Getting Connected With Your Students

If you are anything like me, you want to get connected with your students right away. And you want your students to feel at home and appreciated in your classroom. Having an activity in place for your kids that sets up the school year with these connections can create a positive teacher-student relationship!

During my 18 years as an elementary teacher, I have worked in an inner-city school as well as a high-poverty school. And if anyone needs these activities these children do! A great idea is to have your students bring in framed photos of  their family or even their baby pictures. One year, I had a bookshelf designated just for these pictures and the children loved being able to see and share throughout the day. But why not take it a step further? So I did. I brought technology and writing into the mix and the children jumped on the activity without missing a beat!

Each child was paired up with a partner. Partners photographed each other holding their photos. (I used our ipads for this.) After printing, we use our photos to write poems. These poems can be written in the style that you are learning at that time. (Examples can be haiku, acrostic, or cinquain.) After writing and revising we move on to the final draft which the children compose on Microsoft Word. This is an excellent opportunity to teach your students this program! They will love the different fonts and color choices! After printing I display their work on a bulletin board. I guarantee you that your students will want to do this activity again. And what's great about photographs is that you can incorporate them in other activities throughout the year!