Our students need to know we care about them first, in order to be a warm demander type of teacher who sets the bar high for their students while building strong relationships. Often times at the beginning of the school year we spend time getting to know students and helping them get to know each other. However, new students join our class throughout the year and it is important to continue helping students make connections to each other and with the teacher.
Spending time throughout the year, instead of just at the beginning of the year building relationships through purposely scheduled activities can help continue building connections with students. I have started a file of short, quick activities that I can use every two to three weeks to break up a lesson, build student trust, or help students learn about each other and myself. One activity I used recently was the toilet paper activity. I sent a roll of toilet paper around the classroom and the only instructions were to take what you need. After everyone had “taken what they needed”, and had some interesting discussions, they were told to share about themselves to their table groups. The number of things they were to share about themselves matched the number of toilet paper pieces they took!
The time we take to just “be” with our students will pay itself forward in stronger relationships, stronger connections, and a classroom atmosphere that tells students you care about them.
Here is a link to a number of other very short team building games and activities that could be used within the classroom to deepen the connections you are making with students and to help students feel more connected to each other. Besides, our high school students are just little kids in bigger bodies and they love to play games!
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