Tier 1: Intentional Instructional Practice - All Students
Remember that these strategies are fluid and can be used among all tiers as needed. Click "Visit Page" to learn more about each strategy.
Relationship Building
2 years ago
Relationship Building
Start the school year with relationship building. Work the first several days on getting to know your students and vice versa through a series of group conversations/activities. Discuss class expectations, go over routines, and have students discuss their likes and dislikes. This article is a good starting point.
- This Panorama slideshow has activities for Pre-K - 5 students.
- This booklet contains activities for both elementary and secondary students.
2x10 relationship building: Pick a student and spend two minutes a day for a week talking to that student (be mindful of your level of rapport)
Here is an article about this strategy and why it works. This follow-up article gives advice for if the student doesn’t want to talk to you, you don’t have time for individual conversations, you don’t know how to get the conversation started, you’re unsure of what to ask students, or if students give you one-word answers.
- Greet kids at the door every day. Have a special handshake or give daps.
- Have quick conversations with one or two kids at the beginning or end of class.
- One-on one-conversations/check-in: This article has some good ideas for restorative practices.
- Confer with colleagues who have a better relationship with a particular student.
Mindfulness Practices
2 years ago
- For anyone: Here are some links to get started:
For elementary students:
- Classdojo has a video series on mindfulness.
- This Edutopia article has 8 activities for students.
For secondary students: The following are links to several videos highlighting specific mindfulness practices that are 5 minutes or less and can be used as class warm-ups:
Motivation
2 years ago
- Have a student of the week in your class with appropriate special privileges (i.e. No HW for a week, preferred seating, etc.)
- Class jobs give students ownership of the classroom. Here are some examples: Teacher assistant, Attendance taker, Messenger, Phone operator, Gardener, Book or folder passer/collector, Graded paper returner, Homework collector, Tech assistant, Chair stacker, etc.
- Try to have positive home contacts (Try for at least two different parent contacts per week):
- Panorama provides a guide on making the calls (sign-in required).
- Click here for a resource with conversation starters.
- If a call is for a negative reason, always give a strength or something positive.
- When making a negative call (for behavior or academics), make a positive call to a different student.
- Send a positive note/postcard to students to recognize progress:
- Panorama provides a template and examples (sign-in required).
- Click here for some free templates from Teacherspayteachers.
- Teach students to write positive notes to each other with Have You Filled a Bucket Today?
Growth Mindset
2 years ago
For teachers:
- Decades of Scientific Research that Started a Growth Mindset Revolution (article)
- Resources for Teaching Growth Mindset (article)
- Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck (video)
- What Having a "Growth Mindset" Actually Means (article)
For elementary students:
- Class dojo has a video series on growth mindset.
- The Sesame Street cast sings two growth mindset songs: “Don’t Give up” with Bruno Mars” and “The Power of Yet” with Janelle Monae (This could also be used for middle or high school.).
- Teacherspayteachers has a plethora of free activities.
For secondary students:
- This Growth Mindset video gives a good overview.
- Teacherspayteachers has a plethora of free activities.
Cooperative Groups
2 years ago
- Have students group together for assignments and projects; try to avoid cliques. Each group member should have a role as well as be responsible for the work. Click here for an example of group roles.
- Lunch Bunch: Once a week or month, have a social lunch with a small group of students to chat and eat.
Social Emotional Journaling
2 years ago
- There are many free journals on Teacherspayteachers or click here for some prompt examples.
- There are also websites that you can sign classes up for to do a daily emotional check-in like Closegap and Youhue.