I put some of these on the board, or google some riddles to get them guessing. I also ask them to agree on a room desk arrangement to see what they like. Seconding the have them say their names first, and then I give them time to connect to internet and fill out my questionnaire (paper copies for those who aren't ready with a computer quite yet).

1) Hold the door for students & greet them as they enter - I care about them being a part of my class

2) Learn their names...at least, for the short term - I care about their identity

• I ask them to say their names so that they immediately have a voice in the class, and also to avoid mispronunciation on my part (I see I'm not the only one)

• I make eye contact & really look at each student for a full second as I connect a name with a face

• I model how to chunk info for memorization, starting with 3-4 names at a time and quickly falling off to only 2-3 names at a time. It's like playing Simon

• I confide that I plan to use their student pics to review what I just learned - and sometimes, though not always, I actually do!

3) Wrap up with a promise to support their learning - I care about their growth

• If there's time, we talk about what they noticed me doing while learning names - great metacognitive moments have come from these discussions

4) Hold the door for them as they leave, saying "see you next time" - I care about their future

Good luck, everyone, and have fun!