I love this chapter. I think it’s interesting that it made mention that 10 minutes of time out of a class can be put towards attention to this very thing. I invest in the idea of saying hello to the scholars and asking about their weekend, the good things as well as the not so great things, opening scholars up to a trusting situation where vulnerability is excepted and often times highlighted. Additionally, I’ve always been a fan of some sort of positive physical contact with a scholar. Knowing that this will not be an option this year posts some definite impending challenges. We will need to come together to figure out ways to connect with scholars outside of our daily hugs. I know this can and will happen. I look forward to a different school year but one that will continue the idea of embracing and protecting time in a school day to get to know our scholars just a little bit better each day.
For some reason when I hear physical touch and positive words, I almost think of the 5 Love Languages. For those that don't know the 5 Love Languages, they are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, and Receiving Gifts. There's a kid assessment, but I called it our Friendship Languages. It would be interested to see how our scholars would assess. This can be used to figure out how we can praise our scholars.
It will be different not giving those hugs or pats on the shoulder that some students need sometimes. But we can work on "air" shakes, or little signs we can do when we see each other. Sort of like a club salute. That way you can do it in-person or online, and they can help come up with it.
I'm looking forward to seeing how creative our staff can be with coming up with those unique and special ways to greet our scholars without the physical touch. We'll miss those hugs and handshakes this year, but I know our staff will still make something special for the scholars <3 Amanda Rouse- Instructional Coach PLA@103
I really enjoyed this chapter as well, but of course I had the same thought about no hugs or high fives this year. It will definitely be different, but I’m hoping to come up with some no contact ways to create those connections. Brittany Connett PLA@93
I really enjoyed reading this chapter! It confirmed that what have been doing for years is a good thing to be doing with my scholars. I have always stood at the doorway as my students have entered the room. I greet them with a smile and ask them what they would rather have: a hug, a high-five, a fist-bump or an elbow bump.
When we return to school I would like to continue these practices. With the social distancing, teaching virtually and then using the hybrid model it will be more difficult to use most of these things. I will be trying to figure out a way that would be just as bonding, but without physical touch in order to try to create the rapport that I have been able to do in the past.
I LOVE getting to know my students and their families!!! Even though this year will be challenging, I am up for it and look forward to what is to come.
I greet all of my scholars at the door when they walk in. They can choose between a high five, handshake, hug, fist bump, or dance move. They can also switch each day. There are a list of options outside my door as they walk in.
I also like to teach using the workshop model for instruction. I start off with the "connection" and discuss some great things I have been seeing in and around the classroom. This a a good way to hook our scholars. At the very end of the instructional block, you leave 5-10 minutes for share and celebrations. I find this effective in highlighting the writing of scholars or discussing books that others can read.
I think now more than ever with scholars finally returning to the classroom, we need to focus on building those relationships with scholars. Utilize morning meeting and end of day celebrations.
Mitch, I agree that greeting scholars at the door is a great way to survey scholars' moods and to help them know that we appreciate their presence. It is amazing that you give scholars a choice on how they can greet you. Do you have any virtual ideas in the event that we go virtual? You have some wonderful ideas. Thanks Mitch for sharing these ideas.
Mitch, one of my biggest take-aways from this hack was also the 5-10 minutes at the end of class for sharing and celebration. I love this idea! I love the idea of the teacher giving three shout-outs, but even more than that, I love the idea of students giving shout-outs to each other at the end of class. What a fabulous way for students to build a cohesive community within the classroom! I know this may be difficult to implement in a first grade classroom, but I think several times of me modeling it would lead to successful implementation with nothing but positive results! Cathy Branch, Middlebury Academy
I think it is more important than ever to focus on building relationships with our students. I also like the 5-10 minutes at the end of the day for class sharing and celebrating the successes and defeats throughout the day. This will help us grow, become smarter and have more confidence to build on as the year continues.
My special thing with my students was to always speak to each one of them as they came in if I could by name. It took a while to do, that was one of the things I got done that I wanted to get done every day. When you use someone's name, it means more that saying sir or ma'am. It helped build personal bridges. From this chapter, I take away that those moments when I got to know my students, and conversations that were not content related, were usually impromptu when my lesson went too fast. But I like the idea of being intentional about those conversations. I'd also like to use those moments to take polls from the children about different topics. Then I can compile the data, and show them how to find trends, and interpret data. Those actions can always then be connected back to my science content. We can make it a research project! Alicia Turner-PLA SMITH
Alicia, I agree using a students name... it means so much to them and their family. It's commendable that you try to speak to each student, by name... great idea to build those important relationships!
Action 1: Giving them my time: Sitting with them at their group tables to listen & chat with them while they are working together. Inviting them one at a time to my desk to sit and chat about their work etc. Designating areas for them to display their work or photos that they want to display. Allow two to five students to help create displays or "help" with tasks during lunch, recess, or their free time. I find if I make myself available our relationships grow. Giving them gifts/rewards: from Teachers Treasures and other donated items. Working with them in community service projects... so we can build team building relationships & feel we contributed to something in their community together. Each year we raise money for a local food bank. Recognize their kind words and actions by giving them verbal praise and points through our school wide positive affirmation program. Action 2: The one take-away was a reminder for me... to always make time for a cool-down activity... it makes the end of a lesson more reflective & memorable. Too often I'm in a hurry to move on to the next task.
Talking in small groups does getting them talking more. I know as a shy person large groups always intimidated me. I also like the community service projects idea. Chris Truesdell - Trix
Some of my favorite moments in which to connect and/praise students are in conferences regarding their status on their work. However, with how things are going on now, I am worried we will not be able to do those and it is just not the same leaving comments on the computer rather than communicating 1:!.
Action#1: I typically start the 1st day by sharing a Find-the fiction about me. My scholars are shocked about the true statements and the 1 that I pick that is fiction. It leads to additional questions and scholars begin to feel comfortable asking me questions. It models for the scholars that we will work to create a safe space. Scholars get index cards and begin to create their own cards. The first 2 weeks of school we play this game at the beginning and end of class. I greet my scholars at the door daily and love to ask them to share what was one of the best classroom experiences that they have had and why. This type of share out helps to understand what scholars value.
Action#2: I love the idea of having the scholars be more involved in the appreciation. It helps to make them more aware of observing the greatness in their classmates. My goal would be to facilitate this process in a random way so that scholars are always on notice to be prepared to share an appreciation, which is like building a muscle.
I like to do morning journals where I ask scholars a journal question each morning. Some example questions are, what is a strength you have? What is your favorite movie, and what is your goal for this week? Some are fun and others are a little more serious. We then sit in a circle to talk and share. I have found I get to know them so much just taking time to sit and listen! I also try to once a week have lunch with someone. They really love getting to sit and talk to me without anyone else. I love the idea of getting scholars involved in the appreciation. This year I definitely want to do that! I just found a resource that focuses on a character trait a month and they have "shout-outs" for scholars! I can't wait to implement it. Chynna Triska PLA@103
Chynna, where did you find that resources at? My Bellwork questions have always been one of my favorite resources to get to know little tidbits about my students! I often try to mention parts of their response or mine afterwards.
When I was in the classroom, I always greeted scholars at the door and by name. It was amazing to watch how some of them struggled with this at the beginning of the year but got so much more comfortable with it as the year went on. It's a great way to informally assess if a child has had a rough morning/night before and help set the tone/offer support for the day. I always had fun little journal activities along with an easy morning work to ease the scholars into learning and let them tell a bit about their day/life. One thing my scholars always enjoyed was time set aside for "Tell Me Something Good" and goal setting. Amanda Rouse- Instructional Coach PLA@103
I had a handful of things that I did last year to form these relationships. Last year I would greet my scholars at the door and ask them to tell me one thing they wanted to tell me. It could be good or bad. They knew that I was interested in their personal life. I asked scholars to fill out "All About Me" forms at the beginning of the year, which I kept and referred to all year. I would also invite 1-2 scholars at a time to have lunch with me. I think that was most effective as I learned a ton about their likes/dislikes in that time. I think the last thing and probably most important, was to have GOOD relationships with their parents. The parents knew they could trust me with their scholars and I think that made the scholars feel better overall.
Action #2: One take-away for me was the idea of making a more conscious effort to praise the scholars more often. I know it's easy to get wrapped up in the day, but consistent praise is so vital. I will give this credit where it is due, GVPLA has a Culture and Trauma Specialist and this quote has stuck with me all year, "There is no such thing as a bad kid, but there is such a thing as a good kid who makes bad decisions." - Sarah Rahrig. I don't want to see any of my scholars and label them as bad kids. I don't know what they've been through.
Especially coming back to the 2020-2021 school year, we are going to have be very patient and gracious. We are in a tough time for sure. They are going to need our love, patience, positivity, and optimism!
I totally agree with what you said about this upcoming year. It is going to be crucial that we create meaningful relationships with our students and their parents. Even though this year, we wont be able to give hugs or high fives, I think we can still create relationships with words and listening to one another. I totally agree with what you said about being patient and gracious.
I agree the upcoming year is going to interesting but their are still ways we can relate and find meaningful ways to get a relationship with our scholars, such as how they feel about what is going on with the COVID 19 and how do they feel about the safety measure that we have to take as well as how important it is to follow the new directions that are being implemented in this up coming school year. Yes we all are going to have to use patients with our scholars but yet be firm on the safety issues we have to take this year.
At our school we to talk about the fact there is not such thing as a bad kid. Hey, we all make mistakes and it is part of growing and experiencing life. I always think kids model what they see and we never know what a student has been through. And yes, coming back this school year is going to be tough. For many students school was their safe place and to be home for five months in a place where it is not always safe...the lasting impact and the trauma often plays out in the classroom.
I agree with the quote about the fact the is never a bad kid. Building relationships with scholars helps build mutual respect. Informal beginning and ending of class insures scholars view you as a "real" person in their lives that sees them as individuals---way beyond just learners. Their emotional and social domains are touched yielding more motivation in their learning throughout the classes they attend.
I totally agree with you Zach this year is going to be interesting. With the pandemic and everyone concerned about safely and how can we still have those meaningful contact interactions with our scholars. We are going to have to ensure that we still have positive feedback.
Action 1: At the beginning of the year, my goal is to create meaningful relationships with all of my students. I want them all to feel like they belong in my classroom and that they matter. At the beginning of the year, I always eat lunch with each of them and a few of their friends. This allows them to talk freely and they feel special that I chose them. I have also done the special handshake and that is always fun because they are so impressed that you remember their handshake. At the end of the day, I just listen to their concerns and what they have to say. A great outlet for listening to them is morning meeting. I love this time because they are able to talk and they listen to each other. Also, they are able to hear from me and see what the day will hold. The chapter talked a lot about have the students get involved. I love doing that in my classroom because it allows them to be in control over the lesson.
Action 2: Like in the chapter, I got into the habit of when class was over, I would give them like 5 to 10 minutes to work quietly. Some days it was great but most of the time, they ended up getting too loud and it felt chaotic. I love having a specific way to end a lesson for each day. I also think I am going to use the Tip of the Day on my board because it is always up and it will give the students some responsibility in their learning. Lastly, I think that I am going to make a theme for each morning meeting that students will be able to talk about. For example, every Monday is talking about their weekend and then every Thursday is talking about what they are thankful.
Hi, I strongly suggest you take the time in the morning to talk to the students. In all grades K-3 that I have done this, it has helped me connect with the scholars and you can ask more as you know them better. It will pay off. Good luck and see you soon.
Angela Hill Pla @ 103 July 21 at 12:01 At the beginning of school before class at the door my greetings would be a high five or a hug it really depends on the scholar, you learn then as you do the morning getting what they like or don't like as time go on. Then on Monday we would start off by talking about their weekend and name 2 things that they have done and why did they choose that particular thing to talk about. So far this has went very well for me during my teaching experience. Thursday would would talk about how has their week so far has been at home and if they would like to talk about it as a whole class or by themselves.
Action #1: I do a couple of things in the morning. First, I greet each student at the door as they enter the room. They can select a handshake, fist bump, or high five. More often than not, half of them give me a hug. It gives me a chance to see how students are doing and I can connect with those who I can sense have something bothering them and I can talk to them privately to find out what I can do to help them. The second thing we do is during morning meeting, we do “Good Things.” I have the student of the day select three, sometimes more, students to share a good thing. This helps me to get to know students better and gives me topics I can talk to them about. Students love to share and this activity is one of their favorites.
Action #2: I like the daily theme outlined in this hack. My morning meetings are structured and kids like that, but the ideas discussed would really allow each person in the classroom to really get to know one another and build community.
Hi Dessalee, I also like the daily themes. One of the days gives the students a chance to reflect on failure and growth. Thankful Thursday is a great way to have students focus on all the things that are good in their lives!
Action 1: To get to know my students, I great each one at the door. I ask them how their night/weekend went. This help them see I care about them and if there are any issues we need to address I can first thing. I also take time to talk to my students during recess or free time. They are usually more willing to talk when not in the classroom or doing something fun. Action 2: I love the idea of "Thankful Thursday." Many students see the bad in the world or their lives. It gives them an opportunity to think about the good.
