Looking ahead to the next school year, I think we are all wondering what our classes will look like. Regardless of the situation, we, as teachers, know that positive classroom community is essential to having a great year. One question that I think we all have is how do we build classroom community online?
Let’s face the facts: everyone is going to be anxious and uncomfortable when we return to class, whenever that may be. I think we all understand that there is no jumping back in to “normal”. With that being said, it is our job to give our students some relief from that anxiety. What can we do to make our class comfortable in an all around uncomfortable situation?
Starting off the year, it’s important to set the tone of encouragement and acceptance. After all, our class is a place where we ask students to take risks. They have to know that our class is a safe space for them.
For me, it’s important to start this on the first day of classes. I used to go over the syllabus in depth because it is an important document and there are many things they need to know to be successful in my class-but it is SO BORING.
So, one year a colleague said something to me that really hit home. He said, “Imagine being a HS student, coming home after your first day and all you did was have 8 teachers read the syllabus to you.” He was right. By the end of the third class I am sure each student is totally tuned out.
This has inspired me over the last few years to re-examine my first day of class activities. I now intentionally plan activities that I know will engage my students in my class while challenging them to use Spanish. It is the perfect preview for them of what to expect out of my class for the rest of the year. If you are looking for some engaging and fun First Day Activities, check out this post.
Whether we are in person with restricted movement or starting off the year virtually, it’s important to be purposeful in the design of our lessons. We need to provide opportunities for students to get to know us and each another. It’s also important to use specific tools to engage your students during your lessons on the digital platform. Here are some strategies that can help:
1. Pear Deck
Pear Deck is an Add On for Google Slides. It allows you to make your Google Slides presentation interactive for your class. Your students can answer questions in real time and give feedback to your lesson. It’s a great way to make every student feel like their opinion matters.
Another positive? You get real time data. You can throw in a few questions to check on students’ comprehension throughout the lesson.
Pear Deck also has so many great templates that are already made for you. Many of these ask students to reflect on what they learned in class or how they are feeling about the lesson. Reflection questions are a great way to connect with your students and get to know them. By giving them the opportunity to share their feelings they feel that you care about them and their progress (super important!).
2. Daily Check In:
How about starting off class with a general check in? You can do this in the target language. Starting off your class with a simple: How are you doing today? Or, what did you do this weekend? It’s so important to take the time and establish a personal connection with each student.
Try to take note of the sports they play, they clubs they participate in, the teams that they like, etc. When you can ask an individual student about something personal like who won the baseball game last night (because they are wearing a jersey), they immediately feel connected with you.
Small gestures like this can really go a long way in building classroom community.
3. Offer Support
It’s one thing to tell students that you are there for them and support them. When we actually give them the support that they need they trust you and feel comfortable with you.
It’s going to be hard to do this virtually, but not impossible. To support them, make sure you start off the year by having a digital resource folder. This should be an easily accessible folder that your students can access whenever they need help.
Some great tools for this are: Google Drive and Padlet. You can create a folder that will grow as the year goes on and you can continue to add valuable resources for your students.
4. Opportunities for REAL Conversation
This is THE secret sauce. This is the MOST important piece. Build in opportunities for real conversation. What is real conversation? I’m not talking authentic speaking situations like: you lost your wallet in the airport and need assistance. I’m talking about discussing feelings, plans, the future, preferences, etc.
The bottom line is: our students want to be heard. Why not give them the opportunity to express themselves in the target language in our class?
Ok, but how?! There are so many discussion activities that you can do. I have found that the best way to foster spontaneous conversation in the target language AND make REAL connections with my students is through Socratic Seminars.
My students know that during a Socratic Seminar they are being heard and I make sure to keep what they say in mind for the future. If a student mentions that she loves to cook with her abuela, any time we are talking about cooking I will ask her about abuela’s recipes or if this food is abuela approved. The way that students light up when you recall information like that is absolutely priceless.
If you’d like to learn more about Socratic Seminars-check out this post.
Overall, being cognizant when designing your lessons and thoughtful will grow your classroom community. By having some fun and low pressure activities prepped for students, they are more likely to participate in class (which is what we want!).
We also have to offer them three important things: support, encouragement, and security. If we can show them that we support their journey, encourage them through the mistakes and difficulties, and provide a safety net for when they need it, our classes will be smooth sailing.
