Although you may want to connect with your
students right away, it takes time to not just build the necessary rapport, but
to gather as much information about individual students as you can. Even if
your class size is small, you will have students with various quirks, life
experiences, and personalities to try to decipher and that cannot be done in a
hurry.
Another
reason that it takes time to learn about your students is that every day will
bring new maturity and growth. Interests will develop or evolve, and life
experiences will create change. Even though this can be challenging, learning
about your students is one of the most rewarding aspects of your teaching
practice. Here are just some of the ways that you can learn about your
students:
· Review your students’ records. Be sure to
follow the correct procedures and confidentiality regulations. You may want to
jot quick notes on each student as you scan his or her information.
· Make a point of observing your students as
they interact with each other. Who appears to be shy? Who is a peacemaker? Who
is generous? You can learn a great deal about them simply by being mindful of
their interactions with each other.
· When you make a positive phone call home, you
have an opportunity to ask questions. Likewise, when you send home an
introductory letter, you can add a section asking parents or guardians to tell
you about their child.
· Your students’ previous teachers may be
another good source of information. One drawback of this method is that you may
sometimes get information that is not completely objective and that may bias
your view of a child.
· One of the best ways to get to know your
students and to help them get to know each other is to use icebreakers. As you
watch students interact with each other, you will learn a great deal about
them. In addition, icebreakers will give your students an opportunity to learn
to value each other’s contributions to the class. Try these icebreaker
strategies to learn more about your students:
o
Have students
work in pairs or triads to fill out information forms about each other. Include
questions that will cause them to learn interesting and unusual details such as
their favorite performers or athletes or a pet peeve.
o
Pass around a
large calendar on which each student can record his or her birthday. Also
consider having students mark their birthplace on a large map.
o
Play “Would You
Rather?” with your students. In this quick game, you call out a question with
two answer choices. Examples would be, “Would you rather be famous or be rich?”
or “Would you rather have a dog or a cat as a pet?” Students can indicate their
choice in a variety of ways such as standing, raising hands, or moving to a
designated area of the room.
o
Put students in
pairs. Give each pair a blank Venn diagram; have them chart how they are alike
and how they are different. After the initial pairs have completed the diagram,
each pair should then join another pair and create another Venn diagram that
shows how the pairs are alike and different.
o
Have each student
create a timeline of his or her life. If you let students use large sheets of
bulletin board paper and bright markers, you will be able to decorate your
classroom with work that students will find fascinating.
o
Have students
group themselves according to birthday, eye color, favorite sports team,
favorite music, or other common interests.
o
Check out the many
icebreaker sites online. One that is particularly useful for classroom use is
Youth Group Games (http://www.jubed.com/search/ice-breaker).
o
Ask your students
to list five things they do well. You will be surprised at how difficult this
is for many students; too often, students focus on their weaknesses, not on
their strengths.
o
Put your students
into pairs and have them determine seven things they have in common. Insist
that they go beyond the obvious to discuss such topics as shared experiences,
attitudes, or aspirations, or other appealing topics.
o
You can also
learn a great deal about your students from brief writing assignments in which
students respond to quick questions. Here
are some quick suggestions for topics in the form of statements to be completed
by students that you could use at any time of the term.
1. When I am grown up, I want to...
2. My favorite things to do at home are...
3. My favorite things to do at school are...
4. The subjects I do best in are...
5. The subjects I need help in are...
6. I am looking forward to learning about...
7. I like it when my teachers...
8. I would like to know more about...
9. I am happiest when I am...
10. I handle stress by...
No comments:
Post a Comment