Ahh a new school year and a class full of new children! Are you ready for them?
You’ve had the school holiday to (hopefully) rest and recoup. You’ve planned out the term. You have trusty classroom management techniques at the ready, and you’re eager to try out some new ideas.
You also have a list of names for your new class. Some of them you’ve seen around the corridors, or perhaps you’ve never met them if they’re new to the school. You’ve been privy to assessments and reports from their previous teacher. But do you really know them?
A new term is an exciting time, but also a challenging one for teachers, children and parents as everyone gets to know each other. So many personalities, passions and preferences to be discovered!
To help you get to know each individual personality we’ve created these fun activity sheets for you to download and print for the first week back. They are full of simple tasks that can be completed with one or two words and pictures for the younger children or one or two sentences for the older ones allowing you to get a quick overview of each child’s likes, worries, and skills.
The answers the children give could be very informative and give you a real insight into their emerging personalities. Perhaps you could complete one yourself so your class can get to know all about you and feel more at ease in their new setting?
Why not put all the completed sheets together in a book and display them near the entrance to your classroom for visitors to have a peek at? A great introduction to your class! Or maybe send your completed sheet home with the kids on the first day so the parents can get to know you too. Building a robust relationship from day one can establish a strong bond and build trust quickly between you and your pupils and parents.