Karen, I agree with you I really like the idea of Thankful Thursday. I think even for some adults it is hard to be Thankful for things in the world we live in today. And what a great reminder for scholars to see. Jenina Sorenson PLA@103
C.Louketis Every morning I stand at the door to greet every scholar, by saying good morning. On Monday's I call on every student to share two things that they did during the weekend. I enjoy this time,because everyone is so excited to share something. I also share what I did doing the weekend and that opens up discussion among the whole class. Every morning I have a journal topic on the board and have students write in their journals. I would call on students who want to share what they wrote. This also was another way to get to know my students better. I also like the idea of "Thankful Thursday" It gives the students an opportunity to reflect on all the good things that they do have in their lives and all the good things that is yet to come. C.Louketis (A+ Arts Academy Maybury)
I agree with you. I love the Thankful Thursday and how it allows the students to focus on positives things. A lot of times they too focus on the negatives of life. This idea gets them to look at things small and big in a more positive way. Sohnn'a Duff PLA@103
I would greet each other the students in the morning by name and ask them about their weekend. If they had a sporting event or dance recital, etc. the night before that I knew about I would always ask them how it went. Additionally, for their birthdays I would give them a sticker to wear and a certificate saying "It's My Birthday" so that they felt special on that day. I would also be sure to ask them how their birthday was and what they were doing for it- dinner, party, etc. I have always wanted to do a question on the board that they would respond to and write the answer on the board as well, then we could discuss it before the school day actually starts. Another thing that when back in the classroom I would want to implement is a handshake, high-five, fist bump, or hug when they enter the classroom. I feel as though this would provide the students with a caring interaction first thing in the morning and let them know that you care.
Some special things I do to form meaningful relationships with my scholars are to greet them at the door each morning by name and to do our daily check in after the morning bell. I love to do the daily check in with the class because it helps everyone see how we are all doing as individuals that day so far. For example, I will go around the room and ask each scholar what number they are. They may answer with numbers ranging from 1-5, 1 being they are not good at all and 5 being they are great. The scholar may then wish to share with the class and me why they are having a bad morning, an "eh" morning, or a great morning. This helps me assess how each of my scholars are before I start teaching. It also helps fellow classmates know how they are as well. I also do this at the end of the day to see if our days got any better or worse and why. I feel it really helps create a sense of community within my room and the scholars really end up loving to share.
One takeaway I have taken from this hack is all the different ways we can great and create meaningful relationships with our scholars. There are many wonderful and creative ideas that work for many people. I really loved the Thankful Thursday idea as well. I definitely plan to implement that into my classroom! With everything going on in the world right now, it is extremely hard to focus on the positives. I would love to show my scholars that there are still things to be grateful for and things to look forward to. Kelsey Barrix PLA 103
Action 1 Special things you do to form meaningful relationships: I greet scholars as they enter room. As a media center and library teacher, I dedicate 8 minutes to reading a special selection from a different genre. I take time to set the tone for what to listen for or ponder as I read. Then we discuss how it relates to their lives. I often bring in my related life experiences as well. As student checkout books I comment on their good choices and promote the positive aspects of the books. Action#2 --There were everal take aways from this chapter/hack. One was Find the Fiction about Me and extending it to Find the Fiction About You---one scholar each session. Also, I want to implement Shout Outs--praise from peer to peers so that classes are looking for the good and receiving praise for it. In addition, ending class should be on a positive. The Cool Down time will take away from the rush out of class without personal comments. Jean Faillace, TLJAcademy, Ft. Wayne, IN
Action 1: I greet the children at the door. They can choose between various greeting symbols I have posted on the door. It is always fun when the student and I have our own special handshake. This year will be so different but I plan to ask the children for their ideas. I am sure they will come up with some great ideas...socially distanced. Action 2: I loved the ideas in this chapter! I especially liked the suggestions for wrapping up the lessons and the topics for Monday-Friday. I will definitely implement these practices into my sessions. Stefanie Sheridan A+ Fair Ave.
I also liked the ideas for Monday-Friday. I think it would be nice to do the same idea for each day. This will allow students to stay on schedule and know what is coming up for each day.
Action 1: I try to greet my students as they walk into my classroom and I also try to stand at door as they exit and tell them bye. At times, I will tell their teacher as they walking pass something positive they did in class. During class I like to go sit next to them and gives tips on what they are doing or tell them I like what they are doing or wearing etc.
Action 2: My take away from this hack is to keep praising our scholars. Keep building that relationship by getting to know them as a person. Son'a Duff PLA@103
It sounds like we both use the greeting in the morning to check in with the students! I would like to incorporate saying goodbye when they exit as well. I like your idea of saying something positive about them to their other teachers. I bet this makes the students feel great and lets others know that you noticed them working really hard.
I do a couple of things to build meaningful relationships with my students. The first thing I do is greeting them at the door to check in every day. I let the student select a fist bump, dance, high-five, or hug to do with me. After we greet I check in with them for about a minute and see how their morning is going and how they are feeling. This is a great way to see how my students are doing and if there are any problems we might need to handle. Another way I build meaningful relationships with my students is by having them as lunch guests. If I notice a student is having a great day or really struggling, I will invite them to eat lunch with me in my classroom. This is a great opportunity for one on one time and to really get to know the students on a more personal level. A final way I like to build relationships is by letting students have a say in the learning. I like to listen to their opinions and hear what things they would like to learn about and do. This gives me great ways to incorporate their interests into our classroom.
A takeaway from this hack is to do a warm up activity to begin class. This will ensure that the first few minutes of class time are not wasted and that students are actively participating in meaningful work. A quick warm up activity will get the students working before the bell even rings. Then you can talk about the warm up activity in the first couple of minutes. The activity doesn’t even have to be educational, but can be used to build relationships with your students as well.
I love warm-up activities. It gives them a way to start the class relaxed and having fun. Building relationships in the classroom is so importatn to a succeesful class. Mindi Spychalski-PLA@103
Courtney, In the past I have had Lunch with the Teacher a reward for Star Students. This was a very motivating reward for scholars. I think they enjoyed one-on-one or small gathering with the teacher, as well as, the classroom being a "Quiet Zone" where we could really focus on each other. I am sad that this will most likely not be an option this year with scholars having to eat lunch in the classroom in Ohio. I have been trying to think of how I could set up to have a "Special Guest(s) table" that could eat at a table with me or some other way to encourage scholars to stay on task. The problem is that our classrooms are so small that the social distancing guidelines will be a struggle, let alone finding a place to eat with a few scholars. I need to do an internet search for some ideas on revamping so that lunch can remain a valuable time to connect with scholars. Michelle Lisco, Middlebury Academy
Action 1 Since I teach Special Education I have the gift of serving the same students year after year,. This makes it easier to develop relationships that last. We really get to know each other well. I give them snacks that they love. Seems like they're always hungry. I get to know their moods and what makes their lives happy or sad. I know their families and what is going on in their life.
Action 2
I like the idea of using fist bumps and shout outs and letting the students give them also for one another. bump we will have to do the fist bumps once the Covid is cleared.
Kay, I was thinking the same thing about bumps, high fives, hugs...all the things we use to greet our scholars and this COVID. I don't know about you but I miss those things from my scholars. Jenina Sorenson PLA@103
I have always done the fist bumps and hugs every morning and after lunch. This gives me a way to assess how they are doing. The kids like the after lunch fist bump because they love to tell me what they had for lunch and whether they liked it or not. THe virus will change this and I have to think about what else to do. I also do surveys to get their thoughts on things.
I liked the idea of Thankful Thursdays. Listening to what they have to say can give you many insites into what the students are thinking.
I also have done the greeting and goodbyes at my classroom door. I try to keep track of my shout outs to be sure everyone gets one. This can be challenging when my only planning time was at the end of the day. To much to remember to put in my student observations.
I also like the idea of Thankful Thursdays. I will incorporate that into my Journal Time.
I welocome every scholar every morning into our classroom. They love choosing how to greet me from a fist bump, hug, high five, smile or a wave. They start the day out with a choice on how they feel. I also do morning meeting with my scholars and we greet everyone and we have a morning question that everyone gets a chance to answer. It really build community in the classroom. What I took from this hack is that we spend numerous hours a day with our scholars and for any meaningful learning to take place you have to know your scholars. Taking time out of your day to focus on them as individuals is crutial in their learnign process. Mindi Spychalski-PLA@103
Mindi, I could not agree with you more on form meaningful relationships with our scholars. It is so important that we get to know them more than just students but as people. Jenina Sorenson PLA@103
Action 1: I will greet each scholar at the door of the classroom. They are able to greet me with a handshake, high five, fist bump, hug, or smile...They love being able to choose how to greet me. Also, we will have a community meeting at the beginning and end of each class. During our morning meetings the scholars get to share how they are feeling and set a goal for themselves for the day. Normally these goals are about academics or behavior...sometimes they have other goals for themselves too. The way that we end our meetings is with a high, low, buffalo. The scholars get to share one high for the day, one low for the day, and one buffalo (something that was surprising to them( for the day. This is a great way to see how the scholars saw their day.
Action 2: One take away from this hack is that I need to relook at my daily warmups (do nows). I had a great routine of this when I was a classroom teacher...I just finished up as a physical education teacher and as I look back on my last few years we did not really do these in PE, so I may need to brush up on what this should/could look like in my classroom. Jenina Sorenson PLA@103
Hello Mrs. Sorenson, Great post, I love that you meet your scholars at the door it important to check their mood at the door before entering the learning environment. I also like that you adjust your greetings so that it won’t become boring to your scholars
I pride my self on checking how each of my scholars moods are before we enter the classroom. I met them at the door say their name and ask how they are doing. If they are comfortable with hugs, then I hug them , if not then I give them high fives. It’s is also super important to me to smile at them you never know how our scholars nights were or morning was. The one take-away was a reminder is to remember to take time and have some sort reflection on the task at had, I feel that this hack is help with scaffolding.
I agree with greeting at the door and welcoming them every morning. I think the time is well spent meeting with them on how they are feeling that day too.
It is amazing how you can read a scholars moods as the year progresses from a simple morning greeting. As scholars were lined up in the hall to enter class, I could look into their faces and at their body language and just see where many scholars were at to begin our day. I worry about how this may be challenged as learning may be potentially more remote. There is so much information that you can glean from body language and expression. Michelle Lisco, Middlebury Academy
Every morning I make a point to speak to each student. I say "Good morning. How was your evening?" Then we talk from their. At the end of our conversation I always say "I'm so glad you came today. I don't know what we would've done without you." This seemed to let them know how much I care about them and their lives. We also spent 10-15 minutes going over morning work packet. Now this sounds so boring, unless you race the clock and they start encouraging each other to get things right. We always had a good time laughing at our mistakes and celebrating our wins. Another thing I did was celebrate them participating in class, every time they tried to answer wrong or right, I rewarded them.....I threw candy to them. They thought it was fun to try to catch it and they really came to life when I did this. We also high fived for every success too.
What I took away from the hack was the importance of letting student know they are more than just students and I'm more than just a teacher. I feel like when I invest like this, they come back later to discuss things that are going in their world. I've even had past students come back to chat and get advice. That makes my heart so happy to know they can rely on me.
Forming meaningful relationships with scholars starts from the first day we meet our scholars. With government mandates, our school life will look and feel very different and I continually search for ways to still create that sense of community. Last year, I greeted scholars at the door where there was a Greeting Choice Board with a sign that said "How shall we greet one another?" and about 6 laminated options for greetings that scholars could choose from that I mimicked back (high five, fist bump, dance moves, hula hoop, jumps, wave, pat on the back, eye wink, etc). After about a month or so, it became common practice for scholars to say "Let's do all the greetings" and we would go through the whole list of greetings. It was a fun connection at the start of the day. I also introduce my class to Kid President because he is just such a spark of a personality! Our daily message has a "Quote of the Day" that we discuss the deeper meaning of. A few times per week, I have a quick question of the day that we answer during morning meeting. Sometimes it is silly like "Do you prefer an apple or a banana?" I also try to take any opportunity that I can try to get to know each scholar. It is so important to know what makes each unique scholar tick so you can teach in ways that they are interested and engaged. During Summer Advantage, I was part of a group that utilized warm up activities that I found to be quick, yet effective for both reviewing and determining who needs additional guidance.
So far as a take-away, I would like to incorporate more end of class shoutouts that involve scholar to scholar. I find that third graders can be very critical and mean toward one another and providing an opportunity for shoutouts would be great for positive relationship building. I thought the 60 second Shoutout video demonstrates a simple, sweet gesture toward a peer. I also like the "failure/growth" idea but I would rename it to flip and flop (what are you so proud that you know that you could do flips over? and what did you flop at that you need to work on?). Failure is not a word I use in my classroom. We are all a work in progress. My scholars know that my favorite poster is "Mistakes are proof you are trying." Michelle Lisco, Middlebury Academy
Yes, I notice the same thing with my third graders! I can't imagine the impact that sharing class shoutouts would have with my class as well! I love that the word failure is not allowed in your class. I may need to find a poster just like that!
I greet my students at the door each morning. Students have the choice on how to greet me. High Five, Fist Bump, Hand-Shake or Hug. We start our day with Good Things. Students share something positive with the class. I had to put a time limit on it and they had to stick to one thing. I had students that would talk about everything they did the night before. They loved to share! I like the idea of noticing what happened during class and acknowledging it before they leave the classroom.
Act #1: In my last few years of teaching, I incorporated the "Capturing Kids' Hearts model in my everyday class. The first part of the strategy is to greet students by name and with a handshake everyday. While a fist bump or high five may seem more engaging, the theory behind the handshake was that, as teachers, we are equipping our students with skills and tools they will need later in life. If a young person was going into a job interview, very few employers are going to offer a fist bump as a form of greeting. I have stood on stage at many a graduation, and I can tell you that even seniors in high school sometimes struggle with the proper eye contact/handshake dynamic that many of us take for granted. Another part of the model was to begin each class period with a "Good things" exercise. Students were encouraged, after much teacher modeling, to share something good that had happened to them since the last meeting. Of course, students are not forced to reply, but student willingness to share is a natural result of strong relationship building, both between the student and teacher, but within the classroom as a community. I also saw some teachers who did a great job of using Post-it notes, which they would then read, and cover whole walls with positive happenings. It was a powerful visual tool. Finally, each class would end with a "Launch". A Launch was a positive saying, story, poem, song, affirmation, etc the students could carry with them as they left the classroom. Regardless of the events of the class, the students could leave with a positive impression. All of these strategies fit together to build a positive classroom environment where healthy relationships are allowed to flourish.
