What is classroom culture?

According to Children's Literacy Initiative, a thriving class culture is when the members of the class, the physical environment, the class schedule, and approaches to instruction work together in harmony. A positive classroom culture is a critical component to the success of your students. The way in which you present the classroom culture to your students is very important.

The best way to share this with your students is by emphasizing the responsibilities each individual has within the class in order for the class culture to be healthy. It is important to focus on the individual responsibilities to uphold instead of solely focusing on classroom rules and the "do's and don'ts." The classroom responsibilities  should be viewed as the students working together to maintain a positive classroom environment with all of them being actively involved.

Listed below are some possible questions you can ask yourself about your classroom culture.

• What is going well in the classroom? 
• How is the classroom working? 
• What are some challenges? 
• Do you feel like some of these challenges impede academic instruction? 
• How will working on classroom culture in the room provide positive academic achievement? 
• How does language, procedures, and responsibilities contribute to a healthy and thriving classroom culture? 

All in all, if you create a positive classroom culture, then your students will be challenged and encouraged to succeed academically.