1. CONNECTING WITH
STUDENTS
Hope Fagerland
SPED 578 – Educational Interventions

2. Personal Connection
* Collect personal index cards: I have used this in the past and it is incredibly
useful to get to know students, but also the cards can be used later to form
groups or play team games.
* Say good morning to students in the hallway: this creates a relationship
with students that you might not otherwise come into contact with
* Be at the door to greet students: I try to do this for each period I teach. I
am amazed at how this decreases the amounts of tardy students I have in
my classes.
* Offer notes of appreciation: I have “mailboxes” in my classroom for each
student. Often I will put a note into a student’s mailbox just to let them know
something I appreciate about them.
* Develop “cueing” systems with troubled students: I do this often with my
students and general education teachers. These systems give students and
teachers an opportunity to connect outside of the classroom to come up with
their system, but also to have something within class to help them both.

3. Academic Connection
* Take photos of students as they work on projects: this helps
foster classroom community
* Ask a nonparticipating student an open-ended question:
helps students who might otherwise be intimidated to answer
a question they might get wrong
* Offer adequate wait time: allow all students an opportunity
to share – don’t let a few students dominate
* Make mistakes: this is crucial to show students that
everyone makes mistakes (also not a hard strategy to
implement since we all make mistakes!)
* Display student work in the classroom: displaying
work, especially that of students who don’t normally do as
well, provides an opportunity for those students to take pride
in their work

4. Social Connection
* Let students make some of the rules: this give students an
opportunity to form community in the classroom.
* Agree to change any rule students resist, as long as they
provide an acceptable alternative: I let students do this so
they know they have a voice in the classroom.
* Encourage “complaint” letters: This is a great way to stop
complaints in the classroom. Students have to use their
writing skills to try to evoke change.
* Get involved – volunteer: Giving students (especially at-risk
students) an opportunity to give back helps form community
and helps students focus on something bigger than
themselves.
* Break bread together: Food can be an icebreaker in many
situations and allows for community within the classroom.