1. Highlight Connections Between Your Class and Students' Lives
Connect Your Class to Careers
Help
students make the connection between your course and possible careers by hanging
posters describing the responsibilities of people in different jobs. Then refer
to one of these jobs when it requires a skill you are teaching.
Alternatively,
give bonus points to students who call attention to a connection between your
lesson and one of these jobs.
Create an Interesting, Organized Classroom Environment
Given
contradictory needs or distractible students, gifted students, and visual/spatial
learners, a logical way to decorate a classroom includes:
- Provide a stimulating display for students entering the room.
- Provide educational "gaze" material for students whose attention wanders.
- Minimize visual distractions for easily distracted students seated near the front of the room
-
Provide academic aides to help visual learners such as
- charts
- graphs
- illustrations
- mind maps
- photography
- sketches
- story maps
- symbols
- visual analogies
- visual organizers
- visual metaphors
- visual puzzles
For
a few ideas on how to put this together, check out Classroom
Decor and find creative ideas adaptable to middle and high school levels.
2. Connect Students with Peers
Warm Classroom Atmosphere with Icebreakers
Since
many icebreakers consume a good bit
of class time, it is ideal to emphasize them during the first week of school when
it is impractical to begin regular activities.
Check out these
icebreakers. Especially fun are Truth and Lies,
and Who's in the
Bag
Form Bonds with Teams
Create cooperative learning teams and assign team building activities after discipline has been well established. (See classroom management links below.)
To review essential elements of cooperative learning, check out these resources.
3. Help Students Connect With You Personally
Effective ways to connect with your students include:
- Greeting students at the door with a smile.
- Learning students' names.
- Introducing yourself and include your motivation for teaching and your expectations.
- Writing positive comments on papers.
- Circulating the room speaking briefly to individuals during work time.
- Have occasional personal conversation.
- Introducing humor into your lessons.
Despite the necessity for using techniques that build better classroom discipline, avoiding techniques that backfire, and analyzing your classroom management when things go awry, caring teachers know building rapport and motivating students requires more than rules and procedures.
Check Handy Helpers for some beginning of the year resources:
- Late work policy
- Class Rules
- Bonus Coupons (used for passes)
- Cooperative Learning Info for students and parents
- SLANT Teacher Pleasing Behaviors
- Assignment Sheet
- Seating Chart
Special
thanks to Diane Walker for contributing much of this information.
Other Features
