hold one finger to indicate that they need to go to the bathroom, two fingers
for water, three fingers for help, four fingers to grab a tissue, and fingers crossed to
sharpen their pencil.
• The teacher will respond with a nod indicating yes or no, or thumbs up for “yes” and
thumbs down for “no.” The teacher will only respond to students if it is necessary, but the
teacher will mostly use silent communication to eliminate disruptions and distractions in
the classroom.
Restroom
• Students are required to use the bathroom at the beginning of the class, during transitional
times, and at the end of the day. If a student needs to use the restroom during the lesson
activity, the student must hold up one finger to indicate their need to go to the bathroom.
The teacher will respond with a non-verbal cue responding yes or no to the student. If
yes, the student must grab the bathroom pass and exit the room quietly to avoid
disruption.
• Students are not allowed to go the bathroom during instruction of the lesson activity and
the last ten minutes of the day. Students will be instructed to wait until instruction is over
to go to the bathroom. The teacher will also give the final bathroom warning before the
day is over to allow students the opportunity to use the bathroom at their appropriate
time.
What to do when Done
 • Once students have completed their independent practice, the teacher will designate the
student to the “finish off” poster located in the room. This poster will be updated weekly,
and it will consist of a checklist for students to reference if they are missing any work for
the class. For example, if a tardy student did not have time to do their bell activity in the
morning, they will have this time to complete the assignment and turn it in instead of
completing for homework.
• If the student has completed all missing work, the student can go to the “free activity”
shelf and choose any activity of their liking. Or the student can choose to read a chapter
of their library book in the reading station of the classroom. Students must remain quiet,
unless instructed otherwise, while other students are completing their independent
practice.
Dismissal
• The teacher will stop class the last 10 minutes every day to prepare for dismissal. The
teacher will grasp students’ attention using an attention grabber and ask students if they
have any questions about the lesson activity or homework before starting the dismissal
process. If there are no questions the student will move into phase one of dismissal.
• Each table will have a table leader that alternates weekly to guide their group. All
students will remain seated quietly at their desk, and table leaders will be instructed to
collect assignments from their table and turn them into their designated bins. Once
assignments have been turned in, the table leader will choose a partner at their table to
help them return all materials to its designated area. If the team leader cannot handle
choosing a partner, the teacher will choose one for them.
• Phase 2 will be designed for students to grab their personal items. Once the assignments
and tables are clean, the teacher will call each group one at a time to retrieve their
personal belongings from their cubbies. Students are required to grab their belongings
quietly and return to their desk. Once every group has gathered their personal items the
students will move into phase 3 of dismissal.
• For Phase 3, the teacher will create two lines for car riders and bus riders to line up at the
door. The teacher will call tables up one at a time to stand in their designated lines. Once
all students are lined up, the teacher will guide students to their dismissal areas. The
teacher is the only person allowed to dismiss the class, not the bell.
Home and School Connection
• At the beginning of the year, the teacher will provide information to the parents about
support and communication within the classroom. Parents will have access to multiple
forms of communication such as Canvas, teacher website, or classroom social media
page. These platforms will inform parents of announcements, activities, homework and
more within the classroom.
• On the first day of school, students will be sent home with a “Parent Connection Letter”
that parents must sign and return with the students. This letter will include a brief
background of the Teacher, classroom expectations, overall objectives for the year,
 overview of learning for the school year, important contact information, and attendance
and make-up work procedures. The last page will consist of a photography consent form
to display students on the private social media page or teacher page throughout the year.
• The teacher will create personal hours before, during, or after school to communicate
with parents via phone, email, or face-to-face conferences that work with the parents’
schedule.
Bullying Pledge
• Every student will ask to sign “The Pledge” and takes a stand against bullying at
https://www.pacer.org/bullying/pledge/
o This pledge supports:
§ Others who have been hurt or harmed
§ Treat other with kindness
§ Be more accepting of people’s differences
§ Help include those who are left out
o Pledge:
§ “I pledge to support others who have been hurt or harmed, treat others
with kindness, be more accepting of people’s differences, and help include
those who are left out.”
• Before the students take the pledge, the teacher will discuss what bullying is by using
“stopbullying.gov” and the different types of bullying students should be aware of. The
goal of this presentation is for students to stand up against bullying and take the pledge.
• Steps/instructions for students who are victims of bullying:
o Recognize: If you are being bullied, do not ignore the bullying that is happening
to you.
o Alert: Tell a teacher, parent, or an adult that you are being bullied
o Awareness: Do not turn into the bully, remember that no one likes to be bullied
o Stop: Inform the bully to “stop” picking on you and to “leave you alone”
o Walk Away: If you do not feel safe or you cannot speak up to the bully, walk
away and stay away. Do not fight back. Find an adult to stop the bullying on the
spot.
o You are not alone, seek others, and do not blame yourself
• Steps/instruction for students who are bystanders of bullying:
o Don’t stay quiet: Tell an adult you trust them moment you see someone else being
bullied.
o Be Kind: Be kind to the kid being bullied. Show them that you care about them
and allow them to feel included
o Remember your pledge
§ Support
§ Kindness
§ Accepting
§ Include
 Bell Work
August 15, 2022

Welcome to Ms. Castillo's 2nd grade class!

Name:________________________________________________________

Directions: please complete the opening statement with your thoughts.

"Congratulations! You won the lottery! You now have 1 million

dollars. What do you plan to do with your money?"
Let's bring your thoughts to life! Students, draw out your 1 million dollar
vision!