Conversation Starter
Related Posts
Is there any interview after probation period?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
That was just a preview…
Sign Up to see all discussions
Sign Up to see all discussions
- Discover what it’s like to work at companies from real professionals
- Get candid advice from people in your field in a safe space
- Chat and network with other professionals in your field
Sign up in seconds to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
"" is an unusual email domain. If correct, please proceed to the next step
Messaging rates may apply
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Share
Embed this post
Copy and paste embed code on your site
Preview
Download the
Fishbowl app
Scan your QR code to download
Fishbowl app on your mobile
Sign up for free to view this conversation on Fishbowl
Sign up for free to continue using Fishbowl
Messaging rates may apply
My favorite thing is to get them talking. the sooner that they talk, the sooner that they learn.
Conversation Starter
Definitely. I think getting them to have meaningful talking together is hard, but the outcome can be the most impactful.
Make them stand in front of the class during the first week of school and tell a story about something that happened to them in their life. Opens up the class.
Sorry - just getting back on after the holidays. It really doesn't' matter what the story is, just something they write down (if that's in your age group) and then they have to tell the story. A personal story is great. "The time I broke my arm", "when I lost my first tooth" - whatever they want to tell.
It opens up the class immediately.
Student choice! I work it into as many units as possible, and it positively affects engagement in a big way.
Conversation Starter
It’s something that can be hard to do sometimes, but I agree that students love it and oftentimes produce their best work from it!
To encourage online reading practice, we set a goal of reading units and the time for each week. Then on Friday afternoons, if the students accomplish the reading units and the time, they get free choice of fun games, like blooket to enjoy with their peers.
To encourage math fluency, I use flash cards for addition and subtraction in small group instruction times. Depending on who gets the highest number of correct cards, students pick a small treat from our class prize box.
Pro
I teach ELA. As many know reading, writing, and speaking are imperative to prepare for adulthood regardless of whether kids are on a college track or not. I use many games that review content material that kids just love! I also have a “team” pet board. Students are encouraged to bring a pic of their pet in so I can hang it up on the board. After the first week, we take turn(a couple each day at the end of class, for the child to tell us their pet’s name and how they came to have their pet. Many interesting stories emerge and kids follow up with each other after class with more questions. This builds a community within that class. This fosters better communication throughout the year. I also do “List off’s.” The topic always relates to the novel we are currently reading. They have 45-60 seconds to list as many items as they can from a topic I provide. The class that gets the most items (I’m judge on what acceptable) wins. Again, this fosters team building and unity of each class. Some topics used are: board games, careers, types of dogs, trees, name as many teachers as you can in the building, colors, etc.
Morning meetings at the start of every morning to let the students share an answer to a question or to do a free share time. I also like “soft starts” in the mornings where students do one journal response and then get to play with sensory bins or play games with each other.
Read the room-if they’re getting antsy it’s time to do some movement; if they are moving through things faster than expected, ask questions to check understanding (can be enough to buffer for those still working on it)