The first week of school is all about building routines and rapport with students. This is the solid foundation on which all learning will take place. Without relationships and routines, lessons will fall flat and the classroom would be chaotic! With distance learning in full effect in many schools across the world, teachers are now needing to reinvent the "first days of school" wheel. Not only are teachers trying to learn innovative ways to teach virtually , but also new ways to connect with our students. This can be especially challenging at beginning of the year, when we have not met the students in person. I am here to help you with sharing eight simple ways to build community during distance learning!
Sending out these adorable Confetti Welcome Postcards, is the first thing I did after receiving my new class list. I sat down and hand wrote postcards to each of my students. One thing I learned from distance teaching last spring, is that kids LOVE snail mail. Sending these a week or so before the school year actually started planted the seed that their teacher cares, sees them (even from a far) and is excited that they are in their class. The great thing is, is that postcards are always a good idea, no matter when you send them. I plan on sending out many more postcards while distance teaching, and there are so many options to choose from, take a look here.
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All of our students had a small window of time to pick up their school supplies, books and technology at school before the school year started. Teachers were invited to hand out materials to their students as a sort of "Meet and Greet." I surprised my students with a mini photo stop which lit their faces up. I made this in minutes thanks to the Simple Sassy Vertical Welcome Banner, a piece of Pacon® Heavy-Duty Anchor Grid Ruled Chart Paper and used these fun My Mind's Eye™ Pool Party Photo Stick Props . My students lit up when they saw my make-shift photobooth and their personalities still shined. Little surprises like this, make students more excited about the school year and getting to know their teacher more comfortable. I am definitely trying to add in more surprises to my school day to watch them shine!
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I brought my Chalkboard Wedding Prize Wheel Game out for our first Fun Friday, and my kids went wild. On Fridays, if the students get all their work done, or earn enough "Beat the Teacher" points, we have a few minutes at the end of the school week to celebrate our learning, perserverance and community. I added different ideas to the Wheel using the White Marvy Uchida® Jumbo Bistro Chalk Marker, which makes it super easy to edit. We spin it on Fridays to see how we are going to celebrate! This wheel is very versatile and I plan on using it during math to multiplying numbers, for fun ice breaker activities and even for movement breaks. The possibilities are endless!
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Popsicle sticks are out and these Cactus Flip Sticks are very, very in! Now, teachers have used popsicle sticks forever to call on students randomly. Sometimes that can make the students focused and on task so they are ready if and when they are called. On the other hand, this can make some shy or students who aren't confident, nervous. I have flipped the way I use these Cactus Flip Sticks in my classroom. Instead, when I pull out these sticks, that student is my helper of the day. That is very easy to implement in person, but online it looks a little differently. Instead of being the "helper of the day," they are more like "student of the day." Some of the benefits of being Student of the Day include things like getting to choose the three songs we play in the day- the one during attendance and our daily check in, the one when I call them back from recess and the one where I call them back from lunch. Another is lunch with the teacher, share your pet or favorite stuffed animal, choose the brain break of the day and choose your partner for one of our daily activities. This positive spin on class popsicle sticks definitely helps build community!
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I love all things personalized and I knew I needed a fun incentive prize for my students as they are working at home on different learning goals. I ordered these Personalized Aqua Pencils - 24 Pc. to mail out to my students as they show growth- whether that be socially or academically. I have sent a few out already and it makes my heart so happy to see them using it while at our online video meetings. It feels like we are all in this secret club and I love that they feel that sense of belonging!
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With so many online assessments and assignments, I knew I wanted to give my students a few screen-free assignments. There are so many Color Your Own posters to choose from. For their first assignment, I sent home with them a Color Your Own All About Me Posters to complete. Some of them worked on it during our daily office hours, and it was so fun watching them color and write, skills they are used to doing. Helping them navigate copy & paste or "bookmarking a website" are not so fun. On Friday they all shared their posters on a video recording app. It was so fun watching their videos. I got to see their handwriting, their interests and pictures of them and their families. This was a great first assignment to do with them, and it definitely built connections between me and the students as well as with the students as a whole. I cannot wait to continue using the many posters available at Oriental Trading both in person and online!
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Celebrating Birthdays in a real life classroom are fun events! Singing, a little trinket, a homework pass and sometimes even a sweet treat. Virtual Birthday celebrations look a little differently. I decided to try and make it a little more special with this cute Personalized Cupcake Sprinkles Yard Sign. I took a picture with it, I send a digital birthday card and this hangs in our background for the entire school day. We let that students be "Student of the Day" and each student either sends them a virtual birthday card or records a Happy Birthday video for them. We did this for our principal on the first week of school, and it brought tears to my eyes. The students shared such sweet messages, it almost made this celebration sweeter! There are a lot of other signs that can be personalized at Oriental Trading, I am already thinking of others ones to order for different milestones my students accomplish during the school year!
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To celebrate the end of the first week of school, I decided we would end on an unexpected note with a class Popcorn party! I sent home a little bag of Snappy Popcorn Microwave Popcorn,
Mini Striped Popcorn Boxes and this cute free label you can get here. On our first day of school I went over their supply bin and said to save that for our First Fun Friday Celebration. All week they were excited about it! Again, it's all about adding in little surprises to break up the day. Kids love surprises, especially right now when every day seems similar to the day before. These unexpected moments create memories and those memories make them more invested in this time we are online.
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