3 Ways To Create A Positive Classroom Culture





Make your middle school classroom a positive place to be and watch the students' growth soar!


Have you ever seen/heard this TED Talk before?



In this very powerful message, Ms. Pierson says (in part) "Every child deserves a champion.  An adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connections and insists they become the best they can be."

To me, this is the epitome of teaching.  Yes, there are standards to teach and tests to take, but without the relationships in a positive classroom culture, the standards and tests just won't matter to the students.  This is because as Ms. Pierson also says in the video above, "Kids don't learn from people they don't like".  Now that doesn't mean to be the students' best buddy or to let them rule the roost.  That means "seeking to understand before being understood".

I do this in several ways:

1.  Learning Students' Names


I try to learn everyone's name (all 125 of them!) by the end of the first week.  This communicates interest in knowing my students and helps us make that first connection.  Then I use their names to greet them as they enter the classroom.  They love that I know their names!

2.  Opportunities to Share

I incorporate many ways for students to share about themselves by doing ice breaker activities and surveys.

One of the best ways I have been able to illustrate this sharing is by making a classroom quilt and then sharing information in a discussion circle.  I make a square and share too!



Use the picture book "The Patchwork Quilt" to inspire your middle school students to share about themselves to help create a classroom community!  #backtoschool #ideas


I use the picture book The Patchwork Quilt  by Valerie Flournoy to explain the concept of the quilt in this way:  Separately all the fabric pieces are lovely, but together they make something much bigger, stronger and more beautiful.  Likewise, when we all bring all of our likes, dislikes, strengths, skills and talents together, we can make one bigger, stronger and more beautiful community of learners.

3.  How we create our "Rules"

Our rules aren't called rules - they're agreements.  We all brainstorm what we need to be successful and then we modify the ideas until we all are in agreement.  Then, I summarize our thoughts into 4 categories:  Prompt, Prepared, Responsible, and Respectful.  

What's great about this is that we created the "rules" together so when a student is tardy, for example, I can say "I thought we all agreed that we need to be prompt in order to be successful?"  This puts the onus for the behavior right back where it belongs - on the student.

If you want to create agreements, I have a much more detailed post of this subject here.


What if your classroom rules were agreements on what the class needs to be successful instead?  #backtoschool #classroommanagementMy classroom "rules" are agreements instead.  It's a great way to build positive classroom culture! #backtoschool #classroommanagement     



Now this is a good start, but honestly building a positive classroom culture is an ongoing task.  It's about really knowing your students and staying tuned in.  It's about giving the benefit of the doubt, having fun with the students, being fair, having boundaries, and being human.

Like Ms. Pierson said, it's all about leaving a legacy of relationships.

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Don't spend hours searching for this great idea that you just found!  Pin it to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so that you can easily come back to it when you're ready!  You'll be glad you did!

We all know that a positive classroom culture is a must in the classroom. Find out how I achieve this!  #backtoschool #classroomcommunity #middleschool

















Thanks for stopping by!




I create a positive classroom culture by building relationships with my middle school students using these 3 strategies.  #backtoschool