Back to school is always an exciting time! I love preparing my classroom for my new students, thinking about how to best meet their needs, and anticipating the fun we’re going to have. I loosely plan out what skills I want to hit, but I don’t lesson plan until I actually meet my kids!
In my first year of teaching, I had the (mis)guidance of the teacher I was taking over for. They instructed me to talk about the syllabus on the first day of school, teach lab safety on the second day, then jump right into content on the third day. Even though I planned out fun first-two-weeks activities in my credential/masters program and talked extensively about building relationships, I assumed this strong-willed teacher knew what was best. So, I did what they told me.
Boy, was I wrong. While I did end up getting to know my students eventually, the class cohesiveness wasn’t there from the start and behavior was sometimes a struggle.
The one thing I did do well was a getting to know you survey (on paper). I used that information to learn about my students’ backgrounds, and incorporate their interests into some of our examples from class.
Fast forward to the present: My biggest strength and emphasis as a teacher are building relationships, and making sure each and every student feels welcome in our class. It’s not always easy, and there are plenty of ups, downs, and mistakes–and also many moments of joy!
I have transitioned my Getting to Know You Survey (make a copy!) to Google Forms. Data collection is easier–and, I don’t have to decode handwriting.
This is the perfect first assignment on the Google Classroom set-up day. Students join the class, then immediately complete their first assignment.
The questions range from simple, such as birthday and interests, to more thought-provoking, such as “when I get mad, I …” I like having a mix, and seeing how my students choose to answer. For example, when I ask “What is something you are really good at?” not only am I asking for their strengths, but also I am checking for self confidence; when a student writes “nothing,” then I know I will need to intentionally search for areas of strength to share with them.
A hidden teacher agenda item in this activity: I can see who is able to focus on an independent and silent task for 10 minutes, and who needs constant refocusing.
After my students fill out the survey in class, I go through the response spreadsheet and highlight interesting and concerning responses. I make a note to follow up with students, bring up their interests in conversation, and share commonalities.
The getting to know you survey is one of the best parts of my first few weeks of school!
What types of questions do you ask in your getting to know you survey? Please share your favorites in the comments below!
Mari Venturino 
I ask if the have a job & if so where they work. It gives me some hint on their behavior in class (sleepy, etc.) and many work in food service. So if my husband & I go out to eat, I try to choose a place I know they work😀
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Thanks for sharing your questions.
I always like to know a bit about how they like their environment so I’ll often ask:
Do you prefer:
working alone
working with a partner
working in a small group
it doesn’t matter
it depends on the subject
it depends on the task
I also usually ask if they have any difficulty reading the projector screen from the back of the room (vision issues since some students can’t afford glasses)
and I also ask do you prefer to have silence or music playing while you are working independently?
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I usually ask students “Do you have a pet and what is their name? What is your favorite food and why?” Students are more apt to talk about things they like.
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Thank you so much for this! You saved me so much time today. I have so many tasks to accomplish before the students arrive on Tuesday that I sincerely appreciate the help.
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