Friday, August 10, 2012

Getting to Know Your "Who"


Our district has been working with the Schlechty Center for about 4 maybe 5 years now.
The Schlechty Center is all about getting to know your "Who" and student engagement.
This isn't anything new.  This is best practices!

What I'm curious about is...
How do you get to know the "Who" that walk through your door each year?
Here are a few of my favorite ways I get to know my students.

One of my first day activities always includes students working in cooperative groups.  I just sit back and observe! Very telling! My favorite is the marble ramp activity. I think I'm going to switch to the Saving Fred gummy worm activity this year.


6 Word Memoir (Thanks, Alma) Love this!
This teaches the power of word choice. 

Student Interest Inventory
Parent Survey

Bioglyphs-Students create a face diagram. Each characteristic represents a bit of information about the student. It's a fun way for students to share a little bit about themselves with their peers.

Buddy Venn Diagrams


How do you get to know your...


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3 comments:

  1. KatrinaAugust 10, 2012 at 7:30 PM

    I always love this time of the year when I'm discovering who these new students are and what I need to do to ensure that they are successful so I spend a lot of time the first couple of weeks with get to you activities. I always do some type of cooperative learning activity to see who the natural leaders and followers are. I love giving them an activity such as coloring something and just listen to their conversations. I always find out some good info doing that. Last year I did an activity called Frame of Me which requires that the students delve deep into who they are being able to put it in writing. (I am adding that to my list of things to blog about.) I also have the students and parents fill out a questionaire. The parent survey helps me learn about both the child and family.

    My favorite thing to do is a multiple intelligence inventory. This gives me great incite about what my students enjoy doing as well as how they learn.

    Thanks for sharing your ideas. I really like the six word memoir, so I think I will add that to my toolbox this year.

    Katrina
    Teacherofscholars.blogspot.com

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  2. JoannAugust 19, 2012 at 2:42 PM

    Greetings!
    We too follow Working on the Work and are really getting to know our Who this year. We have the first 7 days to do so - no academics allowed!
    I plan lots of character read alouds, morning meetings, procedure practice. In terms of activities, I will be doing 2 truths and a whopper, playing fork and spoon, playing gotcha and a few other team building getting to know you games. For me, with Responsive Classroom experience as well, it's all about modeling and practicing procedures. =) Good Luck!
    Joann

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    Replies
    1. CharlotteAugust 23, 2012 at 5:26 AM

      WOW! as in showing surprise..not working on the work! :-)
      7 days of no academics! That is really about building relationships.
      I love 2 truths and a whopper, but have not heard about fork and spoon. What is that?!
      Now, I'm off to Google Responsive Classroom experiences! Thanks.
      P.S. Have you seen the website with all the Design Qualities listed with Web 2.0 suggestions?
      Charlotte

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