It’s the beginning of the school year. You have a class of 30+ middle school students. Chances are you may not have had much contact with these kids before the first day of school. You need to get to know your students quickly to build your classroom community. But how? Here are some quick tips you can implement right away to get to know your kids better.
1. Get to Know Your Students with a Hello Letter
One way to get to know your students is to actually get them to write about themselves. During the first week of school they can write you a letter. Make it a bit open-ended and you will be surprised what your students will reveal to you. I like to ask questions like “What do you wish your teachers would notice about you?” or “What questions or concerns do you have about this year?
Hold onto the letters and give them back to your students at the end of the year. It’s really fun to see how much they change (and how much they stay the same)!
2. Gather Information from Families
Sometimes the best source of information can come from your students’ family members. Ask parents about their child’s strengths and what motivates them. Discover more about their family life and what they are like at home. Find out how parents/guardians want to be involved in the classroom. Basically, ask them whatever your want to know. You’ll be surprised what families are willing to share with you and how helpful that information can be.
If you’d like a copy of my Hello Letter and the Student Information Sheet (including a Google Form version) you can find it in the First Day of School Volume 2 collection along with some other low prep ideas for your first week of school.
3. Get to Know Your Students One-on-One
So, your students have written about themselves and you’ve gotten info from their parents. Now it is time to sit down and actually talk to them.
Work in some one-on-one meetings during your first few weeks. I like to include some get-to-know you questions during my initial reading conferences such as “What do you like to do in your free time?”
Throughout the year, make sure that you keep on asking questions about them during your conferences. You’ll get tons of information about them that will help you to build solid relationships.
4. Go Digital with Weekly Flipgrid Challenges
Have you tried Flipgrid with your class yet? I used it during Distance Learning and loved it. There are a ton of resources that will help you to come up with great get to know you questions. Just look under Disco Library and you’ll find the “Conversation Starters” grid with tons of ideas to get you started. Some of my faves are Would You Rather questions and 2 Truths and a Lie.
My plan this year is to do a weekly Flipgrid challenge to help improve my students’ oral communication skills. Sometimes they will be content related but a lot of the time they will just be for fun (or so that’s what I’ll tell them. They’ll really be community builders).
Looking for other ways to build classroom community? Try incorporating some icebreakers throughout the year. You can find my list of top icebreakers for middle school students here. Enjoy getting to know your students! It’s an investment you will not regret.
