Teachers have long known that feeling safe and secure in school helps students focus their energy on learning. And the research bears that out: A 2018 study found that when teachers deliberately foster a sense of belonging by greeting each student at the door of the class, they see “significant improvements in academic engaged time and reductions in disruptive behavior.”

This post outlines ideas from teachers for ensuring that every student in the classroom feels like they belong.

Some of the activities included take less than five minutes. They’re divided up among the grades, but many can apply across all of the years from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Some unique ways to get to know your new crew of students at the start of the year!
*surveys
*geeky show and tell
*try a maker project to learn their creative process
*scavenger hunt
*find out what they want to learn with a student leadership team
*tap into sense of wonder

This podcast and article talks about the power of frequent check ins with students.

Strategies shared include: Social emotional pulse check, video updates, video check-ins, small group check-ins, email check-ups, short text check-ins, surveys, scheduled conferences, phone calls, polls. These strategies could also be used in a face to face classroom.

As we prepare for the fall 2020 re-entry to school, in thinking about specifically supporting learning, we have developed the “Sun West Return to Learn Process”.  This process reminds us of the best practices we already implement in our schools, continues to reinforce our PeBL philosophy and will help us work together to achieve “Success for ALL learners”.This resource includes curated lists of on demand professional learning opportunities & resources connected to each of the 5 elements included in the Sun West Return to Learn 2020 Process.