Personal and Social Development Scenarios

NAME: DATE: May 20, 2021 *Please review the original assignment directions and rubric prior to submission. Don’t forget: 50-100 words per entire scenario response. It is fine to go over the maximum. Minimum of one scholarly source per rationale for support to earn a 5 on the rubric. Personal and Social Development Scenarios Scenario 1 In an upcoming lesson in third grade, you will be addressing state standards related to listening and speaking (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). How would you encourage parents/guardians to support this standard outside of the classroom? (i.e. phone, Remind, conference in person, newsletter, etc.) Have the students take turns asking another student a question. Once the student has answered the question, that student will choose another student to ask a question. This is also known as popcorn communication. It can be used for classroom reading as well. This will continue until each student has been asked a question and asks a question. This will help promote taking turns and waiting for others to finish before you speak. I will send home an activity for the parents and student to complete at home. It would be the same activity that we did in class, except the students will ask their parents five questions and the parents will ask the students five questions. Bringing this activity home will help promote what we did in class. Some ways of communication I would use are Remind, a parent website, email, and phone. What I like about Remind is that I can send out messages to the parents, but they can’t respond in the group. The parents can message me privately through Remind. I like having a parent website because it would show the parents what we are learning throughout the week and what is being sent home for homework or activities. Rationale for the Method of Communicatio n I would use the app Remind to communicate with my parents because it is a fast way to get the message out. All of the parents can be apart of the group. What I like about the app Remind is that I can send a message out to all of the parents, but the parents can’t respond within the group chat. The Classroom Strategies (within your own instruction at school) Collaboration Strategies (with parents) Method of Communicatio n (defend your type of communication here. Research support is required.) parents can message me privately through the Remind app, but not in the group chat with all of the other parents. This helps eliminate all of the message alerts and parents turning notifications off or getting frustrated by all of the messages from other parents. “Remind is a communication platform that helps educators reach students and parents where they are. Fast: Messages are sent in real time to an entire class, a small group, or just a single person. You can also schedule announcements ahead of time and attach photos and other files” (Emily McDonnell, N.D.). Scenario 2 James, an African American student, is very successful in your class and has been on the honor roll for the past three quarters. His family is concerned with his abilities to socialize with peers of various cultural backgrounds. How can you support the families in your classroom in embracing cultural identity’s role in a student’s personal and social development? Classroom Strategies (within your own instruction at school) Collaboration Strategies (with parents) Method of Communicatio n (i.e. phone, Remind, conference in person, newsletter, etc.) Rationale for the Method of Communicatio n (defend your type of communication here. Research support is required.) One classroom strategy that I would use is by pairing each student in a group of two. Then they will ask two questions about their cultural background. For example, a student can ask, “What country are you or your ancestors from?” Then once each student has asked their two questions, they will switch partners with another group. This will go on until every student has asked all of their classmates two questions about their cultural background. Another strategy would be to have James be partnered with another student from a different cultural background. Have James help another student that may be struggling. One collaboration strategy would be to have the student go home and ask their parents about their cultural background. This will promote what we are doing in class and how the students learn about their classmates’ background. This will make the parents feel comfortable that their children are learning about different cultures and their classmates’ backgrounds. I think that there are two methods of communication for this strategy. The first method would be to use the Remind app again or the parent website. This will help the parents understand what is being taught in class and also what is being sent home. The second method of communication would be to contact James’ parents via telephone. I would make sure that James’ parents understand what is being done to broaden James’ socialization with his peers from different backgrounds. It is important for James’ parents to know what is being done to solve or help the problem. His parents want him to be more culturally diverse with his peers. Communicating through the telephone instead of email can give more of a relationship feeling and make James’ parents more aware and understanding of the situation. I believe that it is important for parents to know about what is being done to solve a problem and to give them progress on their child. “Parents are interested in what their child is doing and their progress. Make sure to keep them informed about what you and your students are doing. They will appreciate it and it will strengthen the teacher parent relationship” (Priceless Teaching Strategies, 2008). Scenario 3 Recently, a concerned parent brings to your attention that a poll was taken on social media, and students in your class nominated Jenna as the “biggest loser.” How can you best communicate your school’s policy on cyberbullying, your plan to address the concern at school, and how can parents address it in the home? Classroom Strategies (within your own instruction at school) Collaboration Strategies (with parents) Method of Communicatio n (i.e. phone, Remind, conference in person, newsletter, etc.) Rationale for the Method of Communicatio n (defend your type of communication here. Research support is required.) One strategy would be to go over the classroom policies and what cyberbullying is. It may be difficult because students may not fully understand what cyberbullying is. I would