Student Engagement Guide

Welcoming Your Students  

• You set the tone for your class in the welcoming message. Make your message warm, welcoming, and enthusiastic.  
• Share a little bit about your background, your passion for the subject, and a fun fact. You want to make yourself sound approachable to your students.   
• Give your students a high-level overview of the course. Why will learning this content matter?   
• Consider including a short video welcome message for your students. This adds a personal touch and can give students a feeling of friendliness.  
• On the first day, have introductions and/or consider using icebreakers.   

Example Ice Breakers

Two Truths and a Lie

This is a team-building activity in which students share three "facts" about themselves. Two are truths and one is a lie. The others in the group try to guess which one is a lie. 

Instructions

1. Explain to the group that this is designed to get to know each other. 
2. Break students up into 2 groups. 
3. Distribute note cards or paper to every member of the group (or have students use their own paper. 
4. Give everyone 3-5 minutes to write three statements about themselves: two which are true and one which is false.  
5. PG13 rules apply; they can write nothing overtly sexual, racist, or otherwise offensive 
6. Each person introduces themselves, then reads their card.  
7. The opposite team talk amongst themselves and then make one guess.  
8. The team with the most correct guesses by the end of the game wins. The correct team gets the card of the person they guessed correct. This makes it easier to count the correct guesses in the end. 
9. The prize can be anything. Bragging rights are free. Maybe, the losers wash the dishes, or the winners get to leave class 10 minutes early. Get creative and have fun! 

Choose 1 - Conversation Starter Icebreaker

• This is a fun and easy way to get to know each other on the first day of class, and you don’t need any materials. That's why I like it. I have even done this with an online poll where students can see the results on the screen. Sometimes, I use PowerPoints with images, if I want to fancy.
• Frequently, I used this with Star Wars, Star Trek, or Star Gate. It just depends on the students, the class, and your chosen theme. I taught at a tech school, where most students were gamers and loved science fiction.
• You can choose any three that are related…the more controversial the better. Students love to discuss why they made their choices.

Instructions:

1. Post/list the three choices (use whatever you prefer-just give 3 choices that are related).
2. Give the students 1-2 minutes to think about their choice and reasoning.
3. Go around the class and ask students to share their choice and why (briefly).

Examples:

• McDonalds, Burger King, Whataburger (example)
• Baked, Boiled, or Fried
• 3 funny movies that are popular
• American History, European History, World History
• Vanilla, Chocolate, or Strawberry Ice Cream