Here are some goals I strive to accomplish with all my students in the first session:
1) Introduce all group members and establish some common interests or preferences,
2) Build relationships by learning new, personal information about both my returning and new students,
3) Build relationships by letting my students learn new information about me,
4) Discuss communication goals and why they are important,
5) Set personal goals for my students' academic and personal success,
6) Understand what my students are concerned about for the upcoming year.
That may seem like a lot to accomplish in one 20 to 30 minute session - especially when there are 3 or 4 students in a group! But in my opinion, there's nothing more important than starting the school year off on the right foot.
I start this process by beginning each year with a Communication Goal Setting Worksheet and Communication Contract, which you can find at my TPT store here:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Communication-Goal-Setting-Worksheet-for-SLPs-2747406
Students are given an opportunity to discuss their communication goal - I read a student-friendly version of the IEP goal/s to them. I encourage them to tell me what they think of the goal/s; do they think it will help? Does it seem too hard? Too easy? Do they have something else they would like to work on?
Next, I elicit a personal goal the student wants to achieve this year. Some real goals I have encountered have included: getting better grades, getting a job, making new friends, making a sports team, getting more subscribers for their YouTube channel, getting a girlfriend, getting a driver's license, and getting no detentions.
We then discuss how their communication and personal goals are related. Sometimes a lot of creativity has to be employed, but I always drive home the point of how working on their communication goal will help them attain their personal goal. For example...
- Will learning to take the perspective of others help you make more friends?
- Will developing your summarizing skills help you study for tests and get better grades?
- Will developing your explanation skills help you when you get in an argument with your parents?
- Will learning about stuttering reduce your anxiety and help you talk to the girl you like?
- Will becoming more understandable help you when you interview for a job?
If the student's communication goal cannot (even creatively) be applied to their personal goal, I highly suggest thinking about why they are working on that goal in the first place. If the goal is not meaningful to the student, then they have no incentive to actually work towards improvement!! Student buy-in is EVERYTHING.
After discussing goals, I have a space on the worksheet to identify strengths and weaknesses. Strength identification obviously helps me get to know my student, but sometimes it can tell you even more than that. For example, just last Monday I was working with a sophomore and two freshman with language delays in our first session.All three were unable to generate a single thing they were good at. I had to do some modeling and extreme prompting to finally draw out a single positive trait from each of these students. Next, of course, they all identified 3 - 4 classes and modalities (e.g. math, writing, reading, and science) that they anticipated would be troublesome this year.
What did that experience tell me?
I learned that this group consists of the type of students who are used to failing, being confused, and labeled as under-achieving students. They don't see themselves as smart, creative, or even good at non-academic tasks like sports or games. This activity informed me that with this particular group, I would really need to employ the "Oreo" strategy of sandwiching a hard task between two easier tasks in order to build their confidence. In contrast, for other groups where the students could easily list 5 things at which they excelled, the "Oreo" strategy may not be as important.
My last question on the worksheet asks the students to write down why improving their communication is important. This is one last way I try to drive home the point that what we cover during "communication improvement" (I hate using the word "speech" for what we do with high schoolers!) matters to them for a real, tangible reason. They don't just come to me because they "have to." Maybe they don't particularly enjoy practicing their auditory memory strategies, but at least they know why they're doing it!
After learning a lot about my students, I also like to include some fun facts about me in order to grow our relationship. I have a PowerPoint I created that lists some facts about me with the answers hidden underneath. The students guess the answers and some of them are surprised to learn we have some things in common, such as favorite TV shows, music, and video games! I also include a picture of myself when I graduated from high school because the kids seem to LOVE seeing teachers when they were their age. I always get a "That was YOU?!?" from at least one student in every group, it's great.
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The last part of the session consists of a contract that both the students and I sign. It outlines the guidelines that I want them to partake of in my room - I want them to do their best, have an open mind, know their goals, and recognize the important of good communication skills in their lives. I think this contract sets the mood for the year as well; my students are all 14 or older and they are starting to see themselves as adults. It's only fair that I start treating them as adults, too.
I encourage you to check out the worksheet and the contract combo for free at my TPT store here and modify it to your needs and the needs of your students! I hope your first week/s of school are off to a great start!
As always, it doesn't have to be fancy, just keep it fun and functional!
- Jillian, the No-Frills SLP
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