Act #2: Whatever it is that you do to build positive relationships with students, those strategies are at least as important as any classroom management procedures, teaching practices, curriculum usage, or technology skills you may utilize. Time spent on building relationships early will be time you will harvest exponentially as the year progresses.
I like your post-it note comment. That could be a strong visual. I also agree with the handshake and eye-contact observation. That's a good way to model for students how a correct handshake should be extended for their future. Gale Reed PLA@93
I think one of the best things I do to build positive relationships with scholars is to greet each one of them as they come in the room each day. I greet them by name, ask them how they are, or how their weekend went. If they were absent, I always tell them I missed them. I agree that this is the opportune time to gauge student attitudes. If they come in the classroom in an awful mood, it's an excellent time to pull them aside, ask them what's wrong, and brainstorm together what to do about it. Dealing with this as soon as they come in the classroom not only shows you care, but also wards off negative behavior that could occur throughout class. At the end of the day, I always stand at my door and tell each student goodbye, see your tomorrow, and have a great weekend/evening. Cathy Branch, Middlebury Academy
Last year I would leave my door open during my prep period, which meant scholars often ventured in. I was a new teacher, and some scholars wanted to talk to get to know me or waste time instead of making it to class early. I am also a therapist, so I used this time to talk about scholar's social and emotional health. I also did this during the morning times before class began. My prep time was often interrupted, but at least these scholars were not roaming the halls getting into trouble. After reading this chapter, I enjoyed learning about the many additional creative ways to build relationships with children, like the different greetings to do a quick mood check.
I really enjoyed reading this hack! I stand by my door every morning to welcome my students into our classroom. My classroom is also right next to the door the students enter off the bus, so I say good morning to all of the students as they go to breakfast. Every morning we start our day with a morning meeting. This meeting includes our agenda, attendance, and the students sharing something. I’ve always just had the students share whatever they like; once one person brings up a dog or a birthday, everyone is ready to share in first grade! One thing I took away from this hack was giving each day a theme to direct the morning conversations. I would love to implement something similar in my classroom to help guide our conversations to learn more specific things about my students. Brittany Connett PLA@93
I absolutely love this chapter! When scholars enter the classroom in the morning, a simple high five, hug, or any kind of excited good morning routine can make such a huge difference. It tells them that no matter what is going on at home or what kind of morning they are having, they are about to enter a safe, happy, welcoming place. I always had a welcome mat at the door of my classroom that said "My happy place". I wanted students to know that I was so happy to see them and wanted them to feel the same. A morning meeting has always been a great way to start the day. We sit in a circle and share something new or exciting, a worry, a funny story, etc. It can get off topic with younger grades, but a talking stick is a great way to make sure only one person is talking at a time and the rest are being active listeners. I think the biggest take away with this hack is that you should make it a goal to always start strong and end strong. It can make such a huge difference for the scholars and you. Heather Hill PLA @93
I loved this chapter and I truly understand that the first impression is everything! I had a morning greeting every morning for my scholars. The very first day I put in place that we are a family and that we must greet each of daily before entering the classroom. We also had a greeting for visitors. I would stand at the door and allow the scholar to select from different greetings (hand shake, fist bump, high five,hug, lets dance, elbow hello, smile, pinky shake) as the year went on if I was busy, I would allow a scholar to greet other scholars in the morning. They loved to be greeted in the morning before entering the classroom, they would wait at the door before entering and to my surprise they mostly selected Hugs. With the social distancing this year I will have to remove a few of the greeting but I play to use this again this year.
When visitors entered the room the class would say "Welcome to the Rainbow room where amazing things happen". The scholars loved, to see the response from visitors and loved to tell them about the things we where learning.
My take away is to make should that I work on a strong end.
I love the idea of selecting a student to stand at the door to greet the students at the door as the year goes on. There are so many times that our attention is pulled in other directions, but it is a great way to keep that routine in place.
Action 1: I do several things already. I always greet my scholars in the morning at the door with a smile and a "good morning". After the scholars hang up their backpacks and turn in their homework, they get the morning work that is near the door. They immediately get started working on the work. This is quiet time. I have music playing softly. This prepares them for the day. After the pledge and announcements, we go over the morning work. I would like to continue this, but I also need to implement a morning meeting. This would give the students and me a chance to talk about their evenings and possible concerns. Since we give weekly tests, we clap for the top scorers from the week before. I also reward students who have improved their scores. For the end of the day, our school always has 15 minutes of silent reading. This is kind of a cool down from the work of the day. As students leave, we fist bump.
Action 2: I think I could try to do the two shout-outs at the end of the day. This could be a good way to praise students and end the day on a positive note. Gale Reed School 93
I enjoyed reading about this hack. I greet my students as they enter the room each morning. Sometimes it is a simple good morning, other times I will ask about their evening if they were doing something different, or ask how homework went. When I start class each morning, I always stand in the front of the room and say good morning class, and they respond with good morning Mrs. Staten. Sometimes we have to do this more than once depending on participation. Throughout the year, I invite students to eat their lunch in the classroom. I sit with them and we just talk about whatever. This is very popular and students beg to eat lunch in the room. Also in the beginning of the school year we different activities to help get to know each others interest, families, likes and dislikes. Many times I learn things about students that can be brought up later which helps to form a connection. For example, last year I had a student that I found out was a middle child, something I have in common. We would share our experiences about being the child that sometimes is forgotten about. We did it in a joking way, but I recognized that because of this he needed a little more attention in the classroom because at home sometimes he did not get the attention that the older and younger siblings got.
Action 2:
I want to incorporate the warm up activities. This is a simple, short way to start the day. Also, the cool down session with shout outs. I find that I do shout outs periodically, but need to get into the routine of doing them daily.
I enjoyed reading about this hack. I greet my students as they enter the room each morning. Sometimes it is a simple good morning, other times I will ask about their evening if they were doing something different, or ask how homework went. When I start class each morning, I always stand in the front of the room and say good morning class, and they respond with good morning Mrs. Staten. Sometimes we have to do this more than once depending on participation. Throughout the year, I invite students to eat their lunch in the classroom. I sit with them and we just talk about whatever. This is very popular and students beg to eat lunch in the room. Also in the beginning of the school year we different activities to help get to know each others interest, families, likes and dislikes. Many times I learn things about students that can be brought up later which helps to form a connection. For example, last year I had a student that I found out was a middle child, something I have in common. We would share our experiences about being the child that sometimes is forgotten about. We did it in a joking way, but I recognized that because of this he needed a little more attention in the classroom because at home sometimes he did not get the attention that the older and younger siblings got.
Action 2:
I want to incorporate the warm up activities. This is a simple, short way to start the day. Also, the cool down session with shout outs. I find that I do shout outs periodically, but need to get into the routine of doing them daily.
I do "lunch bunch" every couple of weeks also. We have a lot of fun and it's a great way to really get to know the kids on a personal level. We never discuss anything academic during lunch. We have a lot of fun and usually end up in giggles!
Action 1: I greet students at the door. I do like the special greeting that hack 9 suggested. Just need to figure out how to do it with the social distance element we have to follow. Maybe elbow bumps. Action 2: I want to implement the Daily hacks to do Monday thru Friday. I will try to implement Monday and add the rest of the days the following week. We could do the weekend talk while students who are late are coming in. This is the perfect way to see what your students are interested in and hopefully help build the important relationships with them.
I have been trying to think of multiple greetings with social distancing in mind too, definitely will be a challenge, but maybe getting creative will get students more engaged. I definitely have to think about the afternoon and how the day will end.
Action 1. I enjoyed reading this hack #9. This year, I started to greet the students at the door and ask them a password to enter in the classroom. I enjoyed this activity a lot since the password was related to the lesson plan for the week. It gave me an opportunity to hear and correct their pronunciation one at the time, very critical when learning a language- Spanish. At the beginning, I encountered some resistance but quickly the students looked forward to it. This procedure went alone with a "Haz Ahora" or Do NOW which I also tied to the prior's day lesson plan or an introduction to a new one.
Action 2. My biggest take away from this, hack was that it is OK to spend time on setting the mood fo a quality class time. It has been challenging for me to end the class on time and have time to go over homework none the less build relationships. I will focus on leaving enough time to the end and send them off in a great note.
I like that idea of having a password to enter the classroom! I was thinking about doing something similar this year in having my scholars read a vocabulary or sight word.
One of my favorite ways to bond with my students was to invite a couple of them in to eat with me. It gave us time to talk about their lives outside of school so they knew I really cared about them, but also a time for me to share more about me with them. I think another thing that really helped me form a bond with my students was to give them class jobs for the week. This helped my students to know that I would rely on them to help me and our class while giving them responsibility and it was very infrequent that I took a job away from someone. I did not greet them everyday at the door to for a greeting, but if I was not at the door, then most students came to find me to give me a greeting. It was just more of a challenge to greet each student at the door because there were 30-45 minutes were students were arriving, and I was not able to be at the door that whole time. I also love reading the ideas on how to do greetings that are more contact-less.
My biggest takeaways from the chapter were that I need to do more on a daily basis to build my relationships with the students and that it is okay to share about myself. I like the idea of using the first couple minutes of the day to discuss their lives and then the last few minutes to highlight student's successes was a great idea. Those are minutes that I often wasted and hence resulted in misbehaviors, so I can't wait to try these ideas. I also think that there were many times last year that I did not share about my life because I didn't think it was appropriate, but near the "end of the year" I started sharing more about my life, especially when I was in school, and noticed that my students responded positively to it. I will definitely do more of that this year because it helps my students see me as a person outside of school as well.
Action 1: I always greet scholars at the door, and make sure to do eye contact, sometimes high five or side hug. With COVID I will come up with a virtual hug or similar. This has helped us tremendously to start the day well. After that, the scholars get ready and quietly start working on warm-up, morning work. It helps them start with structure, and a calm atmosphere. Also, after attendance, I take time to do circle, we talk about how we feel today, and share something personal as favorite foods, colors, or silly things. It takes 7 min, but it helps create a strong community culture in the classroom, and allows me to know my scholars better.
Action 2: My takeaway from this hack, is that even if my greeting creates a wonderful class culture, I can improve by highlighting the successes of our day at the end. I will try to incorporate this tip, this new school year, as we have so many unknowns. This will help us all feel more positive in challenging times.
Action 1: I always made sure to greet my students at the door. I also started doing the high five, fist bump, hug, handshake routine in the morning right before we left school because of the pandemic. My students would come up very elaborate handshakes. It was interesting watching them come up with their handshakes. I also made it a priority to make sure I asked a few students each morning how they were doing. I was able to read my students pretty well and I could tell if one of my students was having a bad morning. Action 2: I like the Tip of the Week. It reminds of the the book "Wonder" and Mr. Browns Precepts. I'm going to have to try and figure this out for the next year, as I'm moving from 3rd to 4th and will only be teaching science and social studies.
I greet my children every morning at the door with their name and a quick check in. You can usually spot something wrong very quickly. I am going to use the shout outs to each other! I love this idea! Jenelle Miller PLA103
Action 1: On our campus we incorporated a scholar check at the door before entering the room based on a color chart with green, blue, yellow and red. If a scholar checked in on yellow or red, I would take with them individually to find out what was going on. This was rewarding for me and it made it possible for us to get a remedy for the problem and the scholar felt better and was now feeling better.
Action 2: A take away from this hack is the example of warm up and cool down in the classroom. I would like to start cool downs with my scholars this school year.
I believe that it is important to greet students every morning, try to engage them and set the tone for the day. When I was a guest teacher, it was amazing to see how circles were built into the morning for students to engage with one another and with the teacher, having the ability to share a few things before the day lessons would start. I think this further develops rapport for all individuals in the classroom. I look forward in offerring a variety of these "circles" within the library, perhaps on some favorite book topics or other library related activities.
Also, I have seen several teachers indicate that recognition of a student as being important to class functions, which I can see serving as an integral activity to the class. I think it is important to recognize the good behavior and deeds, especially if a scholar had gone out of their way to help another. I think having conversations on how a class can improve as a whole may be important at times, but the recognition of all the "good" that can happen in the classroom can have a positive impact on the class experience. I look forward implementing such an approach in the library.
Something I do to form meaningful relationship with my scholars is invite them to eat lunch with me that day, so that I can talk with them one on one and get to know them a little better. Also, each morning I make sure to greet my scholars with a hug (if they want one), and I let them know how happy I am to see them. I do something similar in the afternoons by saying "Love you, see you tomorrow" accompanied with a hug as they leave. I do think I want to change that a bit and add in that I'm excited and/or looking forward to seeing them the next school day. Something I took away from this chapter is the different daily warm up activities. I like to start my morning with positive affirmations, but I also know that there were some mornings that seemed crazy than others and I would slip on making sure we did it. I want to work on that because I know that those crazy days are the ones where they could use those affirmations the most. I can also use the some of daily warm ups suggested in this chapter to either add to our routine or to mix it up a bit to keep the scholars engaged.
Action 1: Our scholars always gathered in the gym in the morning and teachers picked them up from there. Once we got upstairs they would go to their lockers and line up outside the door. I always greeted each one at the door, usually with high fives or hugs. Sometimes I would even pull a couple aside once the others had entered to room for a quick chat if it looked like their morning was off to a rough start. I also had "lunch bunch" every few weeks where a small group of students would bring lunch back to my room. It was usually only 3-4 students at a time. It allowed me to get to know them on a more personal level and usually erupted in fits of giggles at some point from some joke or story one of the kids told. Action 2: I love the idea of Shout outs at the end of class. Since we're self-contained in 3rd it would be something I might do at the end of each subject or the end of the day. I'll have to see how things are scheduled this year with all of the changes.
