Building relationships with students is important from the start. Here are six ways teachers can connect with students in the classroom before and on the first day.
Build Rapport and Student Engagement Before the First Day of School
Smiles, giggles, and high-fives are a few of the beautiful things you might see on the first day of class, but you also might catch a glimpse of nerves, frowns, and tears. Many students come to the first day of school with mixed emotions. As educators, we know the importance of building relationships with students at the sound of the first bell.
What if there were ways to build relationships with students before the first day of school? Here are a few ways you can build relationships with students before and on the first day of school so that you can turn those frowns and tears into smiles and motivation.
Table of Contents
- Build Rapport and Student Engagement Before the First Day of School
- Build Relationships with Students on the First Day of School
- Back to School Community Building Resource
- Back to School Fun Pack
- More Ways to Foster Positive Relationships
1. Handwritten Notes
One way to start building relationships with students before the first day of school is to prepare a handwritten note or postcard for each of your students. Address the envelope and letter to the student welcoming them to your class, and drop it in the mail. We all know what it feels like to receive a piece of mail, so you can imagine your students’ joy when they are welcomed into your classroom with a personal touch.
Step it up: Call home, inform the families of your intentions, and then speak personally to the students to welcome them to your class.
2. Introduce Yourself
Provide your students and families with some fun facts about yourself. If you ask for fun facts about your students, it is important to open yourself up to sharing some things about yourself. This will help you build reciprocal trust with the families and students and will go a long way in building relationships with students.
Step it up: Record a welcome video for your families using your computer, phone, or iPad. Send this video via email before the first day of school.
3. Questionnaire or Letter From Families
Send an email or letter to each student’s family asking them to answer a few questions about their child. Provide a questionnaire that asks about their favorite things. For example, ask about their favorite color, food, activities, movies, animals, and more.
Ask if there is anything unique or special about the student that you should know. But don’t stop there; once you gather this information, it’s important to act on it and use it in the classroom. Try this free first day of school letter by Teacher Thrive!
Step it up: Provide these questions in an electronic format, such as a Google form, so that you have the results promptly. Check out these tips to communicate with parents effectively from day one.
Build Relationships with Students on the First Day of School
1. Welcome Them Every Day
Welcome every student on the first day and the day after. If you are comfortable and able, give a high five, a fist bump, or even a hug. Be sure to use their name when welcoming them into your classroom.
Hearing their name makes them feel even more valued and vital and can go a long way in building relationships with students. Once school starts, the first step in building relationships is focusing on social-emotional learning, and greeting your students helps build that relationship.
Step it up: Develop a morning meeting routine in your classroom where everyone participates in greeting each other, sharing, and activities to build community!
2. Personalized Touch
Using the information you received from student families in the above questionnaire, have something personal on each student’s desk. Focus on favorite colors and have a small bag of markers, stickers, and other fun items in each student’s favorite color sitting on their desk. If you experience a student struggling throughout the day, ask them about one of their “favorites” to help calm them.
Step it up: Using favorite animals as the focus, use stickers of favorite animals by their names when organizing students into reading or math groups.
3. Station Rotation
The first day of school can be overwhelming for students and teachers. It is often a challenge for teachers to feel like they spend time with each student individually. To help alleviate this concern, try station rotations with some of your opening-day activities.
Have one of your stations be a teacher station where you get to know your students and show interest in them individually in a small group chat. This allows you to tune in to your students’ lives and unique personalities, interests, and needs while building relationships with them.
Step it up: Try a few of the 30 get to know you games for the start of the school year to build connections, engagement, and relationships with students!
Each year, students walk into a classroom for the first time with many emotions. Some are excited and eager to start, while others are scared and nervous.
As educators, it is essential to start building relationships with students as early as possible to help ease some of the fears and uncertainties many of our students have on the first school day. By taking the time before and on the first day of school to help students and show genuine interest, you will give yourself and your students a safe and comfortable start to the new year.
Back to School Community Building Resource
Help kids get to know each other and build essential relationships with the back to school social-emotional learning resource. It’s the perfect companion to your start-of-school lesson plans. It includes mini-lesson ideas and engaging activities that build connections in the classroom. Teach important social and emotional skills during the most crucial time of the year!
Back to School Fun Pack
Looking for an all-in-one BTS resource with relationship builders? Try the Back to School Fun Pack by Proud to be Primary. It includes first day of school activities for k-2. It has what you need to ease kids into the classroom in a fun and meaningful way.
There are crafts, writing prompts, welcome to school posters, door decor displays, hat, science experiment and STEM activities, poems, and organization materials, such as editable meet the teacher booklet!
Free Week of Morning Meeting
Try social-emotional morning meetings in your classroom with this FREE week-long resource! It includes editable PowerPoint and PDF slides, printable cards, and instructions on how to use them.
Click the image below to grab a copy.
More Ways to Foster Positive Relationships
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