Teachers help set the tone and culture of their classes. When teachers create an environment where students feel welcomed and included, students are more motivated and likely to engage (Shernoff, 2013). There are a number of techniques and strategies teachers can use to build a strong classroom community for any age or level of learner. One strategy is building stronger student to student relationships. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we offer three suggestions to promote student-student relationships. You can use these in your own classrooms as you work toward greater student engagement.

LEVEL

Any

MATERIALS

List of possible questions for Question of the Day (Appendix A)

PREPARATION

While lesson planning, ask yourself, “How will I support, develop, and enhance our classroom community today?”

STRATEGIES

Meet & Greet (Icebreakers)

Objective: Students will begin to develop relationships with fellow classmates and the teacher.

Meet & Greet activities are usually done on the first day of class as a way for the teacher and students to learn more about each other. Some teachers spend the whole class getting to know students on the first day with intricate icebreakers. These icebreakers and Meet & Greet activities get students talking and support both teacher-student relationships and student-student relationships. Supporting and developing strong teacher-student and student-student relationships are vital to creating and maintaining a strong classroom community. The more students and teachers know about each other, the more accountable they feel to the classroom community. Here’s an icebreaker that engages learners and prompts discussion.

1. Put students into groups of 3-4. On the first day of class, simply group them according to where they sit. For example, walk to three students sitting next to one another and tell them they are now a group.
2. Ask each student to write down a number between 1 and 10.
3. Tell students to share the number they wrote with their group.
4. Explain that first, students should introduce themselves by name. Then, students will use their numbers as a guide for how many things they will share about themselves with the group. For example, a student who wrote 7 will have to tell the group 7 things about himself.
5. Give groups time to talk beyond what they share. This might mean using almost 10 minutes to complete this activity. Remember, you want students to spend time talking with one another.
      a. As the teacher, circulate and listen as a way to silently meet students. Make notes about students’ names and what they share in order to get to know them.
6. At the end of the activity, tell the groups to exchange contact information. They can share phone numbers, email, social media names, or additional contact information.
      a. Explain that they should reach out to their classmates if they have a question about homework, want to study together, etc. This way, students support one another’s success in the classroom.
7. After students have exchanged information, ask them to write down their name and the things they shared with their group. Students then submit this to you, so you have information about each student.
      a. Collect the information sheets.
      b. If you choose, ask each student to introduce someone in his/her group to the rest of the class. As students introduce classmates, make notes on the student information sheets so that you can use the information to learn more about your students.

Question of the Day (QOD)

1. Tell students that it is time to mingle. Ask everyone to stand.
2. Ask students to walk around the room discussing the lesson just learned.
   a. Offer one open-ended question that prompts discussion such as: What was difficult about today’s lesson? What did you learn today? What is one question you still have?
   b. Encourage students to talk to one or multiple classmates.
   c. Remind students to introduce themselves if they don’t know their classmate.
   d. Explain that they must walk around the room to find someone. This encourages relationship building between students. It also gets them away from solely communicating with the classmates that sit close to them.
3. After a few minutes, feel free to bring the group back together to share. An alternative is to allow students to review this way until class ends.

REFERENCES

Shernoff, David J. (2013). Optimal Learning Environments to Promote Student Engagement. Retrieved from http://www.eblib.com

APPENDIX A

Possible questions for Question of the Day

• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
• If you could have any superpower, what superpower would you choose?
• Would you rather live in a world without lies or live in a world where you have all the power?
• Would you rather taste color or smell sound?
• Which animal best describes you?
• If you could choose to be any animal, what would you choose?
• Would you rather have your grandmother sing at your high school graduation or have your grandfather rap at your wedding?
• Tell me about one of the most important people in your life.
• Would you rather watch your favorite sport or play your favorite sport?
• Where would you most like to travel?
• If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
• If you could meet anyone, whom would you want to meet?
• What is your favorite part of everyday? What do you do during that time?
• What is a song that makes you happy?
• What is your favorite holiday? 
• Tell me about your best friend.
• Would you rather spend the day inside while it rains or outside in the sunshine?