Action 1: To form a meaningful relationship with my Scholars, I greet my students before entering the classroom with a hug, hi-five, fist pump, or other greeting that they like to do. Before diving into the curriculum, I allow students a min. or two to turn/talk and tell each other about how their weekend was and also share out a few with the whole class.
Action 2: A take-away from this hack will definitely be allowing students to share out at the end of the day and embed daily warm-up activities.
Angela Posey PLA @ 103 One very special thing I would do in my classroom to help build relationships was to write personal letters to my students during the week. I would write two personal letters a day recognizing the student for something that I noticed that they did was admirable or showed responsibility. I would put the letter in an evelope and put the letter on their desk where they could see it when they arrived to school. So there were approximately ten to twelve students who received a letter each week. The smiles on the students' faces when they read the letter was very touching. Sometimes the students would reply to my letter. The letter always seemed to inspire the students. I have used sharing time for students at the beginning of the class. The students enjoy telling each other about something that has happened in their life. I also get to know the students better. Action 2: One take away I would implement is the cool down activity. I like the statement that the first and last words out of your mouth you should be something about the students as people and not students.
I love the idea of writing letters to your scholars. I did this when I taught second grade and it definitely builds strong relationships. I would love to do this in some type of way with my kindergarten scholars but I haven't quite figured out the perfect way to do it.
I make sure and greet every one of my students every day when they come in with a "Good Morning!" I was doing a choice board outside of my classroom where they could choose their greeting. (Dance, handshake, high five, hug, etc.) But I will have to be rethinking all of that in the wake of Covid. I would like to continue doing something similar as all of my students really enjoyed it. A take away I have from this hack is shout outs at the end of class. Usually at the end of the day we sing songs while we wait for dismissal but that would be a great thing to add in.
Yes! I greet my students at the doorway with their Bellwork and a smile greeting them into class. It makes a huge difference in how the day will go. I always try to remain the positive teacher students look forward to seeing daily. Tricia Christopher- Middlebury Academy Akron, OH
We'd have our own handshakes & high-fives. It makes me kind of sad thinking about that aspect of bonding not being an option this year (& maybe in the future) due to Covid-19. We can do fist bumps and hand sanitizer rituals now for greetings :-). Tricia Christopher- Middlebury Academy Akron, OH
I've thought a lot about this too! Our kids need connection. I have been trying to think of ways to incorporate non touch greetings. Maybe scholars could do a part of a tic tok dance and you greet back by repeating. Maybe we can do "foot shakes" or elbows. We are definitely going to have to get creative! Best of luck!
Action 1: My beginning and end of the day looked similar to the examples in this hack. We as teachers set the tone for the day. I greet every scholar by name at the door. Scholars can choose to high-five, fist, bump, hug, wave, etc. After scholars complete their morning routine there is a prompt usually related to our morning meeting. During morning meeting, which for my classroom lasted closer to 20-30 minutes, all scholars participated and had a chance to share. At the end of the day, we had a closing meeting. This was a time for reflection, encouragement, and ending the day on a positive note.
Actin 2: My take away from this hack was the “Tip of the Week”. I have never done this but think it would be super easy to implement. Last year we had falcon of the month, so I could use those character traits to take time to talk about what that looks like in action. And could even follow it up by at the end of the day or week providing specific feedback on scholars who displayed the character trait.
Hello, great post. For many scholars, the closing meeting is just as important as the morning meeting. I love the idea for building in the character traits into our weekly planning and shouting out those that are showing this skills.
I love your idea of a closing meeting at the end of the day. I always struggle with this time of the day. This will definitely be a focus for me this year. Thank you for your examples.
Action 1: One of the special things that I have done to build meaningful relationships with our scholars includes greeting each one at the door with a hug, handshake, and/or high five. Before starting class, we have a meeting time were we point out what scholars are doing well and/or showing improvement. In this same meeting, we share words of encouragement to help each scholar start the day. I have also held “Come to Jesus” meetings where we address areas and behaviors for improvements. These things allow the scholars to know that not only will I hold them accountable, I will also praise them for meeting and/or trying to meet expectations in and out of the classroom.
Action 2: One take-away from this hack is to always look for opportunities for celebrate the scholars. They need to know they are important to you and you care for not just their educational growth, but personal growth as well.
La Teisha, I love that you "celebrate" your scholars. When I read that I had an immediate image of a party in my mind. I'm sure that's how you make them feel. Thank you for the inspiration.
Action I - To form meaningful relationships with my scholars, I try to incorporate their interests into bellwork questions and when applicable, class assignments. I also try to make sure I communicate with as many as possible when we see each other during passing periods. One of my absolute favorite ways though is to attend their sporting events, especially the lesser profiled ones that not many people come to, (staff and parents included.)
Action II - One take-away I have from this hack is the closing shoutouts. I know before my school has discussed leaving on a positive note and that very well can get away from you with gathering materials, etc. However, I like the idea of mentioning three people I think did something worthwhile that day, as well as letting their peers pick three more.
Ashley, I like how you incorporate you students' interests into their assignments. I feel like that will keep their interest in their work and also maybe make it a little more fun for them! Thank you for sharing!
Action 1: To form a meaningful relationship with my Scholars, I greet them as they enter the classroom. When we go to breakfast, I like to sit with them and just chat. They are kinders,so they have LOTS to share and that This is our social time before we head back to class and start our learning. At lunch, I try and so the same since I have both duties. I will also eat my lunch with them ( by choice) I want to model healthy eating and cafeteria manners. Action 2: A take-away from this hack will definitely be to be more intentional at the end of the day. I love the idea of an afternoon meeting because we have many scholars that arrive after our morning meeting.
I like how you brought to my attention that you are thinking of moving the Morning Meeting to the afternoon. It seems like an excellent take away from this Hack. I too will put that in my thinking. Thank you for sharing.
I always made a point when I was student teaching and my previous job as an instructional assistant to always greet each child with a smile and take a moment to talk to them about how they are or anything they'd like to share with me. I feel like this keeps an open line of communication between myself and my student or scholar and allows them to feel comfortable sharing what they wish with me. Some students warm up quicker than others as I'm sure we all know, but I always like to let my students know I see them and I'm here when they are ready.
A take-away I have from this chapter is to be just as enthusiastic at the end of the day as I am in the mornings. What I mean by this is maybe having an end of the day "meeting" as well as having a morning meeting/circle time. Coming together at the beginning and end of our days can build strong relationships between myself and the scholars and also for the scholars with each other.
Hi, Audree! I really love that you brought up having a designated morning meeting/circle time with your scholars. Growing up, my teachers always started class with a "check-in" time - just to see how we were doing and how our days were going. I definitely want to implement this - even in online instruction! Thank you for reminding me of this!
Action 1- I start the day off by greeting scholars at the door. They are then given choices of how to say good morning. The choices include a high five, hug, dance, fist bump, wave and much more. During morning meeting we share good news and build relationships by having scholars ask each other questions about their good news. We work on asking questions that are more than just yes or no answers. This helps to build relationships between myself and the scholars as well as between all scholars in the class.
Action 2 I have a few take aways from the hack. I would love to implement looking at negatives and talking about how to make them positives. I think this is a great strategy for scholars to learn. I also love implementing the failure/growth aspect. I always teach my scholars that its okay to make mistakes and this will just take it a little farther. I really would like to implement thankful Thursday. Scholars need to learn how to be thankful and in many cases this is lacking in everyday life.
HACK #9 ACTION #1: From Day 1 of my relationship with scholars, I let them know that “They are my top priority, I CARE, and I will give them my best.” Their classroom environment is positive, student-centered, and ready every day for learning to take place from the beginning to end of the school day. Upon their arrival, I am standing at their classroom door greeting each scholars, looking professional, and ready for students. The room smells of a lemon and eucalyptus aroma, soft smooth-jazz music is playing, the Morning Welcome is projected, and scholars get settled as I am greeting others. I create meaning relationships by looking into their eyes, and letting them know---I see you---I hear you---I listen to you---I believe in you, and I care about you in and outside of the classroom. ACTION #2: From this Hack, I take the author’s thought on page 140, “From the minute your students walk into your class to the moment they leave, every second should be used to solidify the learning and the relationships.” As an educator, I will always embrace this thought as I seek to empathize with my learners.
Action One: Throughout my day, I love doing things that strengthen and develop meaningful relationships with my scholars. On Mondays, I always try to ask how their weekends were and engage with them on topics that are meaningful to us all (music, sports, etc). Within my Language Arts class, I am always having my students journal about various topics and they are able to mark (with a Post-it) what entries they would like me to read. I have found that tactic to build trust between my students and myself. I really love to stand outside of my classroom and greet my students individually everyday as well. I try to give them purposeful complements, like if I saw they did well on the test the day before or if they gave it their all during a sporting event. I remember a really good piece of advice that I received during my time in college and that was to “be a part of the community in which your students are a part of.” I really love to volunteer in my city and I hope to invite my scholars to do the same (once COVID clears and I have approval from my administration!).
Action Two: For me, one take-away from this hack is to not be afraid to humanize yourself to your students. Participating in discussions with your students enables them to see you like themselves and to empathize with you. We’re all human beings and we all should make time to foster good, healthy relationships with one another that promote learning.
I loved this chapter as well. I too fist bumped and high fives students, even passing in the hallway in-between classes. I've been thinking what to do instead. _maybe a nod to the left to acknowledge them when passing in the hall, a salute... still thinking about this one! This chapter has reinforced the importance of consistency. I do a warm up, then the activity and a cool down period. They know what to do and my expectations. Step 2 told me this is a good thing to keep doing.
I am also trying to figure out what to do to greet students in the morning with all of this covid stuff going on. I am thinking air high fives are a good one to start off with. I think I will have a brainstorming session with my class once we start school and see what they come up with. Maybe do a dance with them where we don't touch or something. This year is going to be tough.
Action 1: I start the day off by greeting scholars at the door. They are able to choose which greeting they would like to get for the day. They can choose from fist bump, hug, high five, wave, and few more. Every morning during morning meeting we share about how we are feeling and any news that anyone wants to share. I also have lunch bunch groups so I can have lunch with small groups of scholars throughout the month.
Action 2: One take away from this hack is to celebrate scholars for their achievements. It is important to make sure the scholars know I am proud of them.
To form meaningful relationships with my students, I always greet them at the door in the morning when they first come in. It helps me see how they are feeling and if there were already problems that need to be sorted out before class starts. I have some special handshakes with students that want to make them up. It's something special that we have that helps form a relationship.
We also do circles in my classroom as part of restorative practice. This is the time that I pose a question and everyone has a chance to share. Sometimes the questions have to do with problems that we are having as a class. We also have circles just to get to know each other or to teach content. The students love having a chance to share.
I also make sure that I have private conversations with my students if needed. Not everyone wants to have conversations in front of everyone else so I'll take kids out into the hallway and talk to them if that is needed. I want them to know that I care about them and their privacy.
One take away that I had from this chapter is doing something like this at the end of the day as well as the beginning. I have tried doing a circle at the end of the day, but it didn't always work out. I need to come up with something quick that is fun and the students want to participate in. I have tried having students say good things about their classmates at the end of the day. They really enjoyed that in previous years.
I usually will visit with my scholars teachers, so that I xan give a shout out for demonstrating good citenship, turning in homework on time, or maybe they were caught making a good choice. It tells them that others are watching thier actions. In return I will allow them to visit the Stem Workshop in my class or they can get a nutritous treat.
I love this chapter. I think it’s interesting that it made mention that 10 minutes of time out of a class can be put towards attention to this very thing. I invest in the idea of saying hello to the scholars and asking about their weekend, the good things as well as the not so great things, opening scholars up to a trusting situation where vulnerability is excepted and often times highlighted. Additionally, I’ve always been a fan of some sort of positive physical contact with a scholar. Knowing that this will not be an option this year posts some definite impending challenges. We will need to come together to figure out ways to connect with scholars outside of our daily hugs. I know this can and will happen. I look forward to a different school year but one that will continue the idea of embracing and protecting time in a school day to get to know our scholars just a little bit better each day.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason when I hear physical touch and positive words, I almost think of the 5 Love Languages. For those that don't know the 5 Love Languages, they are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, and Receiving Gifts. There's a kid assessment, but I called it our Friendship Languages. It would be interested to see how our scholars would assess. This can be used to figure out how we can praise our scholars.
DeleteIt will be different not giving those hugs or pats on the shoulder that some students need sometimes. But we can work on "air" shakes, or little signs we can do when we see each other. Sort of like a club salute. That way you can do it in-person or online, and they can help come up with it.
DeleteAlicia Turner-PLA Smith
I'm looking forward to seeing how creative our staff can be with coming up with those unique and special ways to greet our scholars without the physical touch. We'll miss those hugs and handshakes this year, but I know our staff will still make something special for the scholars <3
DeleteAmanda Rouse- Instructional Coach PLA@103
I agree, Amanda! I like Alicia's idea of a salute! We could give options to bow, courtesy, do a little dance, and raise their hands to raise the roof.
DeleteReply is above.
DeleteStefanie Sheridan A+ Fair Ave.
I really enjoyed this chapter as well, but of course I had the same thought about no hugs or high fives this year. It will definitely be different, but I’m hoping to come up with some no contact ways to create those connections.
DeleteBrittany Connett PLA@93
I really enjoyed reading this chapter! It confirmed that what have been doing for years is a good thing to be doing with my scholars. I have always stood at the doorway as my students have entered the room. I greet them with a smile and ask them what they would rather have: a hug, a high-five, a fist-bump or an elbow bump.
DeleteWhen we return to school I would like to continue these practices. With the social distancing, teaching virtually and then using the hybrid model it will be more difficult to use most of these things. I will be trying to figure out a way that would be just as bonding, but without physical touch in order to try to create the rapport that I have been able to do in the past.
