I remember being so nervous my first year of teaching and literally asking myself, What am I going to do with these kids? The veteran teachers reassured me that I would be fine and not to worry about the first few days because all I needed to do was go over rules and routines and get to know the students. I took their advice to heart. I ensured that my 3rd graders knew the routines, rules, and the consequences for not following the rules from day one. I think I even had a handy dandy Power Point. They also participated in several icebreaker activities, played "get to know you" games and carefully filled out a packet with "all about me" pages as well as a reading/writing survey. I think I did ok for a first year teacher, but I have come so much further in my understanding of what it truly means to "get to know" your students and how to make them feel like they are an important part of the classroom community. It all began with the survey that I gave my students that first year. I learned more from the survey than I did from any of the icebreakers or "all about me" pages. The surveys were more valuable because the questions I asked were intentional and the answers the students gave me helped me to know them academically as well as personally, and even gave me insight to what might inspire them. Now, I still play those games and have students complete different kinds of activities that tell me all about them because those are fun and do help "break the ice". However, I started using surveys and other meaningful ways to dig deeper to get to know students better both personally and academically. I tried to give the students a "voice" in the classroom and show them that they were a valuable part of our classroom community. One way I did this was to take a leap of faith, and instead of giving students the rules on day one, we started writing the rules together. This made all of the difference. I started to see a shift in student behavior because they owned the rules, so they followed them. They all had input. We wrote them together, signed our names, and hung them on the wall. It was very powerful. They even helped me write "rules" for myself when I started to ask them what a good teacher should do. We called it my "teacher contract" and I signed that, too! (My general procedure for this activity is below.)
Writing Classroom Rules with Students Over the next couple of years, I began to incorporate more activities that helped me know and understand my students as well as build a mutual respect within the classroom. Below, I have listed a few ways that I truly get to know my students- "not casually, but intentionally" and how I give them a voice to ensure that my classroom is a successful learning community where students feel valued. I hope you find them useful tools to build your classroom community.
Yes/No Charts (for younger students) Math About Me (for older students) Math About Me (for younger students) Please feel free to comment and add your favorite ways to get to know your students.
4 Comments
Terry
7/9/2017 04:17:24 pm
I love this. Thanks for sharing.
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Amanda Delaney
7/9/2017 04:55:27 pm
You are welcome, Terry. Thank you!
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Maria
7/9/2017 05:13:40 pm
Great info...thanks for sharing!
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Jenni
7/10/2017 03:44:49 am
These are great ideas! I am definitely going to use some these. I love your blog!
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