Engaging With Students
When working with younger student,s you may not know how to just jump in and talk to them. It may feel more comfortable to stand away from the kids and avoid interacting with them, but that is not why you are participating in the Village Project! You are there to build relationships with theses kids and to be someone they can look up to.
The solution to this problem is simple: ask questions! Get to know what these kids like to do for fun, what their favorite subjects in school are, if they have a favorite song or TV show, etc. You may be surprised at the amount of connections you can make with elementary school students just by asking them a few simple questions. Here is a list of questions you could ask if you do not have any ideas.
Journal Response #4
Choose three of the provided questions (or come up with your own!) that you would think about asking a student that you are working with if are having trouble engaging with them, or if you run out of conversation. Then, please answer these three questions about yourself. It is just as important for your students to learn about you as it is for you to learn about them!
For more information and tips on engaging with students, please visit this link: http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/NEA_E-BookFall2012low-res.pdf http://www.edutopia.org/blog/connecting-with-students-on-fringes-joshua-block
Do not put your journal responses in the comments section below. Please use the Google document that we shared with you on Google Drive to respond.
Photo found at: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Education/Pix/pictures/2011/11/18/1321620761465/Teacher-and-school-studen-007.jpg