Transcript

Something that I've recently discovered that I really like is the Privacy folders. When my students feel that they need some privacy, they ask me if they can have a privacy folder because they might have problems concentrating. They get distracted a lot. Sometimes I tell them, I think you need a privacy folder, just put a privacy folder so you can be more efficient with your working. 

I use it also to create this sense of working individually when certain times they need to work individually. First graders are not used to doing that. They are used to working in teams, working in groups, looking at their neighbor, and that's fantastic, I use that a lot because they like working that way. But also, you have to get them used to the idea that sometimes, they have to work individually, that they cannot look at their neighbors, and they cannot copy each other. That way, they are ready for certain challenges in older grades. 

The nice thing about this is when I use this, the whole classroom goes in silence. They stop talking because they have this privacy folder. They concentrate and then they do work. They have a sense of this is really important. This is individual work, don't talk to me. So it's a nice thing to have in the classroom.