Turning a classroom into a successful and productive learning environment isn’t done through just one thing, but there is one thing that I’ve seen affect it more than most: helping my students build up stronger relationships with each other. These relationships will turn a classroom full of individual students into a supportive family, one where students can be found helping one another and celebrating each other’s accomplishments on a daily basis.

There are two “big ideas” that have worked for me and I hope will for you too: The Shout Out Door and a Book Recommendation area.

• Ideas and Tips