A Look Back (Part 2)

Getting to Know My Students

I have done an activity at the beginning of the year to get to know my students and if they want to (which most of them have wanted to) they can share it with the class. It's pretty standard questions on the front about their family and favourite things, on the back they get to create a Superhero....this is where I really get to know my students! The tell me the superhero's name and stats what his/her special powers are, who his greatest enemy is, what is the superhero's weakness and then they draw me a picture of either their superhero or the logo that their superhero would wear. I really got a feel for my students through this, I could tell which students were really artistic and creative, who liked to just get things done, who played a lot of video games and a variety of other things. I used those to strike up conversations each day. I set a goal of spending time with each student at the beginning of the year this year, just to chat and ask them questions...I didn't quite meet that goal and it is something I am going to do for sure next year. I found that the students that I did chat in that first couple of weeks are ones that loved coming up and telling me about their day or if they were having a hard time with something didn't have a problem asking me or other students for help. The students I didn't get a chance to make that initial contact with I didn't have the same connection with. 

Every Monday morning I did a sharing activity called HALO (High, Acknowledgement, Low, Opportunity) my students LOVED this and I will most likely continue this. This gave me a chance to find out what my students were up to and another chance to make a connection or have a conversation. The best part about HALO was the boy with Autism in my class would never go up to a class mate and tell them about his weekend and the rest of my students, as caring and considerate of him they were, wouldn't go and ask him about his weekend or what he did the night before. He would talk about what he did and then soon I noticed the other students making connections with him. They realized (even though some had been in his class for a couple of years now) that he does the same types of things they do. The other students started to make him feel like a classmate, like one of their own. They even invited him to play at recess (even though he declined almost every time) and wanted to work with him in group projects....it was really amazing to see the transformation from the first day to the end of the year!

I know that next year I must take the time to make that initial contact with EVERY student in the first couple of weeks. I have seen the dividends pay off when that connection is made and students feel they have a voice in the classroom. This does mean that I am going to have to listen a few students tell me that story that goes on and on and doesn't really have a point....but the story really isn't for my entertainment or listening pleasure....the story is for the student to feel important in the classroom and to have their voice heard.