Student Inventory Forms for Interests Learning Styles


I love using student interest inventories at the beginning of each new school year! Student inventories are essential tools that provide valuable insights into students' thoughts about school, interests, strengths, and needs. As teachers, we can tailor our instruction to help our students succeed by utilizing student interests and strengths, creating more engaging lessons, and providing targeted support, ultimately fostering a more personalized and effective learning environment. 


Inventory pages are easy to use and the perfect way to kick off the new school year! I use different inventories throughout the first week of school and consider them an essential component of my back to school teacher survival kit!


What is a student inventory?

Student inventories are activity pages for teachers to give students to better understand students' interests, strengths, and needs. These inventories can include surveys or questionnaires that gather information on students' thoughts about different school-related topics, learning styles, favorite subjects, hobbies, and extracurricular activities. 


Why use student inventory sheets?

By using student inventories, teachers can tailor their instruction to meet the diverse needs of their classroom, create more engaging and relevant lessons, and build stronger relationships with their students. All of these are critical for creating a strong community of learners! 


Here are 4 reasons you should be using student inventories in your classroom!


1. Understand Individual Learning Styles and Preferences




✅Tailored Instruction: By identifying how each student learns best (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), teachers can adapt their teaching methods to better suit individual needs, increasing the likelihood of student success.

Personalized Support: Knowing students' preferences allows teachers to provide more personalized support and resources, helping students feel more comfortable and engaged in the learning process.



2. Build Stronger Relationships



✅Creating Connections: Student inventories help teachers learn about students' interests, hobbies, and backgrounds, fostering stronger connections and a sense of community in the classroom.

✅ Enhancing Classroom Environment: Understanding students on a personal level can lead to a more positive and inclusive and positive classroom environment where students feel valued and understood.



3. Identify Strengths and Areas for Growth


✅ Learning Styles: Early identification of students' learning styles allows teachers to implement targeted activities and approaches right from the start of the school year.

✅ Academic Goals: Teachers can help students set personal academic learning goals based on their strengths and areas for improvement, promoting a growth mindset and encouraging continuous progress throughout the school year. This is why using academic inventories is so important!



4. Compile Data

One year, during parent-teacher conferences, a parent asked me what learning style their child had. I am unsure if they were trying to catch me off guard or were genuinely interested in knowing, but either way, I had my pile of student-completed learning style forms that I pulled out and let them know immediately. The parents were so impressed, and I was so happy to have been prepared!

After I interview each student at the beginning of the year and have the students complete learning style forms, I take out a class list to write which learning style strength each student has. Most people have more than one learning style, but I focus on which one style came through most from the questionnaires. I keep the class list with each student's learning style in my plan books so that it is handy when I plan activity lessons or attend student-specific meetings.


Try these free quick questionnaires to get to know your students!


Teacher Tip!

Do you love to do things digitally? 

Try this free and easy-to-use student learning style quiz. Before using a new website, be sure to get your school or district's permission. Kindly note: I am not affiliated with this site, but have used this with my kids. Once students answer a few questions, the site will let them know their learning style. Have the kids leave up that page so that you can walk around with a class list and write down which style each child was given as their strength.  This will support the forms that the kids fill out.

Make this the year that you start using student inventories! They will help you get to know your students, create an environment for success for each student, and are professional to have on hand for your next meeting. Have a great school year!







                   LOVE these ideas? Pin to save!



*affiliate links: “Think Grow Giggle is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.” (source: Section 5)




signature
Back to Top