I LOVE getting to know my students and their families!!! Even though this year will be challenging, I am up for it and look forward to what is to come.
Heidi Hilt A+ Arts Academy, Fair Avenue
I greet all of my scholars at the door when they walk in. They can choose between a high five, handshake, hug, fist bump, or dance move. They can also switch each day. There are a list of options outside my door as they walk in.
ReplyDeleteI also like to teach using the workshop model for instruction. I start off with the "connection" and discuss some great things I have been seeing in and around the classroom. This a a good way to hook our scholars. At the very end of the instructional block, you leave 5-10 minutes for share and celebrations. I find this effective in highlighting the writing of scholars or discussing books that others can read.
I think now more than ever with scholars finally returning to the classroom, we need to focus on building those relationships with scholars. Utilize morning meeting and end of day celebrations.
Mitch Mosbey GVP
Mitch,
DeleteI agree that greeting scholars at the door is a great way to survey scholars' moods and to help them know that we appreciate their presence. It is amazing that you give scholars a choice on how they can greet you. Do you have any virtual ideas in the event that we go virtual? You have some wonderful ideas. Thanks Mitch for sharing these ideas.
~Charmaine Jennings, PLA Training Specialist
Mitch, one of my biggest take-aways from this hack was also the 5-10 minutes at the end of class for sharing and celebration. I love this idea! I love the idea of the teacher giving three shout-outs, but even more than that, I love the idea of students giving shout-outs to each other at the end of class. What a fabulous way for students to build a cohesive community within the classroom! I know this may be difficult to implement in a first grade classroom, but I think several times of me modeling it would lead to successful implementation with nothing but positive results!
DeleteCathy Branch, Middlebury Academy
I think it is more important than ever to focus on building relationships with our students. I also like the 5-10 minutes at the end of the day for class sharing and celebrating the successes and defeats throughout the day. This will help us grow, become smarter and have more confidence to build on as the year continues.
DeleteHeidi Hilt A+ Arts Academy, Fair Avenue
My special thing with my students was to always speak to each one of them as they came in if I could by name. It took a while to do, that was one of the things I got done that I wanted to get done every day. When you use someone's name, it means more that saying sir or ma'am. It helped build personal bridges. From this chapter, I take away that those moments when I got to know my students, and conversations that were not content related, were usually impromptu when my lesson went too fast. But I like the idea of being intentional about those conversations. I'd also like to use those moments to take polls from the children about different topics. Then I can compile the data, and show them how to find trends, and interpret data. Those actions can always then be connected back to my science content. We can make it a research project!
ReplyDeleteAlicia Turner-PLA SMITH
Alicia,
DeleteI agree using a students name... it means so much to them and their family. It's commendable that you try to speak to each student, by name... great idea to build those important relationships!
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ReplyDeleteAction 1: Giving them my time: Sitting with them at their group tables to listen & chat with them while they are working together. Inviting them one at a time to my desk to sit and chat about their work etc. Designating areas for them to display their work or photos that they want to display. Allow two to five students to help create displays or "help" with tasks during lunch, recess, or their free time. I find if I make myself available our relationships grow. Giving them gifts/rewards: from Teachers Treasures and other donated items.
ReplyDeleteWorking with them in community service projects... so we can build team building relationships & feel we contributed to something in their community together. Each year we raise money for a local food bank.
Recognize their kind words and actions by giving them verbal praise and points through our school wide positive affirmation program.
Action 2: The one take-away was a reminder for me... to always make time for a cool-down activity... it makes the end of a lesson more reflective & memorable. Too often I'm in a hurry to move on to the next task.
I think sitting with students is a great idea. I forgot that I do the same thing. They tend to talk to me more in smaller groups.
DeleteTalking in small groups does getting them talking more. I know as a shy person large groups always intimidated me. I also like the community service projects idea.
DeleteChris Truesdell - Trix
Some of my favorite moments in which to connect and/praise students are in conferences regarding their status on their work. However, with how things are going on now, I am worried we will not be able to do those and it is just not the same leaving comments on the computer rather than communicating 1:!.
DeleteAshley Pierce - JRPLA
Action#1: I typically start the 1st day by sharing a Find-the fiction about me. My scholars are shocked about the true statements and the 1 that I pick that is fiction. It leads to additional questions and scholars begin to feel comfortable asking me questions. It models for the scholars that we will work to create a safe space. Scholars get index cards and begin to create their own cards. The first 2 weeks of school we play this game at the beginning and end of class. I greet my scholars at the door daily and love to ask them to share what was one of the best classroom experiences that they have had and why. This type of share out helps to understand what scholars value.
ReplyDeleteAction#2: I love the idea of having the scholars be more involved in the appreciation. It helps to make them more aware of observing the greatness in their classmates. My goal would be to facilitate this process in a random way so that scholars are always on notice to be prepared to share an appreciation, which is like building a muscle.
~Charmaine Jennings, PLA Training Specialist
I think that is such a fun game! I will have to use it this year. I also love getting the scholars involved in sharing the success of their peers.
DeleteChynna Triska PLA@103
I like to do morning journals where I ask scholars a journal question each morning. Some example questions are, what is a strength you have? What is your favorite movie, and what is your goal for this week? Some are fun and others are a little more serious. We then sit in a circle to talk and share. I have found I get to know them so much just taking time to sit and listen!
ReplyDeleteI also try to once a week have lunch with someone. They really love getting to sit and talk to me without anyone else.
I love the idea of getting scholars involved in the appreciation. This year I definitely want to do that! I just found a resource that focuses on a character trait a month and they have "shout-outs" for scholars! I can't wait to implement it.
Chynna Triska PLA@103
Chynna, where did you find that resources at? My Bellwork questions have always been one of my favorite resources to get to know little tidbits about my students! I often try to mention parts of their response or mine afterwards.
DeleteAshley Pierce - JRPLA
When I was in the classroom, I always greeted scholars at the door and by name. It was amazing to watch how some of them struggled with this at the beginning of the year but got so much more comfortable with it as the year went on.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great way to informally assess if a child has had a rough morning/night before and help set the tone/offer support for the day.
I always had fun little journal activities along with an easy morning work to ease the scholars into learning and let them tell a bit about their day/life.
One thing my scholars always enjoyed was time set aside for "Tell Me Something Good" and goal setting.
Amanda Rouse- Instructional Coach PLA@103
Action #1:
ReplyDeleteI had a handful of things that I did last year to form these relationships. Last year I would greet my scholars at the door and ask them to tell me one thing they wanted to tell me. It could be good or bad. They knew that I was interested in their personal life. I asked scholars to fill out "All About Me" forms at the beginning of the year, which I kept and referred to all year. I would also invite 1-2 scholars at a time to have lunch with me. I think that was most effective as I learned a ton about their likes/dislikes in that time. I think the last thing and probably most important, was to have GOOD relationships with their parents. The parents knew they could trust me with their scholars and I think that made the scholars feel better overall.
Action #2: One take-away for me was the idea of making a more conscious effort to praise the scholars more often. I know it's easy to get wrapped up in the day, but consistent praise is so vital. I will give this credit where it is due, GVPLA has a Culture and Trauma Specialist and this quote has stuck with me all year, "There is no such thing as a bad kid, but there is such a thing as a good kid who makes bad decisions." - Sarah Rahrig. I don't want to see any of my scholars and label them as bad kids. I don't know what they've been through.
Especially coming back to the 2020-2021 school year, we are going to have be very patient and gracious. We are in a tough time for sure. They are going to need our love, patience, positivity, and optimism!
Brubaker - GVPLA
Hello Zach!
DeleteI totally agree with what you said about this upcoming year. It is going to be crucial that we create meaningful relationships with our students and their parents. Even though this year, we wont be able to give hugs or high fives, I think we can still create relationships with words and listening to one another. I totally agree with what you said about being patient and gracious.
Great post!
Angela Hill (PLA103)
DeleteHello Paige!
I agree the upcoming year is going to interesting but their are still ways we can relate and find meaningful ways to get a relationship with our scholars, such as how they feel about what is going on with the COVID 19 and how do they feel about the safety measure that we have to take as well as how important it is to follow the new directions that are being implemented in this up coming school year. Yes we all are going to have to use patients with our scholars but yet be firm on the safety issues we have to take this year.
Great post!
At our school we to talk about the fact there is not such thing as a bad kid. Hey, we all make mistakes and it is part of growing and experiencing life. I always think kids model what they see and we never know what a student has been through. And yes, coming back this school year is going to be tough. For many students school was their safe place and to be home for five months in a place where it is not always safe...the lasting impact and the trauma often plays out in the classroom.
DeleteDessalee Cook/Greater Heights Academy
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DeleteI agree with the quote about the fact the is never a bad kid. Building relationships with scholars helps build mutual respect. Informal beginning and ending of class insures scholars view you as a "real" person in their lives that sees them as individuals---way beyond just learners. Their emotional and social domains are touched yielding more motivation in their learning throughout the classes they attend.
DeleteI totally agree with you Zach this year is going to be interesting. With the pandemic and everyone concerned about safely and how can we still have those meaningful contact interactions with our scholars. We are going to have to ensure that we still have positive feedback.
DeleteAction 1: At the beginning of the year, my goal is to create meaningful relationships with all of my students. I want them all to feel like they belong in my classroom and that they matter. At the beginning of the year, I always eat lunch with each of them and a few of their friends. This allows them to talk freely and they feel special that I chose them. I have also done the special handshake and that is always fun because they are so impressed that you remember their handshake. At the end of the day, I just listen to their concerns and what they have to say. A great outlet for listening to them is morning meeting. I love this time because they are able to talk and they listen to each other. Also, they are able to hear from me and see what the day will hold. The chapter talked a lot about have the students get involved. I love doing that in my classroom because it allows them to be in control over the lesson.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: Like in the chapter, I got into the habit of when class was over, I would give them like 5 to 10 minutes to work quietly. Some days it was great but most of the time, they ended up getting too loud and it felt chaotic. I love having a specific way to end a lesson for each day. I also think I am going to use the Tip of the Day on my board because it is always up and it will give the students some responsibility in their learning. Lastly, I think that I am going to make a theme for each morning meeting that students will be able to talk about. For example, every Monday is talking about their weekend and then every Thursday is talking about what they are thankful.
Hi, I strongly suggest you take the time in the morning to talk to the students. In all grades K-3 that I have done this, it has helped me connect with the scholars and you can ask more as you know them better. It will pay off. Good luck and see you soon.
DeleteAngela Hill Pla @ 103 July 21 at 12:01
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of school before class at the door my greetings would be a high five or a hug it really depends on the scholar, you learn then as you do the morning getting what they like or don't like as time go on. Then on Monday we would start off by talking about their weekend and name 2 things that they have done and why did they choose that particular thing to talk about. So far this has went very well for me during my teaching experience. Thursday would would talk about how has their week so far has been at home and if they would like to talk about it as a whole class or by themselves.
Action #1: I do a couple of things in the morning. First, I greet each student at the door as they enter the room. They can select a handshake, fist bump, or high five. More often than not, half of them give me a hug. It gives me a chance to see how students are doing and I can connect with those who I can sense have something bothering them and I can talk to them privately to find out what I can do to help them. The second thing we do is during morning meeting, we do “Good Things.” I have the student of the day select three, sometimes more, students to share a good thing. This helps me to get to know students better and gives me topics I can talk to them about. Students love to share and this activity is one of their favorites.
ReplyDeleteAction #2: I like the daily theme outlined in this hack. My morning meetings are structured and kids like that, but the ideas discussed would really allow each person in the classroom to really get to know one another and build community.
Dessalee Cook/Greater Heights Academy
Hi Dessalee,
DeleteI also like the daily themes. One of the days gives the students a chance to reflect on failure and growth. Thankful Thursday is a great way to have students focus on all the things that are good in their lives!
DeEtta Crane
GHA
Action 1: To get to know my students, I great each one at the door. I ask them how their night/weekend went. This help them see I care about them and if there are any issues we need to address I can first thing. I also take time to talk to my students during recess or free time. They are usually more willing to talk when not in the classroom or doing something fun.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: I love the idea of "Thankful Thursday." Many students see the bad in the world or their lives. It gives them an opportunity to think about the good.
Karen Prince PLA #93
Karen,
DeleteI agree with you I really like the idea of Thankful Thursday. I think even for some adults it is hard to be Thankful for things in the world we live in today. And what a great reminder for scholars to see.
Jenina Sorenson
PLA@103
C.Louketis
ReplyDeleteEvery morning I stand at the door to greet every scholar, by saying good morning. On Monday's I call on every student to share two things that they did during the weekend. I enjoy this time,because everyone is so excited to share something. I also share what I did doing the weekend and that opens up discussion among the whole class. Every morning I have a journal topic on the board and have students write in their journals. I would call on students who want to share what they wrote. This also was another way to get to know my students better.
I also like the idea of "Thankful Thursday" It gives the students an opportunity to reflect on all the good things that they do have in their lives and all the good things that is yet to come.
C.Louketis (A+ Arts Academy Maybury)
I agree with you. I love the Thankful Thursday and how it allows the students to focus on positives things. A lot of times they too focus on the negatives of life. This idea gets them to look at things small and big in a more positive way. Sohnn'a Duff PLA@103
DeleteI would greet each other the students in the morning by name and ask them about their weekend. If they had a sporting event or dance recital, etc. the night before that I knew about I would always ask them how it went. Additionally, for their birthdays I would give them a sticker to wear and a certificate saying "It's My Birthday" so that they felt special on that day. I would also be sure to ask them how their birthday was and what they were doing for it- dinner, party, etc. I have always wanted to do a question on the board that they would respond to and write the answer on the board as well, then we could discuss it before the school day actually starts. Another thing that when back in the classroom I would want to implement is a handshake, high-five, fist bump, or hug when they enter the classroom. I feel as though this would provide the students with a caring interaction first thing in the morning and let them know that you care.
