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.
69 Comments
Angel Love Apr 18, 2024 2:59pm
1. How does Ms. Wessling get to know her students in just ten minutes?
Ms.Wessling gets to know her students in ten minutes by greeting every student as they come into the room. She makes sure to shake every student's hand and exchange names with them. The reason she does this is to put a name to the face.
2. What does Ms. Wessling share about herself? Why do you think she does this?
Ms. Wessling shares that there is no place she would rather be, she doesn't feel like teaching is a job because she loves it, it's her twenty years of teaching. This creates a positive learning environment for the students.
3. How could you adapt the wish activity for use in your own classroom?
The make-a-wish activity can be used on the first day of school. I would tell the students to write down one hope or wish they would like for the school year.
Stephanie Wray Nov 19, 2023 12:42pm
1. She makes eye contact, and puts the name to the faces. This lets the students know they are important to her.
2. She lets the students know a little bit about her as a person, and how she feels about teaching. This allows the students to establish a sense of trust with her.
3. I really like the wish card activity, because this allows me to find out more about the students wants or needs and incorporate that in my lessons throughout the year.
Patricia Perry Oct 23, 2023 12:59am
1. Ms. Wessling gets to know her students in the first ten minutes by shaking hands, making eye contact and putting a face to a name multiple times.
2. Ms. Wessling lets her students know about her teaching career and how she feels about her career. She tells this information inorder to be personal but not expose too much about herself.
3. I would incorporate the wish card into my classroom by having them write something they wish to accomplish, learn or achieve over the school year, put it in a "time capsule" and open it at the end of the year to see where we are.
Rachel Brownlee... Aug 13, 2023 11:12pm
Ms. Wessling positions herself near the door so that she can look each student in the eye, shake their hand, and introduce herself as they walk in. Her goals are to spend the first ten minutes to start to put a name to a face and get to form a relationship with her students, to ensure she is saying their names right (while taking role), and to give them an experience over a couple of minutes. She asks them to tell how they are
WMs. Wessling shares that she loves to teach, and that there is nowhere she would rather be at that time than in the classroom with those students. She states how important it is to be genuine with the kids and not have to say too much. She is already establishing an environment of emotional safety and caring for all of her students, and increasing their confidence in her as a teacher.
The wish activity could be almost as meaningful without the 20-year anniversary attached; Asking students to start the year with this intimate moment in which they make a wish for themselves is asking them to be honest and vulnerable with her, while also reinforcing that she cares about their goals.
Haley Wallace Jul 29, 2023 4:26pm
1. She waits by the entrance to shake their hands and introduces herself. She has them say their name and also encourages them to correct her if she says their name wrong. She also tries to maintain eye contact when possible. She also has them complete a "wish card" with a candle to celebrate her 20th year of teaching, and has them write their name and class period as well as their wish or goal for the year. She stands by the door as they come to turn in the card, grab a cupcake, and leave.
2. She shares that she wants to be there, that teaching doesn't feel like a job, and that this will be her 20th year of teaching. She does this to tell them she actually cares about her role in shaping their learning. She doesn't want them to think she only shows up for the paycheck.
3. The wish card activity could be useful because it would help me get to know the students goals and wants for the year so I can keep that in mind for lesson planning. It also helps me match names to their said interests.