Module 6: Getting Started with Family Engagement

When first beginning to think about family engagement, consider what you want your students to know about you and what you would like to learn from your students’ families. Learning more about each other is a great way to build relationships and a sense of community in the classroom. This can be accomplished by ice breakers, games, and interviews so as to incorporate family elements within lessons and learning (e.g., important foods or holidays that families enjoy together). Another way to do this is to create a handout to provide to the families at the beginning of the year.  Explore the templates and examples below, and then in your Toolkit, you will develop one for your own classroom. Ask your students and their families to complete the corresponding pages to learn more about each student. As you are working, ask yourself: What is important for students to know about me? and What is important for me to learn about my students?