Building a Positive Classroom Climate with Question of the Day
It was towards the end of my fourth year of teaching and I just felt like I wasn’t connecting with my students anymore. “Maybe I’m not such a hip young teacher anymore?!” I thought. The gap between us was just too far and I was no longer relatable.
I knew I had to change something but I wasn’t quite sure what…or how?
That’s when I saw it.
On Instagram, I watched a post from @thetownieteacher, Michaela Fisher, about this activity she developed called “Question of the Day” to help build a strong class community and develop student rapport. She had students answer a short question about themselves at the beginning of class. I knew it was something I had to try.
Flashforward to now, over a year later, during a pandemic that made distance learning the new gold star of teaching.
Incorporating the Question of the Day activity was by far the best thing I did for myself and for my students. I looked forward to it every class! I was blessed with a special group of students who shared a lot about themselves during our opening activity and continued to post even during a pandemic.
Yes, sometimes we got a little off track and went off on a tangent or small story but that’s okay!
In ten years my students probably won’t remember many of the things I said or all the things I taught them but I certainly hope they remember the way they felt being in my classroom.
