Building Relationships at the Beginning of the School Year -

“Back to School” season can be such an exciting time for students and teachers! Although it is a very exciting time of year, it can also be stressful to think about all of the things you need to do as a teacher to get the year started off right. When I’m planning for back to school, I try to prioritize what’s most important—building relationships.

Importance of Building Relationships

Your classroom is a community of learners, and a huge part of a community is relationships. Students naturally want to talk to each other and get to know each other, so why not let them?

Building relationships with and among students at the beginning of the year:

Makes all students feel included
Decreases behavior issues
Allows students to feel comfortable making mistakes

Spending time on relationships is important ALL year long, but the beginning of the school year is the best time to start.

How to Build Relationships at the Beginning of the Year

When you think about building relationships, a lot of non-academic activities might pop into your brain. There are tons of non-academic activities out there that are great, but thinking that those are the only activities means you might put building relationships on the back burner. Don’t worry, you can combine academics and relationship building!

At the beginning of the year, I plan many activities with the goal of building relationships, which include:

Allowing students to establish class and group norms
Practicing appropriate math talk in groups and partners
Giving students plenty of collaborative activities to practice working together

Easy Collaborative Activities

My favorite activities that encourage collaboration are Back to School Math Escape Rooms and Back to School Math Riddles.

This escape room activity allows students to practice a math concept from the previous year, but also gives them a chance to work together! Students must collaborate to solve the escape room clues and they love it!

This escape room comes in 4 versions, making it perfect for multiple grade levels! Get your hands on your escape room here:

Another activity to get students working together and building relationships with each other are these fun Back to School Math Riddles! Who doesn’t love a cheesy riddle?

Simply put students in pairs and watch the magic happen! These riddles come in 3 versions: