Getting to Know Students
So now that the school year
is underway, initial assessments are behind us, and desks are hopefully still organized,
it’s time to focus on really getting
to know students. Yes, all those assessments are helpful in learning about students’
academic needs, but what about other areas of students’ lives? What about
building student/teacher relationships and making connections?
A Letter to My Teacher
Recently I came across a
writing idea that snagged my attention not only because it could be used as a teachable
writing piece but just as importantly as a way to get to know my students
better than just the surface interests of a first day of school bingo. I call
it “A Letter to My Teacher”.
Where to Begin
I reasoned that if I expected
my students to write a letter highlighting three things about themselves, I had
better be able to do the same for them. So I thought about what I would write
if I could go back in time just a few short years ago to 4th or 5th
grade…okay, maybe more like 43 years ago. What would I have wanted my teacher
to know about me? Definitely things I was interested in and things that could
make my 10-year-old life easier if she knew of them.
 |
| My 10 year old self. |
So I crawled back into my 4th
grade head and wrote a letter to my teacher. I included a couple light-hearted
topics such as loving to design house blueprints with my protractor (yep, I
really did such a thing). I also included the heavier topic of the on-going embarrassing
situation of forever being one of the last two kids to be picked by the same
ole team captains for P.E. kickball. Time after time. Without fail.
I wasn’t sure what kind of
reaction my students would have when I read my letter to them. I soon found
out. There wasn’t a sound in the room. As in, I could hear a pin drop, kind of
silent. Many could identify with the humiliation of someone who was
consistently picked last. The looks of empathy and concern were evident on
their faces as they realized their teacher was human too and had survived
through some not so pleasant things. A new connection had been made.
Writing the Letters
Students brainstormed their
ideas, and then chose their most important three to include in their letter.
From there it was fairly easy for them to compose three detailed paragraphs as
we delved into paragraph structure and organization. We later added an introduction
and conclusion and reviewed the friendly letter format. These letters became one of the first formative writing assessments of the year.
I was amazed at how fast and
furious students dug into this assignment, with very few reluctant writers! They
were eager to share about themselves and I was eager to read their pieces.
What I Discovered
There are a few things that
stand out to me about “A Letter to My Teacher”. First, I enjoyed reading each
and every letter and learned many new things about my students. I found it to
be a fantastic way to make new connections. Even though there were predictable
topics such as sports and pets, I also read some surprising topics such as an
ornithology hobbyist and a few chefs in the making. Among the fun and
surprising parts, were also a few red flags. I brought these to the attention
of pupil services to see how these concerns could best be addressed.
Second, I found students had
an easy time finding things to say. I believe that because I opened up about my
4th/5th grade self, they felt empowered to do the same. I
also reflect that it was fairly easy for most of them to organize each of the three
topics into three different paragraphs. It was truly a great way to teach the
writing trait of organization.
Finally, I surprised myself with
what I dredged up from those long ago ’74-’75 school years. The good. The bad.
The ugly. It’s all part of the experience of learning, growing, helping others,
and making positive connections with the next generations.
There are many ways to
get to know students. Please share ways that work for you!
If you would like to read
more about writing a letter to the teacher, here is the link where I saw
this idea.