ReplyDeleteAbby Gaddis- IS
Some special things I do to form meaningful relationships with my scholars are to greet them at the door each morning by name and to do our daily check in after the morning bell. I love to do the daily check in with the class because it helps everyone see how we are all doing as individuals that day so far. For example, I will go around the room and ask each scholar what number they are. They may answer with numbers ranging from 1-5, 1 being they are not good at all and 5 being they are great. The scholar may then wish to share with the class and me why they are having a bad morning, an "eh" morning, or a great morning. This helps me assess how each of my scholars are before I start teaching. It also helps fellow classmates know how they are as well. I also do this at the end of the day to see if our days got any better or worse and why. I feel it really helps create a sense of community within my room and the scholars really end up loving to share.
ReplyDeleteOne takeaway I have taken from this hack is all the different ways we can great and create meaningful relationships with our scholars. There are many wonderful and creative ideas that work for many people. I really loved the Thankful Thursday idea as well. I definitely plan to implement that into my classroom! With everything going on in the world right now, it is extremely hard to focus on the positives. I would love to show my scholars that there are still things to be grateful for and things to look forward to.
Kelsey Barrix
PLA 103
Action 1 Special things you do to form meaningful relationships: I greet scholars as they enter room. As a media center and library teacher, I dedicate 8 minutes to reading a special selection from a different genre. I take time to set the tone for what to listen for or ponder as I read. Then we discuss how it relates to their lives. I often bring in my related life experiences as well. As student checkout books I comment on their good choices and promote the positive aspects of the books.
ReplyDeleteAction#2 --There were everal take aways from this chapter/hack. One was Find the Fiction about Me and extending it to Find the Fiction About You---one scholar each session. Also, I want to implement Shout Outs--praise from peer to peers so that classes are looking for the good and receiving praise for it. In addition, ending class should be on a positive. The Cool Down time will take away from the rush out of class without personal comments. Jean Faillace, TLJAcademy, Ft. Wayne, IN
Action 1: I greet the children at the door. They can choose between various greeting symbols I have posted on the door. It is always fun when the student and I have our own special handshake. This year will be so different but I plan to ask the children for their ideas. I am sure they will come up with some great ideas...socially distanced.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: I loved the ideas in this chapter! I especially liked the suggestions for wrapping up the lessons and the topics for Monday-Friday. I will definitely implement these practices into my sessions.
Stefanie Sheridan A+ Fair Ave.
I also liked the ideas for Monday-Friday. I think it would be nice to do the same idea for each day. This will allow students to stay on schedule and know what is coming up for each day.
Delete-Courtney Sandmann (Main Prep)
Action 1: I try to greet my students as they walk into my classroom and I also try to stand at door as they exit and tell them bye. At times, I will tell their teacher as they walking pass something positive they did in class. During class I like to go sit next to them and gives tips on what they are doing or tell them I like what they are doing or wearing etc.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: My take away from this hack is to keep praising our scholars. Keep building that relationship by getting to know them as a person. Son'a Duff PLA@103
It sounds like we both use the greeting in the morning to check in with the students! I would like to incorporate saying goodbye when they exit as well. I like your idea of saying something positive about them to their other teachers. I bet this makes the students feel great and lets others know that you noticed them working really hard.
Delete-Courtney Sandmann (Main Prep)
I love greeting my children every morning at the door saying their name! That always brings a smile my way.
DeleteJenelle Miller
PLA103
I do a couple of things to build meaningful relationships with my students. The first thing I do is greeting them at the door to check in every day. I let the student select a fist bump, dance, high-five, or hug to do with me. After we greet I check in with them for about a minute and see how their morning is going and how they are feeling. This is a great way to see how my students are doing and if there are any problems we might need to handle. Another way I build meaningful relationships with my students is by having them as lunch guests. If I notice a student is having a great day or really struggling, I will invite them to eat lunch with me in my classroom. This is a great opportunity for one on one time and to really get to know the students on a more personal level. A final way I like to build relationships is by letting students have a say in the learning. I like to listen to their opinions and hear what things they would like to learn about and do. This gives me great ways to incorporate their interests into our classroom.
ReplyDeleteA takeaway from this hack is to do a warm up activity to begin class. This will ensure that the first few minutes of class time are not wasted and that students are actively participating in meaningful work. A quick warm up activity will get the students working before the bell even rings. Then you can talk about the warm up activity in the first couple of minutes. The activity doesn’t even have to be educational, but can be used to build relationships with your students as well.
-Courtney Sandmann (Main Prep)
I love warm-up activities. It gives them a way to start the class relaxed and having fun. Building relationships in the classroom is so importatn to a succeesful class.
DeleteMindi Spychalski-PLA@103
Courtney,
DeleteIn the past I have had Lunch with the Teacher a reward for Star Students. This was a very motivating reward for scholars. I think they enjoyed one-on-one or small gathering with the teacher, as well as, the classroom being a "Quiet Zone" where we could really focus on each other. I am sad that this will most likely not be an option this year with scholars having to eat lunch in the classroom in Ohio. I have been trying to think of how I could set up to have a "Special Guest(s) table" that could eat at a table with me or some other way to encourage scholars to stay on task. The problem is that our classrooms are so small that the social distancing guidelines will be a struggle, let alone finding a place to eat with a few scholars. I need to do an internet search for some ideas on revamping so that lunch can remain a valuable time to connect with scholars.
Michelle Lisco, Middlebury Academy
Action 1
ReplyDeleteSince I teach Special Education I have the gift of serving the same students year after year,. This makes it easier to develop relationships that last. We really get to know each other well. I give them snacks that they love. Seems like they're always hungry. I get to know their moods and what makes their lives happy or sad. I know their families and what is going on in their life.
Action 2
I like the idea of using fist bumps and shout outs and letting the students give them also for one another.
bump we will have to do the fist bumps once the Covid is cleared.
Kay Clabaugh TLJA
Kay,
DeleteI was thinking the same thing about bumps, high fives, hugs...all the things we use to greet our scholars and this COVID. I don't know about you but I miss those things from my scholars.
Jenina Sorenson
PLA@103
I have always done the fist bumps and hugs every morning and after lunch. This gives me a way to assess how they are doing. The kids like the after lunch fist bump because they love to tell me what they had for lunch and whether they liked it or not. THe virus will change this and I have to think about what else to do. I also do surveys to get their thoughts on things.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of Thankful Thursdays. Listening to what they have to say can give you many insites into what the students are thinking.
Chris Truesdell - Trix Academy
I also have done the greeting and goodbyes at my classroom door. I try to keep track of my shout outs to be sure everyone gets one. This can be challenging when my only planning time was at the end of the day. To much to remember to put in my student observations.
DeleteI also like the idea of Thankful Thursdays. I will incorporate that into my Journal Time.
Michelle Fendrick A+ Arts Academy Fair Ave
I welocome every scholar every morning into our classroom. They love choosing how to greet me from a fist bump, hug, high five, smile or a wave. They start the day out with a choice on how they feel. I also do morning meeting with my scholars and we greet everyone and we have a morning question that everyone gets a chance to answer. It really build community in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWhat I took from this hack is that we spend numerous hours a day with our scholars and for any meaningful learning to take place you have to know your scholars. Taking time out of your day to focus on them as individuals is crutial in their learnign process.
Mindi Spychalski-PLA@103
Mindi,
DeleteI could not agree with you more on form meaningful relationships with our scholars. It is so important that we get to know them more than just students but as people.
Jenina Sorenson
PLA@103
Action 1: I will greet each scholar at the door of the classroom. They are able to greet me with a handshake, high five, fist bump, hug, or smile...They love being able to choose how to greet me. Also, we will have a community meeting at the beginning and end of each class. During our morning meetings the scholars get to share how they are feeling and set a goal for themselves for the day. Normally these goals are about academics or behavior...sometimes they have other goals for themselves too. The way that we end our meetings is with a high, low, buffalo. The scholars get to share one high for the day, one low for the day, and one buffalo (something that was surprising to them( for the day. This is a great way to see how the scholars saw their day.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: One take away from this hack is that I need to relook at my daily warmups (do nows). I had a great routine of this when I was a classroom teacher...I just finished up as a physical education teacher and as I look back on my last few years we did not really do these in PE, so I may need to brush up on what this should/could look like in my classroom.
Jenina Sorenson
PLA@103
Hello Mrs. Sorenson,
DeleteGreat post, I love that you meet your scholars at the door it important to check their mood at the door before entering the learning environment. I also like that you adjust your greetings so that it won’t become boring to your scholars
Leshun Horne PLA@Jones Clark
I pride my self on checking how each of my scholars moods are before we enter the classroom. I met them at the door say their name and ask how they are doing. If they are comfortable with hugs, then I hug them , if not then I give them high fives. It’s is also super important to me to smile at them you never know how our scholars nights were or morning was.
ReplyDeleteThe one take-away was a reminder is to remember to take time and have some sort reflection on the task at had, I feel that this hack is help with scaffolding.
Leshun Horne PLA@Jones Clark
I agree with greeting at the door and welcoming them every morning. I think the time is well spent meeting with them on how they are feeling that day too.
DeleteIt is amazing how you can read a scholars moods as the year progresses from a simple morning greeting. As scholars were lined up in the hall to enter class, I could look into their faces and at their body language and just see where many scholars were at to begin our day. I worry about how this may be challenged as learning may be potentially more remote. There is so much information that you can glean from body language and expression.
DeleteMichelle Lisco, Middlebury Academy
Sarah Castle - A+ Arts Academy - Fair Ave.
ReplyDeleteEvery morning I make a point to speak to each student. I say "Good morning. How was your evening?" Then we talk from their. At the end of our conversation I always say "I'm so glad you came today. I don't know what we would've done without you." This seemed to let them know how much I care about them and their lives. We also spent 10-15 minutes going over morning work packet. Now this sounds so boring, unless you race the clock and they start encouraging each other to get things right. We always had a good time laughing at our mistakes and celebrating our wins. Another thing I did was celebrate them participating in class, every time they tried to answer wrong or right, I rewarded them.....I threw candy to them. They thought it was fun to try to catch it and they really came to life when I did this. We also high fived for every success too.
What I took away from the hack was the importance of letting student know they are more than just students and I'm more than just a teacher. I feel like when I invest like this, they come back later to discuss things that are going in their world. I've even had past students come back to chat and get advice. That makes my heart so happy to know they can rely on me.
Forming meaningful relationships with scholars starts from the first day we meet our scholars. With government mandates, our school life will look and feel very different and I continually search for ways to still create that sense of community. Last year, I greeted scholars at the door where there was a Greeting Choice Board with a sign that said "How shall we greet one another?" and about 6 laminated options for greetings that scholars could choose from that I mimicked back (high five, fist bump, dance moves, hula hoop, jumps, wave, pat on the back, eye wink, etc). After about a month or so, it became common practice for scholars to say "Let's do all the greetings" and we would go through the whole list of greetings. It was a fun connection at the start of the day.
ReplyDeleteI also introduce my class to Kid President because he is just such a spark of a personality! Our daily message has a "Quote of the Day" that we discuss the deeper meaning of. A few times per week, I have a quick question of the day that we answer during morning meeting. Sometimes it is silly like "Do you prefer an apple or a banana?"
I also try to take any opportunity that I can try to get to know each scholar. It is so important to know what makes each unique scholar tick so you can teach in ways that they are interested and engaged.
During Summer Advantage, I was part of a group that utilized warm up activities that I found to be quick, yet effective for both reviewing and determining who needs additional guidance.
So far as a take-away, I would like to incorporate more end of class shoutouts that involve scholar to scholar. I find that third graders can be very critical and mean toward one another and providing an opportunity for shoutouts would be great for positive relationship building. I thought the 60 second Shoutout video demonstrates a simple, sweet gesture toward a peer. I also like the "failure/growth" idea but I would rename it to flip and flop (what are you so proud that you know that you could do flips over? and what did you flop at that you need to work on?). Failure is not a word I use in my classroom. We are all a work in progress. My scholars know that my favorite poster is "Mistakes are proof you are trying."
Michelle Lisco, Middlebury Academy
Yes, I notice the same thing with my third graders! I can't imagine the impact that sharing class shoutouts would have with my class as well! I love that the word failure is not allowed in your class. I may need to find a poster just like that!
DeleteColleen Hanrahan, A+ Arts Academy
Hack 9 Fist Bumps, High Fives, and Shout-Outs
ReplyDeleteI greet my students at the door each morning. Students have the choice on how to greet me. High Five, Fist Bump, Hand-Shake or Hug. We start our day with Good Things. Students share something positive with the class. I had to put a time limit on it and they had to stick to one thing. I had students that would talk about everything they did the night before. They loved to share!
I like the idea of noticing what happened during class and acknowledging it before they leave the classroom.
DeEtta Crane
GHA
Act #1: In my last few years of teaching, I incorporated the "Capturing Kids' Hearts model in my everyday class. The first part of the strategy is to greet students by name and with a handshake everyday. While a fist bump or high five may seem more engaging, the theory behind the handshake was that, as teachers, we are equipping our students with skills and tools they will need later in life. If a young person was going into a job interview, very few employers are going to offer a fist bump as a form of greeting. I have stood on stage at many a graduation, and I can tell you that even seniors in high school sometimes struggle with the proper eye contact/handshake dynamic that many of us take for granted.
ReplyDeleteAnother part of the model was to begin each class period with a "Good things" exercise. Students were encouraged, after much teacher modeling, to share something good that had happened to them since the last meeting. Of course, students are not forced to reply, but student willingness to share is a natural result of strong relationship building, both between the student and teacher, but within the classroom as a community. I also saw some teachers who did a great job of using Post-it notes, which they would then read, and cover whole walls with positive happenings. It was a powerful visual tool. Finally, each class would end with a "Launch". A Launch was a positive saying, story, poem, song, affirmation, etc the students could carry with them as they left the classroom. Regardless of the events of the class, the students could leave with a positive impression.
