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Second Grade Room #21
Mrs. Shonkwiler and
Mrs. Roden(Mrs.R.)
lshonk@pps.net / rocheleroden@gmail.com
In our classroom we all strive for certain values.....
​We are free to make mistakes while learning.
It is so important that students understand that learning has to begin somewhere. We all have new things to learn and rarely do we get it right the first time. The students know that it's perfectly okay to make mistakes. Often we learn from our mistakes and so by making mistakes we are essentially still learning.
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​It's intelligent to ask for help.​
It can be so hard to ask for help. We encourage the students to ask for help no matter what. There's never a bad question. All questions are valuable and sometimes if a student asks for help, it encourages another to do the same. We never want to leave anybody confused and when you ask for help, you're taking control of your own learning.​
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We respect the rights of others.
In our classroom, we are living in community with one another. Just like in society, the value of one another's rights is of utmost importance. Everyone has a right to think, a right to be who they are, and a right to their own belongings and personal space.

Everyone has a right for time to think.
Some of us can think quickly on our feet and other of us think through things thoroughly. We always offer students the time they need to think. We don't call on the first person who has an answer because we want to give everybody the opportunity to think. The students learn that they need to give each other time to think and arrive at answers or solutions as they are able.

It takes courage to be willing to risk.
Many times you hear Mrs. Shonkwiler say, "5 quiet claps for (student) for taking a risk." By answering questions that you might not be sure about, you are taking a risk. Working with a new partner is taking a risk. Reading out loud in a reading group is taking a risk. All we ask is that you take a risk and do your best to be your best. It is everyone else's job to respect that and celebrate those risks.

We don't have to know everything today.
If all of us became experts right away, there'd be no reason to be at school. We are all here because we are learning together. Learning takes time and lots and lots of practice. We can't know everything today, so be patient with yourself and others.
The PAX game
In our classroom, we know that students all want to show good behavior and be recognized for making the right decisions. We encouraged positive behaviors through this positive reinforcement game. The game works using positive peer pressure of 2 to 5 classroom teams who work together to reduce inattentive, disturbing, disruptive, and destructive behaviors that interfere with learning and success. When the teams succeed, all the "winners" earn brief intrinsic activity rewards based on Premack's Principle. The video below explains a little more about what we do.
Brain Breaks!!
We fully understand children's need to move, take a break from paying attention, and to just unwind a little. Often we stop what we're doing and have a breathing exercise. Many times throughout the day, we will stop what we're doing after working exceptionally hard and run a lap around the school yard. This gives our brains a break and our bodies a boost of energy to keep ourselves going throughout the day. Sometimes on especially rainy days, those brains breaks can get pretty creative. One of our favorite breaks is short dance parties. Its fun to watch your kids get down! Check out our latest brain break dance party below.
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