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a ready-to-run workshopBuilding Relationships (New Teacher)
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Building Relationships With Students: A New Teacher's Start (Workshop)

Everything in your classroom gets easier when students know you care about them. For a new teacher, deliberately building relationships from day one, learning names, showing genuine interest, and being consistent, is the single most powerful investment you can make.

Key takeaway

Everything gets easier when students know you care; for a new teacher, deliberately building relationships from day one, learning names, showing genuine interest, being consistent, is the most powerful investment you can make.

Format
PLC / mentor session
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 1-40)
Who can run it
A mentor or new teacher
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutYour students in mindA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Learning CommunitiesInTASC 3: Learning EnvironmentsResearch on teacher-student relationships
Share / assign

Why it works

Strong teacher-student relationships are among the most powerful factors in learning, behavior, and motivation, and for a new teacher they are both especially important and especially achievable regardless of experience. Building them does not require expertise, just intention and consistency: learning and using names quickly, showing genuine interest in students as people, greeting them, being warm and consistent, following through, and treating every student with respect. New teachers who prioritize relationships from day one find that management, engagement, and nearly everything else become easier. For the full depth of relationship-building, see the Building Relationships workshop; this is where a new teacher starts.

The research: Research on teacher-student relationships.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: build relationships from day one

    New teachers leave with concrete relationship-building moves to start.

    Relationships are the highest-leverage investmentEverything gets easier when students know you care. Learn names, show genuine interest, and be warm and consistent, from day one. Relationships do not require experience, just intention.

    Facilitator notes

    Skipping relationships to focus on control backfiresTrying to manage without relationships is far harder. Build relationships from day one, names, interest, consistency, and management and engagement get easier.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Building Relationships: a new teacher's start

    <b>Highest leverage:</b> learn names, show genuine interest, be warm and consistent, and respect every student, from day one.

    1. How I will learn and use names quickly:
    2. How I will show genuine interest in students:
    3. How I will be warm, consistent, and reliable:
    4. How I will treat every student with respect:
    5. A relationship-building move for day one:

    Make it stick

    A new teacher's start:

    Common questions

    I'm new, can I really build strong relationships yet?
    Yes, relationships do not require experience, just intention and consistency. Learn names, show genuine interest, be warm and consistent, and follow through. New teachers can build strong relationships from day one.
    Why prioritize relationships as a new teacher?
    Because they make everything else, management, engagement, motivation, far easier, and they are achievable regardless of experience. Relationships are the highest-leverage investment a new teacher can make.
    How do I start?
    Learn and use names quickly, show genuine interest in students, greet them, be warm and consistent, follow through, and treat every student with respect. Start day one.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Building Relationships
    Workshop
    First 30 Days
    Workshop
    Classroom Community & Belonging