Blogs For our students, there is no excitement quite like BACK TO SCHOOL excitement! Picking out what to wear on the first day. Seeing friends. A new backpack. Yet, we all agree students experience anxiety over fitting in, meeting their teachers, locating their classrooms, and all the learning that is ahead of them.
How can teachers ensure students feel connected and able to navigate all that’s new during those first days back at school? Check out our 3 tips below!
1. Personalized Handshakes
A few years ago, this video of a teacher in North Carolina performing individually choreographed handshakes with each of his students, went viral! Many were motivated by the video and decided handshakes were a great way to create connections with kids. If a handshake isn’t your jam, concoct a salute, make a mantra, or share a quote each day to start the year off on the right foot (or hand).
What do you enjoy, and how can you use it to create connections with your students?
2. Build Students’ Social-Emotional Vocabularies
We cannot overestimate the power of social-emotional learning! Guiding students in figuring out what they are feeling and then finding the words to express themselves is an amazing life skill! Start the year off by asking students to “use one word” to describe how they are feeling (good? bad?) then expand their SEL vocabularly by adding new words each week. Move from “good/bad” to “anxious/serene” with synonym searches as seen in this example. Teaching students to articulate their emotions will make them better humans. What a gift!
3. Anchors Away!
Think about the people, places, and pets (!!!) you care about and trust; these are your life’s “anchors.” Early in the school year, ask students to identify their anchors in a writing exercise, using this Anchors template to get started. For students who don’t write yet, use photographs or drawings to help them identify the things in their lives that make them feel safe, secure, and loved. Younger students can keep the images on their desks, and older students can keep their writing as a handy reference to remind them they are not alone before a big test, presentation, or try-out.
We hope you are inspired to try one of these fresh ideas to create connections with students.
Enjoy the new school year!
About the Author
Susanne Leslie is a Professional Learning Specialist at Teaching Channel. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a Master’s in Education. As a parent educator, Susanne’s specialty is Culture and Early Childhood instruction. In her current role, she writes courses and content, focusing on our Hybrid Blended Learning courses.
Fun Fact: Susanne has jumped out of two (perfectly good) airplanes!
