Students feel you are engaged in their achievements
Helps student obtain focus at the beginning of the day
Helps student process the events of the day at the end
Helps students ask questions about work they might not ask on their own
Keeps students moving forward, motivated, and progressing
Holds students accountable
Makes students more likely to take work seriously
Helps reassure students there is help when they need it
Gives students a little boost
Increases work completion
Builds rapport, trust, and confidence
Makes students feel more secure and optimistic about hard assignments
Makes students feel like the teacher cares and wants to help
When should I do it:
When a student has difficulty following through, staying on task or is easily distracted
When a student clowns around a lot
When a student has academic struggles
When a student has a learning or other disability
When a student looks confused often
When a student frequently turns in incomplete or no work
When a student needs reassurance
When a student has low self confidence or little self motivation
When a student is insecure about their work
When a student is slowing down
When a student seems to be stuck or stops working
How do I do it:
At the beginning of the day, utilize calm, neutral tone and enthusiasm about having a good day, discussing the expectations of the day and the schedule of the day
Focus on the good, encourage students that today is a new day and you have confidence in their abilities
At the end of the day, utilize calm, neutral tone, regardless of the sort of day the student has had. Help student identify areas he/she can improve on and praise for behaviors that were done well. Tell student you also have confidence they can do just as good or better than today.
During assignments, activities, or other tasks, walk around the room and stop to touch base with the students that need it, kneeling down and quietly asking how they are doing, if they need help, or asking about a problem on their assignment page
Call a student up to your desk and quietly ask if they are getting through the assignment okay or if they need any help on any of the problems
Stopping by a students desk and whispering, asking if they are all set
Stopping at a students desk, pointing to their assignment page, and asking if they need help on a specific item (any item, doesn’t matter, just get the ball rolling and breaks the ice for the student to redirect to the item they do need help with)
As a systematic method, teach students to place their pen or pencil in the upper right corner of their desk (or some other indicator) to indicate they need the teacher to touch base with them
