Building Connections Make a More Friendly Classroom

Arrrgh!!! It was only a week ago that I realised the holiday was coming to a complete halt.  The beginning of a new session is one with mixed reactions for the children, parents and teachers. It is such a time when you have children who are just starting school, you have children who have been transferred to a new school, children who are changing to a new class  and have probably been mixed with children who were not in the same class in the previous grade, the list goes on and on.

So, I began cracking my brain for new ideas, things I have never done, things that would help me make the start of the session easier for the children in my new class. Surfing the internet and reading ‘back-to-school’ materials was all I did for 24hrs (I am not exaggerating). Loads of interesting materials on setting up classrooms, routine, discipline, methodology, making connections and many more were what I found but, only one of them really got me this time, making connections.

In my own words, building connections in the classroom involve creating deliberate and practical activities that the class community feel linked to one another. This enables everyone, including the teacher to be more at ease and ready for the session. So, I would share with you some activities that I found and also some that I came up with.

Ways to Make Connections with your Students

POSTER MANIA

You need:

•  A4 paper or cardboard
• Colour pencil/gel pen
• Paper glue
• Passport photograph (personal and family members)

Steps:

• Draw a border on your paper
• Sort your materials and organize where you want to paste them
• Paste your pictures
• Write a sentence each about yourself and members of your family
• Write other things you want others to know about you
• Decorate your work and wait to present to others
• Each person’s poster (including the teacher’s) would be displayed.

MY NAME

You need:

Paper with typed questions like…

• What's your full name?
• Were you named after someone?
• What does your name mean?
• What names did your parents consider before deciding on the one you have?
• Why did they choose your name?
• What is your name's country of origin? (ex. "Ivan" has Russian origins)
• What is your nickname? How did you get that nickname?
• If you could change your name, what would you name yourself?

Steps:

• Students take the questions home and ask parents to give them the answers to the questions
• Fill the form
• Write your name in a stylish way at the bottom of the sheet.

FUN CLASS SLIDESHOW

Teacher shares a PowerPoint slideshow with students. Teacher includes pictures of family, home (and all of the rooms in it), pets, what he/she did over the summer, things he/she does for fun, etc.

Steps:

• Students write an introduction of themselves
• Students type and edit the work
• Teacher makes a slideshow of their introductions and include their picture on the slide
• Leave the slide running at break and school over, students would be glad to see theirs and learn about others in a fun way.

Credit: Kelly, Grade 3 teacher, Main Street Elementary, Shelbyville, IL