have the student or students that created the poll speak to the school’s principal and make them aware that it is not okay. I would send a classroom policy and bullying/ cyberbullying agreement home with the students. The parents would need to sign the agreement and classroom policy sheet, as well as make the students sign both papers. It is important for the students to fully understand what cyberbullying is and what the expectations are for the classroom. I think that there are two methods of communication for this scenario. The first method would be to send out a Remind message to all of the parents letting them know that they need to sign the two papers and that they need to go over it with their children. The second method would be to call Jenna’s parents letting them know what is being done to resolve the situation and to help make sure that it will not happen again. I believe that it is important for all parents to be aware of the situation. If all of the parents are aware of the situation, they can go home and talk to their children and explain to them what cyberbullying is and that it is not acceptable. Just like I stated in the previous scenario, it is important to communicate directly with Jenna’s parents and make them feel at ease by telling them what is being done to resolve the problem and make sure that this will not happen again. Having a good line of communication with parents will make it better for the parents to trust me as the teacher and what steps I am taking to solve the problem. “Parents are interested in what their child is doing and their progress. Make sure to keep them informed about what you and your students are doing. They will appreciate it and it will strengthen the teacher parent relationship” (Priceless Teaching Strategies, 2008). Scenario 4 For the past few weeks, you have noticed that several cliques have developed in your classroom and there are many students being left out of social activities in and out of the classroom. There are beginning to be tensions rising between two of the cliques. How can you encourage inclusion, and explain to parents how they can support you from home? Classroom Strategies (within your own instruction at school) Collaboration Strategies (with parents) Method of Communicatio n (i.e. phone, Remind, conference in person, newsletter, etc.) Rationale for the Method of Communicatio n (defend your type of communication here. Research support is required.) One strategy I would use is by having the students work in groups to complete a reading assignment. I would create the groups, that way I can make sure that the cliques are broken up. Another strategy I would use is to switch up my seating chart. I would make sure that the cliques are broken up into different table groups, that way the cliques start to dissolve. I would send a message out to the parents advising and encouraging them to have their children broaden their friend group. I would tell the parents that it is important to be friends with all of their classmates. Another idea would be to have the parents encourage their children to go on play dates with different friends. I would send out a Remind message to all of the parents letting them know that I have seen some cliques starting to form. I would also let the parents know that I am switching around the seating chart and making group activities to try and help the cliques dissolve and broaden the students friend groups. I like the Remind app because I can send out a message or announcement to the parents letting them know what I have been observing and what I am doing to change the problem. I believe that it is important to keep an open line of communication with the parents about what I am observing so they can encourage their children to make different decisions. The Remind app lets me send messages in real time and also allows me to send out scheduled announcements. (Emily McDonnell, N.D.). Scenario 5 At the beginning of the school year, you notice that several of your sixth graders are wearing the same brand of Nike shoes. A few days later, you overhear a few of these students mocking another student for not having these same shoes. The next week, the student being teased comes to school in the Nike shoes. How can you address peer pressure within your classroom and encourage parents to support the concept from home? Classroom Strategies (within your own instruction at school) Collaboration Strategies (with parents) One strategy that I would use to address peer pressure within my classroom is by keeping an open line of communication. I would also teach my students about what peer pressure is and the difference between positive and negative peer pressure. I would also tell the students that it is not okay to mock someone for not dressing or looking the same as they do. I would explain that everyone is their own person and may have a different style. One collaboration strategy would be to send home a letter with resources for the parents to show their children. The resources would include what peer pressure is, the difference between positive and negative peer pressure, and how to stop negative peer pressure. I would have the students and parents sign the resources letter confirming that they went over all of the resources. Method of Communicatio n I would send out a Bloomz message to the parents letting them know that I have seen some forms of peer pressure within the classroom that may have been taken home. I would explain to the parents that I am sending home a letter with different resources and what their job is for explaining peer pressure and how to stop it. Rationale for the Method of Communicatio n I think it is important for the parents to know what I am observing in the classroom and what I am doing to fix the problem. It is also important for the parents to trust me and the actions I am taking so that they feel at ease. I think the Bloomz app is very effective when wanting to send out messages and/ or announcements to the parents as a group instead of taking more time to individually call all of the students’ parents. I can also assign and review student’s work within the app. The Bloomz app has more resources to help me as a teacher and the parents. “But in addition to sending messages to parents and students, you can assign and review student work right in the app. You can also create classroom calendars, build online sign-up sheets, and maintain student portfolios” (We Are Teachers Staff, 2020). (i.e. phone, Remind, conference in person, newsletter, etc.) (defend your type of communication here. Research support is required.)