Sarah: All right everybody. How are you? You doing all right?
Whenever I start a new class, whether that is at the beginning of the year or a new semester, I know that my first ten minutes are really crucial. You're in the right place?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Sarah: Wonderful. This is a really unique lesson because on the very first day of school I only get to meet my students for ten minutes and I want to use that ten minutes to do three things. I want to connect with them. I want to start to put a name to a face and I want them to start to think forward.
Ben: Ben.
Sarah: Ben, nice to meet you. Ms. Wessling.
Brianna: Brianna.
Sarah: When students are walking into the classroom, my goal is to be close to the door, outside the door, right inside the door, some place where I can look them in the eye, smile, shake their hand and introduce myself.
Mitchell: Hi, nice to meet you.
Sarah: Oh. And you are?
Mitchell: Mitchell.
Sarah: Mitchell. Ms. Wessling. Nice to meet you. My grandfather would be proud of that handshake. Okay. On a scale of one to five. Five, awesome, amazing and fabulous. One, no. Where you at? You're a zero? We got a seven and a zero. All right. The litmus scale just got huge.
After that initial connection that I make with students there are some of those normal, predictable housekeeping things that you have to do. Namely, you have to take attendance.
Josephine? Josie. Awesome. Thanks Josie.
I think about it as opportunity number two to start to put a name to a face.
Is it Gianna?
Gianna: Gianna.
Sarah: Did I say it right? No. It's Gianna.
I also use this time to make sure that I'm saying their names correctly. I tell them I want to be sure I get this right. I know how important this is to you because I know how important it is to me. Help me. Percat.
Sarah: You have to hold me accountable.
Percat: Will do.
Sarah: Promise?
Once I have made that initial connection with students, then I really have just a few minutes to make sure that my students have an experience, and I know that when I plan this first ten minutes, I want to use the time in some way that's gonna be memorable.
Okay. So, in the two minutes we have, here we go. There are three things that I need you to know about me. Number one, there is no place that I would rather be right now than right here, and I am entirely honest. The second thing you need to know, is that I never feel like when I come to this school, or when I go anywhere to teach, like it's a job. I do it because I want to, and it really feels like that to me. I love it.
When I am being really honest with students about why I love this work, it's really easy to cross this line into relying on too much emotion. So, I think it's really important to be genuine and to be honest, but not feel like you have to disclose everything in order for it to be effective.
And the third thing you need to know is that today is a really special day for me, because this is the beginning of my 20th year of teaching, and I thought that, since it felt like a birthday, we should celebrate it like it's a birthday, so I have one thing for you that I need you to do before you leave. I have a little note card here. Because what do you do when you have a birthday cake? What do you put on it? Candles. And then what do you say when you put candles and you light them? Then what do you say? Make a wish. Okay, so this is what I'm going to ask you to do. I'm going to ask you to make a wish.
As I was preparing that part of the lesson, I wanted students to have more agency in this wish, and I wanted them to think about it more like a goal or a way that they could be this year.
It could be about this class. It could be about your year, it could be whatever you want, okay? You can see that I've lit the candles for you, but we are not going to blow them out. You know why we're not going to blow them out?
I always feel like, as soon as you blow out the candles on a birthday cake, you've left that wish to fate, and I don't think you should leave your wish to fate. I think it should be a bit of a commitment. Okay? Put your name on it. If you could put the class period, that would be awesome. On your way out, I will exchange the wish for a birthday cupcake. Does that sound good?
Okay, here you go. Come grab a card. You're not going to share these with anybody else in the room, but you are going to share them with me. I'm asking you because I really want to know, and because I actually care. Okay?
As they leave, I got to look at their faces one more time, I got to see their names on the card, so this is three times in that first ten minutes that I'm connecting names to face.
Help yourself to the cupcakes if you want them. Okay, goodbye.
My hope is that they leave with a feeling and that feeling they then can start to connect to our space.
Speaker 8: Happy birthday.
Sarah: Thank you.
60 Comments
Lidia Pinzon Rincon Mar 17, 2023 7:20pm
At the entrance, she shakes their hands and introduces herself listening to the student name while looking them directly into their eyes.
Take attendance and look them directly in their eyes, asking them if she pronounced their names correctly. She repeats their names
The last thing is when she collects the wish card and compares the name on the card with each student's face.
She shares three simple things. One is that she is there because it is where she wants to be. She is there because she is not going to a job but is happy there, and she highlights that that day is special for completing 20 years of teaching.
The individual wishes could tell teachers the students' expectations and will serve as a guide to set strategies to satisfy students' needs.
Jordan Johnson Sep 2, 2022 3:15pm
1. Ms Wessling gets to know her students by welcoming the children and greeting them individually including eye contact and warm smiles and referring to them by name with the cupcake activity.
2. Ms. Wessling tells the students that she genuienly cares about their success in life and does not concider her career a job. She does this because she wants them to understand that even after twenty years, she still has not lost her passion for helping students.
3. I would incorperate something similar to the wish activity but ask that their goal be something achievable this week so we can monitor the progress of them reaching their goals more closely.
Jimoh Braimoh Jul 13, 2022 2:32pm
She connects by standing close to the door where she can look into their eyes, smile, and shake them and introduce herself.
Her interest and why she loves what she teaches. she does this, to Be honest with students and genuine and not disclose everything about herself. Making them feel special.
I would love to use this same activity but this time I would prepare to do knuckles instead of shaking hands
john pate Jul 9, 2022 12:21pm
1 & 2 : She doesn't get to know them, but gives them the feeling that they know her and creates a comfortable place in her class. Saying she wants to be there shows she likes them all. It gives value to the kids while simultaneously denying them any power to frustrate her or "win" vs the teacher.
3 : As a CTE I already intend to ask what they want from the class with the intend on integrating what I can from those desires into it.
Rosaura Diaz-Russi Jun 13, 2022 4:50pm
55 Comments