All of these strategies fit together to build a positive classroom environment where healthy relationships are allowed to flourish.
Act #2: Whatever it is that you do to build positive relationships with students, those strategies are at least as important as any classroom management procedures, teaching practices, curriculum usage, or technology skills you may utilize. Time spent on building relationships early will be time you will harvest exponentially as the year progresses.
I like your post-it note comment. That could be a strong visual. I also agree with the handshake and eye-contact observation. That's a good way to model for students how a correct handshake should be extended for their future. Gale Reed PLA@93
DeleteI think one of the best things I do to build positive relationships with scholars is to greet each one of them as they come in the room each day. I greet them by name, ask them how they are, or how their weekend went. If they were absent, I always tell them I missed them. I agree that this is the opportune time to gauge student attitudes. If they come in the classroom in an awful mood, it's an excellent time to pull them aside, ask them what's wrong, and brainstorm together what to do about it. Dealing with this as soon as they come in the classroom not only shows you care, but also wards off negative behavior that could occur throughout class. At the end of the day, I always stand at my door and tell each student goodbye, see your tomorrow, and have a great weekend/evening.
ReplyDeleteCathy Branch, Middlebury Academy
Last year I would leave my door open during my prep period, which meant scholars often ventured in. I was a new teacher, and some scholars wanted to talk to get to know me or waste time instead of making it to class early. I am also a therapist, so I used this time to talk about scholar's social and emotional health. I also did this during the morning times before class began. My prep time was often interrupted, but at least these scholars were not roaming the halls getting into trouble. After reading this chapter, I enjoyed learning about the many additional creative ways to build relationships with children, like the different greetings to do a quick mood check.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this hack! I stand by my door every morning to welcome my students into our classroom. My classroom is also right next to the door the students enter off the bus, so I say good morning to all of the students as they go to breakfast. Every morning we start our day with a morning meeting. This meeting includes our agenda, attendance, and the students sharing something. I’ve always just had the students share whatever they like; once one person brings up a dog or a birthday, everyone is ready to share in first grade! One thing I took away from this hack was giving each day a theme to direct the morning conversations. I would love to implement something similar in my classroom to help guide our conversations to learn more specific things about my students.
ReplyDeleteBrittany Connett PLA@93
I absolutely love this chapter! When scholars enter the classroom in the morning, a simple high five, hug, or any kind of excited good morning routine can make such a huge difference. It tells them that no matter what is going on at home or what kind of morning they are having, they are about to enter a safe, happy, welcoming place. I always had a welcome mat at the door of my classroom that said "My happy place". I wanted students to know that I was so happy to see them and wanted them to feel the same. A morning meeting has always been a great way to start the day. We sit in a circle and share something new or exciting, a worry, a funny story, etc. It can get off topic with younger grades, but a talking stick is a great way to make sure only one person is talking at a time and the rest are being active listeners. I think the biggest take away with this hack is that you should make it a goal to always start strong and end strong. It can make such a huge difference for the scholars and you.
ReplyDeleteHeather Hill
PLA @93
Heather I too need to work on having a strong end with my scholars.
DeleteI loved this chapter and I truly understand that the first impression is everything! I had a morning greeting every morning for my scholars. The very first day I put in place that we are a family and that we must greet each of daily before entering the classroom. We also had a greeting for visitors. I would stand at the door and allow the scholar to select from different greetings (hand shake, fist bump, high five,hug, lets dance, elbow hello, smile, pinky shake) as the year went on if I was busy, I would allow a scholar to greet other scholars in the morning. They loved to be greeted in the morning before entering the classroom, they would wait at the door before entering and to my surprise they mostly selected Hugs. With the social distancing this year I will have to remove a few of the greeting but I play to use this again this year.
ReplyDeleteWhen visitors entered the room the class would say "Welcome to the Rainbow room where amazing things happen". The scholars loved, to see the response from visitors and loved to tell them about the things we where learning.
My take away is to make should that I work on a strong end.
I love the idea of selecting a student to stand at the door to greet the students at the door as the year goes on. There are so many times that our attention is pulled in other directions, but it is a great way to keep that routine in place.
DeleteAction 1: I do several things already. I always greet my scholars in the morning at the door with a smile and a "good morning". After the scholars hang up their backpacks and turn in their homework, they get the morning work that is near the door. They immediately get started working on the work. This is quiet time. I have music playing softly. This prepares them for the day. After the pledge and announcements, we go over the morning work. I would like to continue this, but I also need to implement a morning meeting. This would give the students and me a chance to talk about their evenings and possible concerns. Since we give weekly tests, we clap for the top scorers from the week before. I also reward students who have improved their scores. For the end of the day, our school always has 15 minutes of silent reading. This is kind of a cool down from the work of the day. As students leave, we fist bump.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: I think I could try to do the two shout-outs at the end of the day. This could be a good way to praise students and end the day on a positive note. Gale Reed School 93
Easy way to end the day with shout outs. Helps everyone feel like a part of a family.
DeleteAction 1:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about this hack. I greet my students as they enter the room each morning. Sometimes it is a simple good morning, other times I will ask about their evening if they were doing something different, or ask how homework went. When I start class each morning, I always stand in the front of the room and say good morning class, and they respond with good morning Mrs. Staten. Sometimes we have to do this more than once depending on participation. Throughout the year, I invite students to eat their lunch in the classroom. I sit with them and we just talk about whatever. This is very popular and students beg to eat lunch in the room. Also in the beginning of the school year we different activities to help get to know each others interest, families, likes and dislikes. Many times I learn things about students that can be brought up later which helps to form a connection. For example, last year I had a student that I found out was a middle child, something I have in common. We would share our experiences about being the child that sometimes is forgotten about. We did it in a joking way, but I recognized that because of this he needed a little more attention in the classroom because at home sometimes he did not get the attention that the older and younger siblings got.
Action 2:
I want to incorporate the warm up activities. This is a simple, short way to start the day. Also, the cool down session with shout outs. I find that I do shout outs periodically, but need to get into the routine of doing them daily.
Mary Ann Staten
PLA @93
Action 1:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about this hack. I greet my students as they enter the room each morning. Sometimes it is a simple good morning, other times I will ask about their evening if they were doing something different, or ask how homework went. When I start class each morning, I always stand in the front of the room and say good morning class, and they respond with good morning Mrs. Staten. Sometimes we have to do this more than once depending on participation. Throughout the year, I invite students to eat their lunch in the classroom. I sit with them and we just talk about whatever. This is very popular and students beg to eat lunch in the room. Also in the beginning of the school year we different activities to help get to know each others interest, families, likes and dislikes. Many times I learn things about students that can be brought up later which helps to form a connection. For example, last year I had a student that I found out was a middle child, something I have in common. We would share our experiences about being the child that sometimes is forgotten about. We did it in a joking way, but I recognized that because of this he needed a little more attention in the classroom because at home sometimes he did not get the attention that the older and younger siblings got.
Action 2:
I want to incorporate the warm up activities. This is a simple, short way to start the day. Also, the cool down session with shout outs. I find that I do shout outs periodically, but need to get into the routine of doing them daily.
Mary Ann Staten
PLA @93
I agree good way to start the day with a short way.
DeleteI do "lunch bunch" every couple of weeks also. We have a lot of fun and it's a great way to really get to know the kids on a personal level. We never discuss anything academic during lunch. We have a lot of fun and usually end up in giggles!
DeleteAction 1: I greet students at the door. I do like the special greeting that hack 9 suggested. Just need to figure out how to do it with the social distance element we have to follow. Maybe elbow bumps.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: I want to implement the Daily hacks to do Monday thru Friday. I will try to implement Monday and add the rest of the days the following week. We could do the weekend talk while students who are late are coming in. This is the perfect way to see what your students are interested in and hopefully help build the important relationships with them.
I have been trying to think of multiple greetings with social distancing in mind too, definitely will be a challenge, but maybe getting creative will get students more engaged. I definitely have to think about the afternoon and how the day will end.
DeleteAction 1. I enjoyed reading this hack #9. This year, I started to greet the students at the door and ask them a password to enter in the classroom. I enjoyed this activity a lot since the password was related to the lesson plan for the week. It gave me an opportunity to hear and correct their pronunciation one at the time, very critical when learning a language- Spanish. At the beginning, I encountered some resistance but quickly the students looked forward to it. This procedure went alone with a "Haz Ahora" or Do NOW which I also tied to the prior's day lesson plan or an introduction to a new one.
ReplyDeleteAction 2. My biggest take away from this, hack was that it is OK to spend time on setting the mood fo a quality class time. It has been challenging for me to end the class on time and have time to go over homework none the less build relationships. I will focus on leaving enough time to the end and send them off in a great note.
I like that idea of having a password to enter the classroom! I was thinking about doing something similar this year in having my scholars read a vocabulary or sight word.
DeleteKayla Walker PLA@103
One of my favorite ways to bond with my students was to invite a couple of them in to eat with me. It gave us time to talk about their lives outside of school so they knew I really cared about them, but also a time for me to share more about me with them. I think another thing that really helped me form a bond with my students was to give them class jobs for the week. This helped my students to know that I would rely on them to help me and our class while giving them responsibility and it was very infrequent that I took a job away from someone. I did not greet them everyday at the door to for a greeting, but if I was not at the door, then most students came to find me to give me a greeting. It was just more of a challenge to greet each student at the door because there were 30-45 minutes were students were arriving, and I was not able to be at the door that whole time. I also love reading the ideas on how to do greetings that are more contact-less.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest takeaways from the chapter were that I need to do more on a daily basis to build my relationships with the students and that it is okay to share about myself. I like the idea of using the first couple minutes of the day to discuss their lives and then the last few minutes to highlight student's successes was a great idea. Those are minutes that I often wasted and hence resulted in misbehaviors, so I can't wait to try these ideas. I also think that there were many times last year that I did not share about my life because I didn't think it was appropriate, but near the "end of the year" I started sharing more about my life, especially when I was in school, and noticed that my students responded positively to it. I will definitely do more of that this year because it helps my students see me as a person outside of school as well.
Colleen Hanrahan, A+ Arts Academy
I loved your lunch breaks with students! I loved the ideas of how to build relationships as well.
DeleteAnna Callender A+ Arts Academy
Action 1: I always greet scholars at the door, and make sure to do eye contact, sometimes high five or side hug. With COVID I will come up with a virtual hug or similar. This has helped us tremendously to start the day well. After that, the scholars get ready and quietly start working on warm-up, morning work. It helps them start with structure, and a calm atmosphere. Also, after attendance, I take time to do circle, we talk about how we feel today, and share something personal as favorite foods, colors, or silly things. It takes 7 min, but it helps create a strong community culture in the classroom, and allows me to know my scholars better.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: My takeaway from this hack, is that even if my greeting creates a wonderful class culture, I can improve by highlighting the successes of our day at the end. I will try to incorporate this tip, this new school year, as we have so many unknowns. This will help us all feel more positive in challenging times.
Action 1: I always made sure to greet my students at the door. I also started doing the high five, fist bump, hug, handshake routine in the morning right before we left school because of the pandemic. My students would come up very elaborate handshakes. It was interesting watching them come up with their handshakes. I also made it a priority to make sure I asked a few students each morning how they were doing. I was able to read my students pretty well and I could tell if one of my students was having a bad morning.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: I like the Tip of the Week. It reminds of the the book "Wonder" and Mr. Browns Precepts. I'm going to have to try and figure this out for the next year, as I'm moving from 3rd to 4th and will only be teaching science and social studies.
I greet my children every morning at the door with their name and a quick check in. You can usually spot something wrong very quickly.
ReplyDeleteI am going to use the shout outs to each other! I love this idea!
Jenelle Miller
PLA103
Action 1: On our campus we incorporated a scholar check at the door before entering the room based on a color chart with green, blue, yellow and red. If a scholar checked in on yellow or red, I would take with them individually to find out what was going on. This was rewarding for me and it made it possible for us to get a remedy for the problem and the scholar felt better and was now feeling better.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: A take away from this hack is the example of warm up and cool down in the classroom. I would like to start cool downs with my scholars this school year.
Clarissa Price PLA @ Jones Clark Elementary
I believe that it is important to greet students every morning, try to engage them and set the tone for the day. When I was a guest teacher, it was amazing to see how circles were built into the morning for students to engage with one another and with the teacher, having the ability to share a few things before the day lessons would start. I think this further develops rapport for all individuals in the classroom. I look forward in offerring a variety of these "circles" within the library, perhaps on some favorite book topics or other library related activities.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have seen several teachers indicate that recognition of a student as being important to class functions, which I can see serving as an integral activity to the class. I think it is important to recognize the good behavior and deeds, especially if a scholar had gone out of their way to help another. I think having conversations on how a class can improve as a whole may be important at times, but the recognition of all the "good" that can happen in the classroom can have a positive impact on the class experience. I look forward implementing such an approach in the library.
Something I do to form meaningful relationship with my scholars is invite them to eat lunch with me that day, so that I can talk with them one on one and get to know them a little better. Also, each morning I make sure to greet my scholars with a hug (if they want one), and I let them know how happy I am to see them. I do something similar in the afternoons by saying "Love you, see you tomorrow" accompanied with a hug as they leave. I do think I want to change that a bit and add in that I'm excited and/or looking forward to seeing them the next school day.
ReplyDeleteSomething I took away from this chapter is the different daily warm up activities. I like to start my morning with positive affirmations, but I also know that there were some mornings that seemed crazy than others and I would slip on making sure we did it. I want to work on that because I know that those crazy days are the ones where they could use those affirmations the most. I can also use the some of daily warm ups suggested in this chapter to either add to our routine or to mix it up a bit to keep the scholars engaged.
