3 Strategies to Build Relationships with Your Students
Building relationships with your students is so important at the beginning of a new school year! It can also seem like a daunting task amidst the back to school chaos. I would love to share my 3 best strategies to help build teacher and student relationships this school year! Continue reading for a quick explanation of each strategy and a free teacher resource!
Show Students They Belong
Everyone wants to feel like they belong and our little learners are no exception to this. It is our job as educators to take a group of leaners with diverse needs and different life experiences feel safe, loved, and part of our community. One way to do this is through using inclusive language in the classroom. Ensure you are addressing everyone during your lessons by using terms like, “we”, “our”, “together”, etc… This will make your students feel like you are addressing them specifically.
Another way to cultivate teacher student relationships is to express how excited you are to have each child in your class! You can do this by addressing the group, “Good morning class! I’m so excited we are all here today. We are doing to have so much fun and learn about animals.” You could also address the individual student. For instance, when at the guided reading table, “Miranda, we are so lucky to have you in our class. You have a strong voice. Can you please read the directions aloud for the group?” Establishing a sense of belongingness in your classroom community and modeling inclusion will help your students do the same for one another.
Get to Know Students
Getting to know your students on an individual level can be hard to do, because you likely have many learners in your charge. One easy way I like to get to know my students better is by inviting them to lunch bunch. When I have lunch bunch with students, we eat in the classroom or outside. We play games, listen to music, do an art activity – really whatever they are interested in! This serves as an opportunity to build our teacher-student relationship in a smaller setting.
First, I use these cute lunch bunch notes to send to one student. On the back of each note I’ll write the date they are invited for lunch bunch and then I will write the number of friends they can bring with them. Then, the student and their friends will join me for lunch bunch. I like to have a variety of different activities for the student to choose from. Sometimes students just want to talk or walk around the school – and that’s fine too!
I keep record of who I have invited to lunch bunch and make sure I have invited everyone at least once during the first few months of the school year. Not only has this helped me to get to know my students, but they also get to know me. We can talk about personal things that they may not feel comfortable sharing in front of the whole class. I truly cannot recommend this strategy more, it’s my favorite way to build relationships at the beginning of the school year! You can grab these cute free lunch bunch slips here!
Notice and Acknowledge Students
To further build teacher and student relationships in your classroom, show your students that you see them and appreciate them. You can do this by sending home a written note sharing celebrations from the school day. Put 5-10 notes on your desk at the beginning of the day and this will serve as a reminder to write notes to your students throughout the school day. Another way you can notice your learners is by making a phone call home during the first weeks of school. I love doing this because not only does this help you build relationships with students, but it also cultivates teacher relationships with families. During the phone call share some highlights from the week and one positive trait you noticed about the student. For example, “Dylan was such a great leader during our science investigation today. He helped his team work together to complete the weather experiment. I’m so glad he is in my class this school year.” This phone call is also the perfect opportunity to touch base and see how the school year is going from the family’s perspective. I’ve had families share about changes at home, academic and social concerns for the school year. This has been great information to know so I can best support the student during the first few weeks, as opposed to waiting until parent teacher conferences to talk one-on-one with families.
Building Relationships in the Classroom
These three strategies have helped my relationships with my students blossom throughout my years of teaching. Hopefully, they will give you some helpful ideas of how you can get to know your students this school year. Don’t forget to download your lunch bunch freebie! Id love to know your strategies to build relationships with your learners! Share in the comments down below or send me a direct message on Instagram!
I hope your school year is off to a great start! XO – Bridgette
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