Every year teachers make goals to help inform and improve their classroom practices. This year I decided to focus on the non-academic side of my teaching. Specifically, how our classroom can be a place where the kids feel supported both academically and emotionally. While this could be one more thing added to my teacher plate, I am finding little things often can make a big difference. As I do every August, I was preparing for new activities that I hope would make my class more engaging/run smoother/etc… I came across an Edutopia article discussing a teacher who greeted her students at the door with special handshakes. It was not the first time I’d seen the article. But for some reason this year it stuck. I could so do this without affecting the flow of morning routine, an important part of the day. As parents watched on the first day of school, I explained to the students how we were going to personally greet each other one on one before they went into the classroom. It wasn’t going to be a lot, just a handshake or high five (student choice) and a good morning. Not a lot of effort, but a big reward. Students seemed a little unsure, parents seemed happy. Fast forward a month and a half into the school year. Students are no longer unsure. Most greet me enthusiastically every morning. I watch those who don’t carefully. Is it a shy student still struggling with eye contact or just a sleepy morning? Maybe it’s already a bad day and the student needs an extra special good morning from me. Who knew I would be able to gage a whole lot about each child with such a little thing. Ok, maybe a lot of people, but for me it was eye-opening. (Note to my readers, make sure to use hand sanitizer afterwards. Pretty sure this sped up my first cold of the school year, but didn’t stop me from continuing afterward!) A new thing for this year was “Things I Wish My Teacher Knew About Me”. Every year I spend some time having the students play “get to know each other” activities. This year I spent time for them to share with me and my sharing with them. It was a simple Google Form where they told me three things about themselves and asked one question about me. It took less than 10 minutes for them to complete the form and another 5 minutes for me to answer their questions. There were so many things I got to learn that would have taken months of small interactions that I learned within minutes. The questions they asked me were enlightening as well. Many asked the easy questions like my favorite color. (Pink, but not the basic pink, but the color of pink when the sun is setting on the ocean. They were blown away. Great way to introduce writing with details!) Other questions centered on school specific activities like how much homework we would have or did we have to do AR points (No to both brought several cheers). There were a few more personal questions that hinted at anxieties students had about the upcoming school year. Another “get to know you” activity that I changed up this year was mentioned in a previous blog, Frayer A Classmate. Normally I would have the students interview each other and then keep the paper. By having them give it to me I found out things students might share with each other but not necessarily the teacher. Again a little thing that made a big difference. Teachers are always seeking how to motivate students that don’t stretch our already thin budgets. One of the ways I do this is by creating passes for various activities, like go to recess early or listen to music while working. Cost me nothing but mean a whole lot. Something I used to do that I brought back this year was the Lunch With Teacher pass. Kids can “purchase” the pass through class points. One of my girls bought the pass last week and decided to cash it in. She brought a friend and the three of us sat eating lunch in the classroom. What a great experience. They shared about themselves and asked me questions. It took 20 minutes of my time but gave me more insight into these two girls than I would have found in months on classroom interaction. Because these girls have relatives in other classes, I got even more out of it. Not sure why I gave up the practice years ago. Probably something about needing my break time more than spending time with the students. Boy was I wrong. One of the most meaningful changes I made came from #ThankfulThursday. Because of some things going on outside my classroom and multiple social media posts I had been seeing about how thankless teaching has become, I decided to bring some thankfulness into my class. Each Thursday students write a thankful note to someone showing how they are thankful for that person. They can sign it or make it anonymous. We write to adults in our lives, sometimes specifically on our campus and other times anyone they know, children and even ourselves. The ones to ourselves are the most meaningful to me. I write my letter to myself and share it with the class as well. These kids are so insightful. It’s the ones who don’t know what to write that I focus on. I can give them an extra praise or ask more meaningful questions when I see them. For the letters written to adults on our campus, I have been quietly passing them out into staff mailboxes. Staff are pleasantly surprised when they get these notes, many of them anonymous. They want to do something back for those students. I quietly explain how that is thoughtful, the point of the activity is to get students to realize how their is positivity in the world. Brings a smile to the teacher and to me as they try to figure out who sent it. So far students have been loving it and remind me if I forget what day of the week it is. Funny that the mostly tech classroom is using a paper and pencil activity to bring her class together in all the best ways. As the year progresses, I hope to bring more positivity and strong class culture into the classroom to benefit everyone. Would love to hear your ideas on how you have brought it into your classroom!
1 Comment
Lou
10/7/2018 07:55:31 pm
Nice write up! These are things us as managers do. I go around and greet my office staff each one at a time to say good morning.
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Author20+ year teacher, mother of 2 kids and 2 dogs, wife, lover of all things M&M, interested in tech in the classroom, and changing up my teaching Archives
March 2020
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