During the pandemic I found an even greater need to check-in with my students and make sure they were doing okay. Some students are willing to chat your ear off and tell you every detail of their life. Others not so much.
I knew I needed to do something. So I created a Google Form Check-In and every Monday morning I would give it to my students. At first I wasn’t sure how it would go but figured it was worth trying.
I have to say it went better than I could have ever imagined. EVERY single week I was learning new things about my students. The check-ins gave me topics to ask about or events to chat about. I felt like I was seeing my students in a whole new light.
What are digital check-ins?
I created Google Forms that I post to Google Classroom. Each check-in starts with emojis that ask students how they are feeling. I change up the emojis based on the month to be on theme. I always ask some would you rather questions, interest questions and then questions about their weekend or school. Each check-in is short with 5-7 questions total.
How often should I give a check-in?
I do them weekly. Every Monday they are my student’s do-now in History. They come in, sit down, go onto Google Classroom and fill out the check-in. After a couple weeks I don’t even need to remind them. You could do them monthly or biweekly is weekly feels like too much to you.
What are the benefits?
There are so many benefits, but I will list a few.
First and foremost these check-ins help build and foster relationships with your students. Students are most successful in school when they feel a connection with their student.
Another benefit is finding out how you students are doing in school. These allow you to check-in on progress and find out what students are struggling with it or enjoying.
These help support students social emotional learning (SEL). I tried to incorporate questions that would allow them to practice these skills while working on improving skills like confidence, perseverance and grit.
Increase student engagement and buy-in with these fabulous check-ins.
Monitor well-being of students and the class culture/environment.
I don’t have time to create these-what do I do?
I have you covered! I have created a year of check-ins to help you. I have included 5 check-ins per month. These are all Google Forms and completely editable. Check-out my yearly bundle and thank me later.
If you still aren’t sure, check out this freebie!
Still don’t believe me? Don’t worry. I have a Back to School Check-In freebie that you can download for free and witness the magic yourself.
