nship Building Elaine Le Sueur Where am I going with this?
more op�mis�c.
Well… being back in school is not going to be the same. What has been posi�ve solitude for some, has been loneliness and mental anguish for others. Teachers will be faced with finding ways to help students manage stress and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty in a �me where they are facing the same issues for themselves. With that in mind I would like to offer a handful of strategies to help (and it wouldn’t hurt to put them into ac�on in the staff room as well) … “They may forget what you said, but they will not forget how you made them feel.” •
Create opportuni�es for students to build up their rela�onships with others through having some ac�vi�es that focus on team building and taking advantage of each others’ skills and abili�es. Start with directed group discussions using random assignment of par�cipants. (byrdseed.com has some great ideas)
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Or try one of my escape room challenges to give your students a workout for their cri�cal thinking skills.
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h�ps://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ Product/The-Chemistry-Escape-RoomChallenge-6737929
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h�ps://www.teacherspayteachers.com/ Product/Escape-Room-PsychologyExperiment-5320379 (Why not click on the follow me tab while you are vsisi�ng to be first to find out about new products?)
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Cul�vate pos�ve thinking. Turn the focus on to the posi�ve things about being able to be back at school. There is plenty of research to back up the hypothesis that a posi�ve outlook has important health benefits. Viewing nega�ve events as isolated incidents that are beyond your control teaches students to start being
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(Develop a set of classroom affirma�ons together and display them. Do something nice for a classmate without their knowing. Focus on the job at hand. Be an example to others)
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For a student who needs a bit more help then h�ps://posi�vepsychology.com offers some simple exercises to do with students.
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Cut some slack for both you and your students and find opportuni�es to laugh more. Have each student create a smile a while page with quota�ons and things that make them smile. Share with others and make them smile too. Here is mine…
Good Teacher Magazine Issue 2 2021
9
