Hello teachers, in this episode I am going to talk to you about how you can build rapport really quickly with a brand new class. I am going to give you five ways that you can do this. I know many of you are starting a new year in a couple of weeks. You are going to be meeting new students for the first time and one of the keys is being able to build rapport really quickly. These tips will also apply to relief teachers or substitute teachers who have very short amounts of time to build rapport and be able to get onside with the students.
So here we go, five tips that will help you build rapport really quickly:
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1. Meet your students at the door.
The first thing you need to do in the first couple of weeks of school is, make sure you are meeting your students at the door. Whether they are primary school or high school, do not get caught up in the classroom setting up or sitting behind your laptop. Make sure you are at the door as students are arriving. I have talked about this in my “Five Routines for the First Five Minutes.” This is something you need to do all the time but it’s especially powerful when you meet the class for the first time.
As they are arriving you have a chance to chat with them, introduce yourself, ask them how their holiday was, ask them what they got up to over Christmas and all the things that kids want to talk about so take that time to meet them at the door. Take the time to just chat with them and build rapport.
2. Learn their Names
The second thing is to learn their names. You can start doing that in the line before they come in. As you meet them at the door, start asking them their names. You have probably already got your class list and have probably already seen some photos of them but just act like you are meeting somebody for the first time. Ask them, “Hey what is your name? I am Mr Stevenson. How was your holiday?” Get them to introduce themselves to you because that actually builds a kinship or a rapport. As you introduce yourself to them and they introduce themselves to you, it breaks the tension and allows them to relax and to see you as a normal person.
3. Be Approachable
The third thing is to take time to just be approachable, be happy. There is an old adage that says, “Do not smile till Easter.” Some of you might have heard this. It is an old-style teaching tip that basically says you need to be stern and strict until Easter and not let them see you smile. I totally disagree with that adage. I will tell you why, because smiles make people relax. If you are smiling at someone they are going to relax and they are more likely to smile back at you and want to actually get to know you. So please do not go in like the drill sergeant or somebody that just wants to start barking the rules as soon as you meet them for the first time. For relief teachers and substitute teachers this is so important.
I see so many substitute teachers walk into a brand new class and start off like a drill sergeant and then they wonder why they cannot win the class over. Just smile a little bit, be approachable. Do not be a grinch and you will find that kids, especially small children, will actually warm to you and take the time to want to get to know you.
Relief teachers, one of the things I used to do is this, I would play a little game where I would say to the class, “I will learn all of your names in the first 30 minutes” and so I would spend the first 30 minutes just memorizing everybody’s name and then testing myself to see if I could get it. When you learn someone’s name they know that you are interested in them, that you care about them.
4. Give students an opportunity to talk about themselves.
The fourth thing is this, give them an opportunity to talk about themselves, about their break or something like that. Most kids are bursting to share their own experiences. In fact you will find that with most people. All they want to do is talk about themselves. If you have ever been in a conversation you will know this. There is always somebody that just talks, talks and talks. They are usually always talking about themselves. Maybe you do this as well when somebody talks to you. You are always thinking about how you can reply with a story about your own experiences. This is normal human behavior because what we are saying is, me too, I want to tell you about my experience because I want you to know that I am like you.
So also, kids want to share their experiences, they want to share what they did on their holiday. They want to share what they got for Christmas. They want to share what lights them up and gets them excited. If you devote maybe 30 minutes of the lesson at the beginning to just letting them talk, letting them get it out, you will find that they are less disruptive and they will actually say in their own head, “This teacher really cares about me”
John Maxwell, the leadership guru says, “They will not care what you know, until they know how much you care”. You need to start off by showing them that you care about them. it is really important that you care about them as individuals and as little people.
5. Establish clear communication
The fifth tip regarding how to build rapport might sound a bit strange but I think that this is really crucial to building rapport and it is this, establish your expectations early. You have got to be able to do this in a way that is not confrontational, not aggressive and not in their face. You need to be able to clearly communicate the boundaries of interaction because what you will find is that initially, in a classroom, everybody wants to say their peace. Everybody has a different idea of what good behavior looks like so if you do not communicate your expectations early on, what will happen is, you will be fighting against a myriad different expectations and that produces chaos.
When there is chaos in the classroom, you as the teacher are going to get stressed. You are more likely to get cross or more likely to start telling children off straight away. You do not want to do that because that will only break your relationship with the students. So the way you can avoid it is to establish your expectations early. Start the day by saying, “If you want to talk in this class then you need to raise your hand for permission”. “If you want to get out of your seat, that is ok but you need to ask permission before you do and so on and so forth.
Think about five rules or expectations that you communicate very clearly that will allow students to know their rules of engagement. One of the things that children like to know is, they need to know their boundaries. They feel safe when there are clear boundaries and when a child feels safe they are more likely to open up, be vulnerable towards you and that builds relationship.
So if you want to start the year building positive relationships with your students, whether you are a relief teacher or this is your first class for the year, you need to take notice of these keys.
Let’s recap:
- Meet them at the door. Spend time chatting with them and letting them tell you about their holiday.
- Start learning their names – Learn their names as quickly as possible.
- Be approachable – Smile! Do not be the drill sergeant. Do not be aggressive. Start off by being kind and approachable.
- Give them an opportunity to talk about themselves – Let them talk about what they experienced over the year and share it with their peers.
- Establish your expectations early. Do it in a way that is friendly and approachable but very firm and very clear so that everybody knows where they stand and they will be less likely to act up. You will be less stressed and you will be able to build positive relationships with your students.
So these are five tips for building a relationship with a brand new class, whether you are a relief teacher or starting your new class for the first year. All the very best for this year, I hope you have a fantastic year.
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