Today we started off (students and I) by creating ‘Essential Agreements’ which this means that, rather than teachers imposing rules, everyone works collaboratively to establish an agreement of how the class will function.
I started by asking the children to jot down what helps them learn and what hinders their learning. The next step was to share with a partner and find the things they had in common. In groups, the students highlighted those they saw as most important for a class essential agreement which will maximise learning for everyone. This was collated, brought back one more time to make sure everyone agrees and then we’ll have our class essential agreements!
The wordle shows the key words from the students’ original list of what helps them to learn. I believe it’s important to have an essential agreement that’s based on creating an environment conducive to learning, rather than rules and regulations.
I really liked your idea of creating a wordle with the key words related to the essential agreements. Will use this concept sometime.
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