Congratulations - the first week of school is underway!
Your students may be wondering, where will I fit in this year?
3 Tips for Starting Your Year
Help students be known for their positive attributes.
- Engage students in daily activities that encourage actively listening to each other
- Rotate groupings of students frequently during these first few weeks so all children can meet and greet each other
- Expect all students to learn and know the names of all classmates
- Avoid restating what students say to the class; if you are concerned they were not heard, ask the individual child to repeat him or herself.
Learn something personal about each of your students.
- Play games that support children sharing about who they are and what is important to them
- Schedule five minute interviews with students to acquire some one to one time and build trust
- Engage students in talking about classroom norms (rules) that are meaningful to them
- Share part of who you are as a person with your students and they will be more likely to share with you
Call each student's family.
- Welcome each child by welcoming their family
- State something positive you've seen or learned about their child
- Offer to answer any questions they may have and provide your contact information
A Game for Learning About Each Other
Set it up:
Ask all students to record their initials on one side of a piece of paper. On the other side of the paper, ask students to draw three things that are important to them. Tell them they will only have five (or slightly more) minutes to draw their pictures, so they should be basic sketches and not elaborate drawings. Then ask students to fold their picture into quarters (math opportunity) and to place it in the center of the circle. Students sit around the circle.
Play:
1. Each student takes a turn going into the circle and picking one of the folded pieces of paper.
2. After all students have a paper, go around the circle and ask each child to describe the pictures but not to guess whose it is yet.
3. Tell students they will have 3 days (or up to a week) to figure out whose paper they are holding.
4. Ask each child to tape the picture on their desk or a designated wall space.
5. At the end of the 3 days, ask students to come to the circle with the paper he or she picked. Go around the circle and ask students to report out their guess for who drew the pictures they are holding.
6. After each child guesses, allow the student who drew the picture to claim it and to describe what they drew and why.
Tip:
A 3 minute sand timer can be used to keep the game moving along.