Building and maintaining relationships is one of the most important things educators can do to connect with their students. Milner et al. (2019) found that “numerous scholars point to persistent, caring relationships as one of the foundations for effective teaching and learning” (p. 112). Not only do the relationships we have with students help us as teachers when it comes to teaching content, it also helps students when it comes to learning. According to Milner et al. (2019), “students are often more motivated to engage in learning when they feel that their teacher truly cares for them” (p. 112). There is such a large emphasis placed on relationship-building within (and to an extent, outside) the classroom and because of this I want to make sure that I focus on the relationships that I have with my future students. I want to make sure that I can effectively build and maintain these relationships when the time comes for me to teach. In order to build and maintain relationships with my students, I plan to employ the following activities which are just a few out of many that I plan to use to build relationships with my students.

The first relationship-building activity I want to use in my classroom is the Where I’m From activity created by Linda Christensen (2021). This activity consists of having students read the poem “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon and then reflect on the intricacies of their own lives before creating their own similar poem and sharing it with their peers and I. I believe this activity is so important because it allows students to share their own experiences with me, as their teacher, and with each other. Milner et al. (2019), stated that one of the “actions that educators can…adopt as persistent practices to cultivate relationships with their students” is to “give assignments that allow students to share their experiences and interests” (p. 112). Sharing our own experiences and identities is something that makes most people feel seen and heard. I also like this activity because it is relevant to an English/Language Arts classroom which is what I plan to teach. This activity could be used at the beginning of the year as an ice breaker, during the year as part of a poetry lesson, or even at the end of the year as a fun activity or content review for students. Personally, I believe I would use it at the beginning of the year to get to know my students but it is a wonderful activity because of how versatile it is. 

The first step of the Where I’m From activity will be to read the poem “Where I’m From” by George Ella Lyon as a class and ask students to share their initial thoughts on the poem. The next step will be to read through the poem line by line and note how Lyon structures her poem. Students will then be encouraged to make lists of different items, names, and phrases used within their home.  Once students have their lists, I will then ask them to write lines using a similar structure as Lyon but to substitute the content with their own experiences and items from their own life. For example, Lyon often begins lines with the words “I am from…”. Instead of Lyon’s “I am from clothespins”, students could write “I am from muddied boots off by the door” etc. The idea is for them to insert items and experiences from their lives to create their own unique poem. Once students have their lists and are familiar with the structure the next step is for them to write their poem. After students have written their poems I will ask for volunteers to read theirs aloud. During this process I will also share my own poem that I have been creating alongside students. These steps can be altered or rearranged depending on how much time I have during a class period but the steps I outlined above are the main ideas.

The second relationship-building activity I want to use in my classroom is greeting students at the door. Milner et al. (2019) wrote that “demonstrating care with students on a daily basis is a persistent practice that continually reinforces…relationships” (p. 112). Greeting students at the door is an easy activity that can be done every day in order to build and maintain relationships between me and my students. This is an activity that can begin on day one of the school year and continue throughout. Greeting students at the door to the classroom requires minimal planning/preparation and is a great way to gauge students’ moods before instructional time begins. If a student seems “off” one day Milner et al. (2019) say that “a teacher can proactively check in with the student personally as soon as possible” (p. 113). Catching this type of mood in students may be harder once class instruction has already begun. Greeting students outside of the classroom also sets the expectation that I want them to arrive at class on time. It also feels a bit more casual than greeting students while at my desk and it could encourage them to open up a bit more.

Greeting students at the door to the classroom is fairly self-explanatory but I will provide a brief outline for the sake of this assignment. Before students begin entering the classroom, I plan to go and stand outside the classroom door. Once there, I can greet students as they enter my classroom and try to internally assess their mood/energy levels for the day. In this position I can also say hello to my other students in the hall and potentially keep an eye out if any trouble were to arise. I will try my best to greet students every day but if there is a day I will be absent or unable to greet them I will try and let my students know beforehand.

The final relationship-building activity I want to utilize in my classroom is the pride wall. A pride wall is a wall or section of the classroom that is solely devoted to students’ achievements and hard work. Some pride walls contain newspaper clippings about student accomplishments while others could contain students’ schoolwork or pictures of students doing something they are proud of. Pride walls are important because they help students feel seen and appreciated while also building a sense of community within the classroom. Milner et al. (2019) state that “the classroom culture and curriculum should build on the knowledge gained from learning about students” (p. 113). Pride walls are one way I can learn about my students and their interests in order to build them into the curriculum for the year.

There are a few steps that can be used to create a pride wall in any classroom. The first step is to know my students. The pride wall is a relationship-building activity that can help strengthen relationships already in place but those base relationships do have to be set. I have to know things my students might like, sports teams or clubs they are involved in, extracurriculars they do outside of school, community programs they may be a part of, and overall, things about themselves they are proud of. Once I know these things I can look out for students in the school or local newspaper, keep an eye out for artwork or other schoolwork they are proud of, and even attend events such as plays, band concerts, volunteer cleanups, and sports events my students are a part of. Milner et al. (2019) state that “it means something to students when teachers take time out of their schedules to visit an activity they are involved in” (p. 113). These events are important to students and by showing up I, as their teacher, am showing that I care about them as an individual. Attending these events also offers the opportunity to take photos of students doing things they are passionate about for the pride wall, with all the proper permissions, of course. As I attend these events and gather different materials I can add them to the pride wall in my classroom. I will tape up photos, newspaper clippings, artwork, schoolwork, projects, etc. to the designated pride wall and watch as my students’ sense of community and pride in themselves begins to grow.

References

Christensen, L. (2021, November 22). Where I’m from. Rethinking Schools. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://rethinkingschools.org/2021/08/06/where-im-from/ 

Milner, H. R., Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O’Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. G. (2019). “These kids are out of control”: Why we must reimagine “Classroom management” for equity. Corwin, a SAGE Company. 

Build relationships: Teach more than ‘just math’. Teaching Channel. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://learn.teachingchannel.com/video/building-relationships-through-gestures 

YouTube. (2011). Greeting students at door and Pride Wall_Ijones. YouTube. Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ1G5yLffiw.