Creating an Anti-Biased Classroom

                When talking about Anti-Biased Classroom, there are many attributes that work together to create this type of unbiased environment.  Three areas that Louise Derman-Sparks works with are the aesthetic display of the classroom, the toys that are provided to the students, and teacher interactions.

                The look of an anti-bias classroom is one of the world. The classroom does not focus on just one culture but many cultures. To create an aesthetic environment there should be many images of families and children of all cultures as well as the acceptance of these other families and cultures.  The children should take part in art and look at books pertaining to cultures that are not just their own (Brown, DeBord, 1999).  Art is a great way to teach students about different cultures.  Display from artists of different cultures and encourage the children to do their own art similar to the art they see. Some other fun anti-biased activities to do in the classroom could include trying a new recipe from another culture.  Not only will this introduce children to a different culture, it will also give children to opportunity to try new things that they may have not be able to try outside the classroom.

                The second category to creating an anti-biased classroom is providing the right toys.  The article 4 Toys That Promote Diversity, from the Scholastic Parents website, suggests toys that encourage exploration of cultures.  But more importantly, this article talks about toys that will not only educate students on other cultures but will also make them feel comfortable working with these new resources. 

                To create a successful anti-biased classroom, the toys should be divided into four areas.  The four areas suggested for stocking your play centers include: Wooden or plastic figures of diverse people and animals, food boxes from ethnic grocers, unique props for dramatic play, and coins and money from different countries (Scholastic, 2011).  This is a useful step for child care professionals to begin creating an anti-biased environment in their classroom.

                 The anti-bias curriculum seeks to be active and committed to teaching children how to properly embrace and address diversity in areas of color, language, gender, culture, and physical ability. From a very young age children are aware of these differences and observe the attitudes and messages being reflected by those around them. In turn, the children take on these attitudes. It is the goal of the anti-bias curriculum to address negative attitudes and teach children to interact effectively with all people they meet.

                  In order to have an effective anti-bias curriculum, teachers must raise their own awareness. I can be very helpful for teachers and potential teachers to be part of support groups. These support groups include other staff members, parents, and other teachers, and they face questions like: When did I experience bias in my life and how did I respond or react? The group works toward facing any biases those in the group have personally.

                  There are so many ways to encourage an anti-biased classroom such as involving the parents in the classroom and activities, start teaching your students simple words in other languages, or try new foods from other cultures. Have a ‘Give the planet a hug rug,’ which has children of many different cultures on it, or a ‘Hands around the world rug’ that has the different countries and children of many different cultures holding hands around the edge.  Another recommended idea is to make everything in the room accessible to all of the children, including children that may have a handicap.

                The classroom environment, materials provided and the way the teacher interacts with the students and family are all very essential to creating an Anti-Biased Classroom.  While creating an anti-biased environment can be somewhat challenging, it will benefit the children to learn about and accept other cultures.  In the end, teachers can only hope this will be a step towards a more accepting world. 

The Importance of Music in the Classroom

So by now, you're classroom should be up and running and ready for your students.  Now lets move on to some academic activities that will enrich your students learning, growth and development.

This week I would like to begin working with music.  Music usually appeals to most children.  But more importantly, music is not only something fun for the kids to do, it also benefits their development and growth.  Psychologists, neuroscientists, and Early Child Development experts have proven that music helps children's "brain cells make the connections needed for virtually every kind of intelligence (Kidermusik)."

Kindermusik also states that music helps children to:

• "...gain the phonological processing, spoken language, and comprehension skills that are the foundation of reading."
• "...build the spatial-temporal and reasoning skills required for math, science, and engineering."
• And "...develop social and emotional skills that are essential for school readiness—like the ability to regulate their responses and relate to others in complex ways."

I would also suggest including hand motions in the song that you decide to teach you're students.  This way they are developing the skills noted above while also practicing fine motor skills and challenging their memories.

Below I have inlcuded some videos of one of my students and me.

For additional information, I suggest visiting Kindermusik.

Helpful Charts for You and Your Students

The first bulletin board every classroom needs is one for the parents.  This bulletin board should have the weekly lesson plans, the schedule for activities throughout the day and the lists of snacks that the kids will be having throughout the week.  Having a list of the snacks is very helpful for students who have food allergies.  This way the parents can let the teacher know if there is something the student can't have.

 

The rules are also important to have up for students to see throughout the day.  Obviously at this age, most of your students will not be reading however if you include pictures with the rules, the student will associate the picture with the rule.  Be sure to go over these rules with a new student and periodically with your class as a reminder.

 

There are so many ways of encouraging students to follow the rules in the classroom.  I have included these two ideas because I have personally seen these methods work in classroom I have been in.  The traffic light is used throughout the day.  This a visual reminder for the student that their actions will affect what color they are on.  This is also a way for parents to see how their child behaved throughout the day. I have also seen these method improve parent/teacher communication about their child.

 

Stickers are another way to encourage students.  You can use stickers as an a reward such as giving stickers to every child that helps clean up the toys or when the child uses the potty. You can also use it as an encourager such as giving a sticker to a child that voluntarilly gives their toy to someone who wants it.

 

A set schedule for students is so important.  Children want structure and routine.  Having a set schedule that doesn't very much will greatly help in your classroom.  By putting up a schedule with pictures, toddlers will be able to understand the order of the day.

Job charts are a great way to get students involved in the classroom.  This teacher uses jobs such as "teacher's healper," "weather person'" "table helper," "line leader" and "door holder."

 

I found this idea online and absolutely loved it.  You have so many things to remember throughout the day and this lunch chart will make it so much easier to keep lunch time under control.  You can even add names to the stars to know which child gets which kind of lunch.

Organizing Your Classroom

Organization in theclassroom is very important for a number of reasons. An organized classroom will keep children organized classroom will keep children focused not to mention it will keep the classroom clean.  I have looked through a number of websites and classrooms and collected some of the best ideas to organize you classroom.

Putting up mailboxes in the classroom is a great idea.  By having a mailbox for every child, it will make organizing things that are supposed to go home much easier.  It also makes it easier on you to make sure every child is receiving the papers they need.  Mailboxes are also a great idea to communicate with the parents you don't get to see at the end of the day.

Instead of throwing all your books on a shelf and calling it a library, buy some bins and label them.  Organize your books into "ABCs," "colors," "shapes," "animals," or even into "Dr. Seuss," "Eric Carle," etc.

Binders like this are a great way to keep your lesson plans organized.  Keep binders organized monthly or even weekly to keep your curriculum arranged and make it easier on you in the future to look back on previous lesson plans.

Bins will be one of your best friend when organizing your classroom.  As stated before, you can use them to clean up your library.  You can also use them to organize toys or various other things around the classroom.

Use bins to organize your craft materials like markers, crayons, glue, scissors, etc.

You can also use bins in the children's cubbies to hold their extra clothing, sunscreen, etc.