It's January and you know what that means! A fresh start! I know for most of us, it's halfway through the year, but the New Year is always a great time to freshen things up in the classroom or remind students of the routines and their responsibilities!
Today I am going to share one of my favorite ways that students know to communicate with me in the classroom!
I set my teacher talk bin up with my students back in October but I feel like January is a great time to remind the students how to use it! In my classroom it's called the "Dear Mrs. Dailey" box and when students need to talk to me about anything {a personal story or problem} they put a sticky note in the box.
Don't get me wrong, if I am instructing and a student has a question, I certainly answer it right away! This box is more for things that can wait until our bus time. I give my students 10 minutes before dismissal to work on unfinished work and to pack up. This is the time where I check the box for any sticky notes and call the students up who need to talk to me!
This box is editable for you to write you name and change the description of the box if you would like! I have found that is has helped me manage my time with students so well and it makes students feel in control of how they find the time to talk to me.
My students also know that they will get a chance to talk to me everyday if need be! In all honestly, I typically only have 1-2 notes in the basket per week because students don't need something urgently! At the last set of parent teacher conferences, I got a lot of positive feedback from the parents about how their child felt relief that they could talk to me everyday if they needed to do so! That was so powerful and I couldn't believe how much the students {and parents} appreciated this little box!
If you do try the teacher talk bin out, I would love to know your thoughts! Enjoy and Happy New Year!
Hi Melissa, This sounds like a wonderful idea . . . for most of my class. Have you ever had one or two students who want to talk to you every day? And how would you suggest handling this? I have one that I know is going to "need" to talk to me every day. While it might not seem like a "problem," it will take time away from the casual chatting we all share, which is already limited. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Terri!
DeleteI don't have this situation this year, but I did last year! The student wanted to talk to me at almost every opportunity and was looking for a lot of one-one attention. The student was so sweet but both I and the parent knew I couldn't be talking to the child all day, everyday. What the parent and I decided was to allow the student to keep a journal at their desk. If they wanted to tell me something SUPER important they would write it down. This kept them from coming up to my desk all of the time. To be honest, this worked very well! I did have to be honest with the student and we had conversations (many of them) about how I cared so much about them & wanted to talk to them, but I wanted their "brain to grow" too! Sometimes it can be a struggle with students who want our attention most of the day. I would suggest talking with the parent to see how it can best be handled, that way the parent can reinforce it at home (even if they are just encouraging their child verbally). Best of luck!