TL;DR:
- We all want to start the year with the notion that it will be the best year yet. Learn four ways on how to get to know your students better.
- Have students work on a mind map with activities they did, family members, and places that were important to them. Then have them present not their own, but their partner’s mind map.
- Have students fill out an interest inventory to get to know them better.
- Present a slideshow about you so your students get to know you better.
Have your best year yet!
As we wrap up the summer months and in some areas start school at the beginning to middle of August, teachers are always looking for new ways to get to know their students. For some, this may be the first time you have been in a brick-and-mortar classroom since March 2020. Or it may be your first classroom, period. For others, you may have been in the building all of last year, but this year will be much more “normal.” Hopefully there can be less worry or stress about virus transmission as well. No matter your situation, we all want to start the year with the notion of making it the best year yet!
Here are some tips on how to go about having students create a mind map on paper if you’ve never done this activity before: How to Easily Create a Mind Map on Paper in Just 5 Minutes | MindMaps Unleashed. A Google search results in many types of software to make a mind map online. I suggest doing this as a paper-and-pencil activity.
When I was in the classroom, I would make it a point to use at least the first 3 days we met to not go over hardly anything academic. One idea I used was to have students make a mind map on the first days of school. Click To Tweet#1: Get to Know Your Students with a Mind Map
What are innovative ways to discover more about the students we have? When I was in the classroom, I would make it a point to use at least the first 3 days we met to not go over hardly anything academic. One idea I used was to have students make a “mind map” on the first days of school.
I already had colored pencils and crayons in my high school classroom. Students were more than happy to get to use those to create their mind maps. On the maps, they had their names in the middle in a circle. They drew lines from the center to drawings or bubble letters of activities they did, family members, and places that were important to them.
#2: Get to Know Your Students by Reporting Out About Peers
After completing the mind map, students who were comfortable exchanged theirs with another student. They discussed the drawings or bubble letters amongst themselves. The partner student would then present their partner’s mind map from the information they gained from the conversation. This way, each partner group was able to get to know each other pretty well the first day. I would sometimes display the mind maps in the classroom and after a period of time, I would keep them in my desk in order to remember the specific interests, family members, and places that were important to each student.
#3: Get to Know Your Students with an Interest Inventory
I would always have students fill out an interest inventory. Since I mostly taught French, some of my questions would include if the student had previously learned any French, traveled to a French-speaking country, or had a French-speaking family member. I would also always ask them, “What is something you need me to know about you as a learner that you’re afraid to tell me?” I would often get answers about them having dyslexia, a preference to sit near the front of the classroom, or a fear of speaking in front of the class.
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#4: Get to Know Your Students by Letting Them Know Who You Are
As part of my first days’ activities, I would always give a slide show presentation about myself. When I taught French, I would give the narration in French, even for the beginners, so they’d get used the hearing the language on the first day. The slide show had information about why I became an educator, my alma matters, and things I like to do in my free time, along with pictures of my own kids. I believe by providing this information as a teacher the first day, you let students know who you are as a person, and they will remember some of those things about you from the slide show all year.
I hope you have gained some ideas from this blog post that you can use in the first days of the new school year. Write or tweet me some of your ideas that are your go-tos every year or something you’d like to try this year for the first time! Do you have any tips to share?
See the full blog series here!
About Dana Goodier
Dr. Dana Goodier has 20 years of experience in education. She has taught World Languages and English and worked as a middle school administrator. She completed her doctorate degree (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership early 2020. For her dissertation, she researched reasons parents were opting their students out of high-stakes testing at middle schools and how that affected the district accreditation rating. She often speaks at conferences, providing educators with techniques to minimize off-task behavior and to increase time on task. She is the host of the “Out of the Trenches” podcast, which features educators who share their stories of resiliency. Follow her on Twitter @danagoodier and visit her website at: www.danagoodier.com