Kayla Walker PLA@103
Action 1: Our scholars always gathered in the gym in the morning and teachers picked them up from there. Once we got upstairs they would go to their lockers and line up outside the door. I always greeted each one at the door, usually with high fives or hugs. Sometimes I would even pull a couple aside once the others had entered to room for a quick chat if it looked like their morning was off to a rough start. I also had "lunch bunch" every few weeks where a small group of students would bring lunch back to my room. It was usually only 3-4 students at a time. It allowed me to get to know them on a more personal level and usually erupted in fits of giggles at some point from some joke or story one of the kids told.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: I love the idea of Shout outs at the end of class. Since we're self-contained in 3rd it would be something I might do at the end of each subject or the end of the day. I'll have to see how things are scheduled this year with all of the changes.
Action 1: To form a meaningful relationship with my Scholars, I greet my students before entering the classroom with a hug, hi-five, fist pump, or other greeting that they like to do. Before diving into the curriculum, I allow students a min. or two to turn/talk and tell each other about how their weekend was and also share out a few with the whole class.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: A take-away from this hack will definitely be allowing students to share out at the end of the day and embed daily warm-up activities.
Deborah Dominick
PLA@Jones-Clark Elem.
Beaumont, TX
Angela Posey PLA @ 103
ReplyDeleteOne very special thing I would do in my classroom to help build relationships was to write personal letters to my students during the week. I would write two personal letters a day recognizing the student for something that I noticed that they did was admirable or showed responsibility. I would put the letter in an evelope and put the letter on their desk where they could see it when they arrived to school. So there were approximately ten to twelve students who received a letter each week. The smiles on the students' faces when they read the letter was very touching. Sometimes the students would reply to my letter. The letter always seemed to inspire the students.
I have used sharing time for students at the beginning of the class. The students enjoy telling each other about something that has happened in their life. I also get to know the students better.
Action 2: One take away I would implement is the cool down activity. I like the statement that the first and last words out of your mouth you should be something about the students as people and not students.
I love the idea of writing letters to your scholars. I did this when I taught second grade and it definitely builds strong relationships. I would love to do this in some type of way with my kindergarten scholars but I haven't quite figured out the perfect way to do it.
DeleteI also like the idea of a cool down activity.
I make sure and greet every one of my students every day when they come in with a "Good Morning!" I was doing a choice board outside of my classroom where they could choose their greeting. (Dance, handshake, high five, hug, etc.) But I will have to be rethinking all of that in the wake of Covid. I would like to continue doing something similar as all of my students really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteA take away I have from this hack is shout outs at the end of class. Usually at the end of the day we sing songs while we wait for dismissal but that would be a great thing to add in.
Anna Callender A+ Arts Academy Fair Ave.
Yes! I greet my students at the doorway with their Bellwork and a smile greeting them into class. It makes a huge difference in how the day will go. I always try to remain the positive teacher students look forward to seeing daily.
DeleteTricia Christopher- Middlebury Academy Akron, OH
We'd have our own handshakes & high-fives. It makes me kind of sad thinking about that aspect of bonding not being an option this year (& maybe in the future) due to Covid-19.
ReplyDeleteWe can do fist bumps and hand sanitizer rituals now for greetings :-).
Tricia Christopher- Middlebury Academy Akron, OH
I've thought a lot about this too! Our kids need connection. I have been trying to think of ways to incorporate non touch greetings. Maybe scholars could do a part of a tic tok dance and you greet back by repeating. Maybe we can do "foot shakes" or elbows. We are definitely going to have to get creative! Best of luck!
DeleteSarah Rahrig
GVPLA
Action 1: My beginning and end of the day looked similar to the examples in this hack. We as teachers set the tone for the day. I greet every scholar by name at the door. Scholars can choose to high-five, fist, bump, hug, wave, etc. After scholars complete their morning routine there is a prompt usually related to our morning meeting. During morning meeting, which for my classroom lasted closer to 20-30 minutes, all scholars participated and had a chance to share. At the end of the day, we had a closing meeting. This was a time for reflection, encouragement, and ending the day on a positive note.
ReplyDeleteActin 2: My take away from this hack was the “Tip of the Week”. I have never done this but think it would be super easy to implement. Last year we had falcon of the month, so I could use those character traits to take time to talk about what that looks like in action. And could even follow it up by at the end of the day or week providing specific feedback on scholars who displayed the character trait.
Sarah Rahrig
GVPLA
Hello, great post.
DeleteFor many scholars, the closing meeting is just as important as the morning meeting. I love the idea for building in the character traits into our weekly planning and shouting out those that are showing this skills.
I love your idea of a closing meeting at the end of the day. I always struggle with this time of the day. This will definitely be a focus for me this year. Thank you for your examples.
DeleteAction 1:
ReplyDeleteOne of the special things that I have done to build meaningful relationships with our scholars includes greeting each one at the door with a hug, handshake, and/or high five. Before starting class, we have a meeting time were we point out what scholars are doing well and/or showing improvement. In this same meeting, we share words of encouragement to help each scholar start the day. I have also held “Come to Jesus” meetings where we address areas and behaviors for improvements. These things allow the scholars to know that not only will I hold them accountable, I will also praise them for meeting and/or trying to meet expectations in and out of the classroom.
Action 2:
One take-away from this hack is to always look for opportunities for celebrate the scholars. They need to know they are important to you and you care for not just their educational growth, but personal growth as well.
LaTiesha Hollowell
PLA@103 6th
La Teisha, I love that you "celebrate" your scholars. When I read that I had an immediate image of a party in my mind. I'm sure that's how you make them feel. Thank you for the inspiration.
DeleteL. Roark
GHA- Flint Mi.
Action I - To form meaningful relationships with my scholars, I try to incorporate their interests into bellwork questions and when applicable, class assignments. I also try to make sure I communicate with as many as possible when we see each other during passing periods. One of my absolute favorite ways though is to attend their sporting events, especially the lesser profiled ones that not many people come to, (staff and parents included.)
ReplyDeleteAction II - One take-away I have from this hack is the closing shoutouts. I know before my school has discussed leaving on a positive note and that very well can get away from you with gathering materials, etc. However, I like the idea of mentioning three people I think did something worthwhile that day, as well as letting their peers pick three more.
Ashley Pierce - JRPLA
Ashley, I like how you incorporate you students' interests into their assignments. I feel like that will keep their interest in their work and also maybe make it a little more fun for them! Thank you for sharing!
DeleteAudree Zabel GVPLA
Action 1: To form a meaningful relationship with my Scholars, I greet them as they enter the classroom. When we go to breakfast, I like to sit with them and just chat. They are kinders,so they have LOTS to share and that This is our social time before we head back to class and start our learning. At lunch, I try and so the same since I have both duties. I will also eat my lunch with them ( by choice) I want to model healthy eating and cafeteria manners.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: A take-away from this hack will definitely be to be more intentional at the end of the day. I love the idea of an afternoon meeting because we have many scholars that arrive after our morning meeting.
L. Roark
GHA- Flint Mi.
Mackcine Jordan@PLA103
DeleteHello Roark,
I like how you brought to my attention that you are thinking of moving the Morning Meeting to the afternoon. It seems like an excellent take away from this Hack. I too will put that in my thinking. Thank you for sharing.
Mackcine Jordan@103
I always made a point when I was student teaching and my previous job as an instructional assistant to always greet each child with a smile and take a moment to talk to them about how they are or anything they'd like to share with me. I feel like this keeps an open line of communication between myself and my student or scholar and allows them to feel comfortable sharing what they wish with me. Some students warm up quicker than others as I'm sure we all know, but I always like to let my students know I see them and I'm here when they are ready.
ReplyDeleteA take-away I have from this chapter is to be just as enthusiastic at the end of the day as I am in the mornings. What I mean by this is maybe having an end of the day "meeting" as well as having a morning meeting/circle time. Coming together at the beginning and end of our days can build strong relationships between myself and the scholars and also for the scholars with each other.
Audree Zabel GVPLA
Hi, Audree! I really love that you brought up having a designated morning meeting/circle time with your scholars. Growing up, my teachers always started class with a "check-in" time - just to see how we were doing and how our days were going. I definitely want to implement this - even in online instruction! Thank you for reminding me of this!
DeleteMarcella Largent, Middlebury Academy
Action 1-
ReplyDeleteI start the day off by greeting scholars at the door. They are then given choices of how to say good morning. The choices include a high five, hug, dance, fist bump, wave and much more. During morning meeting we share good news and build relationships by having scholars ask each other questions about their good news. We work on asking questions that are more than just yes or no answers. This helps to build relationships between myself and the scholars as well as between all scholars in the class.
Action 2
I have a few take aways from the hack. I would love to implement looking at negatives and talking about how to make them positives. I think this is a great strategy for scholars to learn. I also love implementing the failure/growth aspect. I always teach my scholars that its okay to make mistakes and this will just take it a little farther. I really would like to implement thankful Thursday. Scholars need to learn how to be thankful and in many cases this is lacking in everyday life.
Mackcine Jordan@PLA103
DeleteGreetings Charlene Long,
Thank you so very much for sharing. I love the way you start the day with your scholars. It sounds like fun and an excellent way to start the day!
Keep moving forward.
Mackcine Jordan @ PLA 103
Mackcine Jordan@PLA103 Hack #9
ReplyDeleteHACK #9
ACTION #1: From Day 1 of my relationship with scholars, I let them know that “They are my top priority, I CARE, and I will give them my best.” Their classroom environment is positive, student-centered, and ready every day for learning to take place from the beginning to end of the school day. Upon their arrival, I am standing at their classroom door greeting each scholars, looking professional, and ready for students. The room smells of a lemon and eucalyptus aroma, soft smooth-jazz music is playing, the Morning Welcome is projected, and scholars get settled as I am greeting others. I create meaning relationships by looking into their eyes, and letting them know---I see you---I hear you---I listen to you---I believe in you, and I care about you in and outside of the classroom.
ACTION #2: From this Hack, I take the author’s thought on page 140, “From the minute your students walk into your class to the moment they leave, every second should be used to solidify the learning and the relationships.” As an educator, I will always embrace this thought as I seek to empathize with my learners.
Mackcine Jordan@PLA103
ReplyDeleteAction One:
Throughout my day, I love doing things that strengthen and develop meaningful relationships with my scholars. On Mondays, I always try to ask how their weekends were and engage with them on topics that are meaningful to us all (music, sports, etc). Within my Language Arts class, I am always having my students journal about various topics and they are able to mark (with a Post-it) what entries they would like me to read. I have found that tactic to build trust between my students and myself.
I really love to stand outside of my classroom and greet my students individually everyday as well. I try to give them purposeful complements, like if I saw they did well on the test the day before or if they gave it their all during a sporting event. I remember a really good piece of advice that I received during my time in college and that was to “be a part of the community in which your students are a part of.” I really love to volunteer in my city and I hope to invite my scholars to do the same (once COVID clears and I have approval from my administration!).
Action Two:
For me, one take-away from this hack is to not be afraid to humanize yourself to your students. Participating in discussions with your students enables them to see you like themselves and to empathize with you. We’re all human beings and we all should make time to foster good, healthy relationships with one another that promote learning.
Marcella Largent, Middlebury Academy
I loved this chapter as well. I too fist bumped and high fives students, even passing in the hallway in-between classes. I've been thinking what to do instead. _maybe a nod to the left to acknowledge them when passing in the hall, a salute... still thinking about this one!
ReplyDeleteThis chapter has reinforced the importance of consistency. I do a warm up, then the activity and a cool down period. They know what to do and my expectations. Step 2 told me this is a good thing to keep doing.
lmo. jrpla
I am also trying to figure out what to do to greet students in the morning with all of this covid stuff going on. I am thinking air high fives are a good one to start off with. I think I will have a brainstorming session with my class once we start school and see what they come up with. Maybe do a dance with them where we don't touch or something. This year is going to be tough.
DeleteAction 1: I start the day off by greeting scholars at the door. They are able to choose which greeting they would like to get for the day. They can choose from fist bump, hug, high five, wave, and few more. Every morning during morning meeting we share about how we are feeling and any news that anyone wants to share. I also have lunch bunch groups so I can have lunch with small groups of scholars throughout the month.
ReplyDeleteAction 2: One take away from this hack is to celebrate scholars for their achievements. It is important to make sure the scholars know I am proud of them.
Dottie Lerche PLA@103
To form meaningful relationships with my students, I always greet them at the door in the morning when they first come in. It helps me see how they are feeling and if there were already problems that need to be sorted out before class starts. I have some special handshakes with students that want to make them up. It's something special that we have that helps form a relationship.
ReplyDeleteWe also do circles in my classroom as part of restorative practice. This is the time that I pose a question and everyone has a chance to share. Sometimes the questions have to do with problems that we are having as a class. We also have circles just to get to know each other or to teach content. The students love having a chance to share.
I also make sure that I have private conversations with my students if needed. Not everyone wants to have conversations in front of everyone else so I'll take kids out into the hallway and talk to them if that is needed. I want them to know that I care about them and their privacy.
One take away that I had from this chapter is doing something like this at the end of the day as well as the beginning. I have tried doing a circle at the end of the day, but it didn't always work out. I need to come up with something quick that is fun and the students want to participate in. I have tried having students say good things about their classmates at the end of the day. They really enjoyed that in previous years.
I usually will visit with my scholars teachers, so that I xan give a shout out for demonstrating good citenship, turning in homework on time, or maybe they were caught making a good choice. It tells them that others are watching thier actions. In return I will allow them to visit the Stem Workshop in my class or they can get a nutritous treat.
ReplyDeleteLibby Taylor PLA@Jones-Clark