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During the first few days I share a Top Ten list of things most students don’t know about me. I ask them to write a Top Ten list of things they would like me to know about them. I’m always amazed at what they are willing to share with me in the first few days. 

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During the first few days I share a Top Ten list of things most students don’t know about me. I ask them to write a Top Ten list of things they would like me to know about them. I’m always amazed at what they are willing to share with me in the first few days. 

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I love it when i get a groan.....

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Would you rather questions

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I'll ask students on weekly surveys about their favorites in different categories, pose What if scenario questions, pose this or that questions and then I read them to learn more about the students.

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Make up songs to sing.

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Sing what I’m teaching!

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I have two kids and they are older and younger than my students so I often talk about them. I also love to bake so I often tell them about the cakes I made (kindergartens love anything to do with sugar or desserts!) I have a superhero theme so we often talk about super powers and what we would do with them

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If I’m having a bad day, I wear a crab hat. Ahahaha. They love it but it lets them know I’m having a rough day.

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I use silly voices. Puppets.
Talk about sports. Personal stories.

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I share pictures of my family and garden

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Sailor of the Week! Each week a different student brings in their giant poster board filled with personal photos!. They use silly pointer. Share.  End of week the class makes a special book for student to take home!!

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Class chants

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I greet everyone at the door with handshake. They make up a new one for just us.
I tell a lot of stories about my 17 year old cat who has weighed as much as 17 pounds.

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I start every class with a joke or pun

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Sometimes do a little dance:)

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I share stories about my 5 yo daughter and maybe kids connect

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I have students draw a picture that represents something they like. They talk about it and can incorporate it into other work.

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I have students draw a picture that represents something they like. They talk about it and can incorporate it into other work.

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Daily 5 pt check in to see where they are emotionally to help me better react and support them at the start of the day.

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I share stories about my dog and grandbabies.

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Ice breaker questions: Something easy that everyone can talk about at beginning of class

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Name ID card. Student writes name and decorates 3×5 card filled up with pictures or words of all their fav things. These go on the wall

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Have kids write about themselves on a notecard and each day read it out loud and everyone guesses who it is.

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Have students share out something positive that’s going on in their life with the class. Only takes a couple of minutes and kids love to share out.

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Individual handshakes

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We use circle practices to communicate and make class norms.

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It is SO important for me to be in the hallway during passing period and greet students by name as they come inside. It’s so easy to want to stay in my room working on something, but my to be is greater than my to do. I want to be present.

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Paper bag activity for getting to know each other.  Draw and color things you like on the outside and bring a few important items in the inside.  Share.

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Paper bag activity for getting to know each other.  Draw and color things you like on the outside and bring a few important items in the inside.  Share.

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I mentioned this in the chat feature, but I do attendance questions for two weeks. It helps me learn their names and stuff about them. Some that have been memorable are “if you had a time machine...” (the want to visit the 90s?) favorite season (they get weirdly competitive/bond with people who like their season) and birth order (I’m youngest of four and I like learning who my only children etc are). Favorite anything is also helpful, but some kids get overwhelmed by options, so I usually have a few options as suggestions (this also helps for ELL students)

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I tell silly jokes too.

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Present my “Me Bag” (or box), to model what they will be doing in Sept. also (one a day).

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Hold morning meetings where everyone shares something

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I show pictures of my cat and tell them stories about him.

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Bring pictures of summer things they did with their family or things they love to do.

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Have a class meeting where we share our interests, favorite colors, foods, etc

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Class playlist that plays as they enter the classroom. Students put their songs on sticky notes and then I make sure to find and play whatever song they put down, even if that means digging around to find an edited version.

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Play the name game and connect it to brain plasticity.   Students create mnemonic devices to help me learn their names playing the name game.  Every time I mess up I point out how my brain is growing.  By the 15th name they're cheering for me to get them right, shouting out encouragement.   Then they get to practice too.

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At the beginning of the year, I present students with a bunch of evocative words. Everyone has to pick a word and tell the class a story about themselves relating to that word. I start the process and try to set the tone by sharing something meaningful.

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I give kids a paper bag and put in three things that represent who they are. They share them, then later we use them for a writing project.

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I too use personal stories with my students

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I love cake. So whenever it’s a students bday, we spend a few minutes talking about dessert—more specifically cake. It just takes a few minutes but it connects them to me.

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I did a mood tracker for a month where kids colored in how they were feeling, and I got to ask questions about any color changes (good or bad). They shared things like becoming aunties or dad going on work trips. It was so helpful!

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A quick survey asking students how they’re doing. It helps build empathy because I tell the class how we’re doing overall.

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I tell students about myself, we play games, have competitions, have an email exchange, make jokes, begoofy

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I ask them to tell me about themselves in a quick artistic/ visual in the first week of school. The sort value words out, tell me their spirit animal, and then a quick letter to tell me about themselves. I read my version to them to start. In the end I hang all the spirit animals by class period

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Daily check-ins to get to know students interests and then incorporating them into the classroom either during lessons or during free choice time

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I take a survey of student interests at the beginning of school and then use this information to help frame lessons.

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Validate experiences

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College football Friday - wear your favorite college football shirt/sweatshirt

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I have a question of the day every day: Thoughtful Thursday, Fun Fact Friday, etc

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I create a Kahoot of facts about my life and have students take their best guess!

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I tell stories about my own kids and connect those stories to my students’ interests. They love hearing about my kids, and sometimes my kids will leave them a message on the white board over the weekend.