On my campus, all of our teachers are teaching both online (to remote students) and face-to-face (with students physically in the classroom) simultaneously. We are working hard to keep relationship building and a strong classroom culture a top priority – especially since about half of the students in each class will be learning from home. One common idea for helping students connect to each other is asking them to answer some get to know you questions and then spotlighting one student per week or per day until all students have shared. Traditionally, at schools across the world, this has been done by cutting and gluing pictures onto poster board. In an effort to keep passing of papers at a minimum and to level the playing field with an assignment that students can complete online or can be printed and completed with paper and pencil, I created a Student Spotlight template!

I started by creating this template. All of the images and words you see are in the Slide Master (which cannot be edited accidentally by students while working on the slide) with text boxes placed on top that students can click on to fill in their answers. Teachers – you can go to View, Master if there is something you’d like to edit about the slide master to make it more personalized to fit your class’s needs.

I realized that there is a LOT to print (all those grey patterns in the background), so in an effort to help those that might choose to print for students to complete with pen or pencil on paper, I created another version with a little more white and a little less ink:

I admit that my design aesthetic and prompts are very elementary — I am an elementary person! So I also included a VERY simple and more open-ended version for any secondary people out there (although, I think you’d be surprised how much even a senior in high school might like the prompts above when they are nervous about what to share with a new class…).

Any of these templates work for you?? GRAB YOUR COPY OF THESE TEMPLATES AT THIS LINK. All of these templates can be completed by students online OR printed (they are all on 8.5 x 11 inch slides) to fill an entire sheet of paper. Feel free to go to View, Master, to completely edit all parts for your needs!

I would encourage you to tell students these talking points are just their starting point as they share about themselves. Encourage them to share more about that favorite memory or favorite thing they listed, but remember not to push – let them have the safety net of reading off their answers if they need it.

How are you planning to spotlight students and help them connect and bond as a class? I’d love to know your ideas! Please share in the comments!