Using Weekly Check-Ins to Build Classroom Community

Written by Emily Upton - Posted February 28, 2024

How often do you take the time to check in with your students about how they're doing inside and outside of the classroom? With 30 students, it's impossible to have one-on-one conversations with every student consistently. The solution is incorporating a weekly check-in form into your classroom! In this blog post, I'll share my top tips for incorporating a weekly check-in into your classroom routine, and why it's a game-changer for building relationships with your students.

Why You Should Check In With Your Students

Implementing a weekly check-in form in the upper elementary gives you a sneak peek into the lives of your students inside and outside the classroom. This can help you to foster connections and teach them better! When your students feel cared about and like they're part of a community, they are more willing to work hard on tough academics. 

Do your kiddos always want to tell you a million stories you don't have time for? Checking in with a weekly form can help! It gives your students an outlet and dedicated time to tell you about their grandma's cat and frees up your lesson time throughout the week to avoid those off-track stories.

Check-ins are also a way to fit a little social-emotional learning into your weekly schedule. SEL skills such as self-awareness, identifying emotions, and conflict resolution can be easily fit into your weekly questions.  This practice not only helps students feel seen and valued for who they are but also gives you insight into how you can better support your students. 

Top Tips For Using Weekly Check-Ins

If you're ready to use a weekly check-in with your students, you might be wondering how to best integrate them into your classroom routines. These are my top tips for getting started with weekly check-ins!

1. Use a Consistent Format

Fitting yet another thing into your jam-packed lessons can be daunting. But checking in with your students doesn't have to be overwhelming! Use a consistent weekly format so students know what to expect. This will help them complete the check-in quicker than if you switch it up each week. Also, have them complete the check-in at the same time in your schedule each week. I liked to have my students complete their check-in as their warm-up on Fridays! Your check-ins can be digital or printable. I always liked having my students complete a Google Form because I could quickly scroll through their responses in real-time.

2. Vary Some of the Questions

Just because you are using the same format each week doesn't mean you can't change up some of the questions! I liked to have a few basic questions (like tell me something good that happened this week or a goal for next week) that stayed the same each week, and a few that changed based on the season or our SEL focus of the week. By switching up what you ask each week, you will avoid the "I don't know" responses and keep your students engaged throughout the year.

3. Make Time to Share or Respond

Don't just toss those weekly check-ins in the trash! They can be a great way to build community. Give your students the chance to share with their peers (but don't force it in case they share sensitive info). My favorite way to build community with my students was to respond to their weekly check-ins! They submitted their forms on Friday morning, and I would type a quick response to set on their desk Monday morning. I always made one of the questions "do you want a response?" so that the kiddos who wanted that back-and-forth communication got it! It does take a little time to respond to everyone, but I found that when I typed the responses I could move pretty quickly.

Weekly Check-In Forms for SEL Integration

Don't want to spend your time creating check-ins for your classroom? I've got you covered! This year-long set features 36 weekly check-ins that give your students a chance to share open-ended with you, while also reflecting on important SEL topics each week. The best part? Each check-in is included in both PDF and Google Form formats so you can decide the best way to integrate them into your classroom. These align with my morning meeting slides to make SEL integration seamless and effortless in your classroom each week. Click here to see the weekly check-in forms!

February Resource Roundup: Upper Elementary Centers for February

Written by Emily Upton - Posted Feb. 1, 2024

February always gives me the blues. It's just so cold and yucky outside, it still gets dark wayyyy too early, and Spring Break is nowhere in sight. If you need help finding the motivation to get your lessons planned or keep your kiddos engaged during the winter slump, this blog post is for you! Even though the weather outside might be super lame, February is full of fun holidays that you can leverage for a little extra engagement in your classroom. I'll share some of my favorite lesson and center ideas for holidays in February. 

Click the images to check out the resources!

Groundhog Day (February 2)

I LOVE Groundhog Day. It's such a weird and fun holiday that you can use to practice so many different cross-curricular concepts. Check out these resources that will teach your students why we listen to that silly groundhog, anyway.

I love using escape rooms to get my students engaged! This escape room features 3 rooms with cross-curricular topics like timelines, groundhog math, and reading. The best part? Once students crack the codes, they get to color a color-by-code picture!

Do you know why we celebrate Groundhog Day? The history might surprise you! This no-prep activity is perfect for sneaking in a little history and reading comprehension.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This was a great reading activity to practice with working on reading comprehension. I like to use materials that are related to holidays in order to help the students gain a better understanding and it seems more real to them."

Need a hallway display for February? This groundhog craft incorporates reading comprehension with science as students learn about how light travels. My favorite part is when students glue a mini groundhog to the hat to illustrate how shadows are formed!

FREEBIE ALERT! This Groundhog Day freebie incorporates analyzing data and making predictions. Just how often is Phil correct with his predictions, anyways? Check out the data on this freebie to find out!

You can click here to grab the free resource.

Lunar New Year (February 10)

Do you teach about holidays around the world? Lunar New Year is a great way to teach students about a different culture while sneaking in some science!

In this project, students read about the history of the Lunar New Year and how it connects to the phases of the moon. Then, they create a Chinese lantern that shares all of their findings, including a diagram that shows each moon phase! This resource also includes a color-by-code activity with reading comprehension questions.

Valentine's Day (February 14)

Love is in the air, and so is learning! Check out these resources to level up your lessons in a way your students will love.

Chocolate, anyone? This science project combines reading and science all about chocolate! From the history of inventions that made chocolate what it is today to changing states of matter, your students will learn all about this delicious Valentine's Day treat (and make a pretty cool hallway display!).

A Valentine's Day bestseller, this reading comprehension passage with a timeline and color-by-code activity will teach your students about the iconic heart candy that they know and love!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "My students enjoyed learning about this holiday in a unique way. The kids have always had this candy so they were intrigued since the passage was relatable."

Leap Day (February 29)

You only have a chance to celebrate it once every four years, so your students will be instantly engaged! 

This escape room incorporates the history of Leap Day, the science behind why we need to add an extra day to our calendar every four years, and math related to this special day. Students answer the comprehension questions to crack the secret codes. At the end, they color a color-by-code activity!

February Writing Centers

Looking for a quick new warm-up routine or a center activity that will actually engage your reluctant writers? You need these writing activities!

"We do a prompt a day and the kids love to answer and talk about it with their peers. They find it very engaging and are willing to do some writing!"

There's just something about a daily fun fact that gets students excited about writing! Try out the February prompts for this day in history. (If you're looking for tips to start this new routine in your classroom, check out this blog post about quick writes!)

If you need to fit a little social-emotional learning into your daily lessons, these daily journal prompts and check-ins are a great way to do it. The month of February focuses on building and reflecting on honesty.

No matter what subject you teach, there are lots of ways to incorporate a little February fun into your classroom! I hope you enjoy these resources and that they bring a little brightness to the February gloom.