In my classroom, a community is where my students all feel connected to each other through one way or another. Through this community, students will feel sake to take risks, express themselves, and truly engage in their own learning process. As stated in my classroom philosophy, my two greatest goals are that my students are growing as good people and that they are actively wanting to learn. When my classroom has a successful community, these two goals are made much easier. Here are 10 different ways I begin building a community within my classroom:
What I believe to be the most important tool in creating a classroom community is the morning meeting. Morning meeting sets the tone for the day with an environment of trust, respect, and belonging.
Morning Meeting establishes a routine that students can rely on every day when they come to school. This gives students an opportunity to check-in and share with other students, helping again to build that classroom community. Here is the format for a successful, community-building morning meeting:
1. Greeting
2. Share
3. Activity/Game
4. Daily Announcements
5. Closing Message
Student of the Week is a way for every student to learn more about their classmates. At the beginning of the year, students will be scheduled a week that is dedicated to them. During this week, students will give a presentation about themselves, allowing them to share any fun facts or general information they want to share with the class! This also benefits students in allowing them experience in presenting to others.
Another way I like to build a classroom community is by utilizing what I call the "Thankful Tip Jar". The Thankful Tip Jar is a little cup or jar where students can place notes in throughout the week. These notes shout-out someone that they are thankful for along with a short reason for why. At the end of the week, I pick an assortment of shout-outs from the class to read-aloud. This helps students celebrate eachothers successes and feel good about their classmates!
On every student's birthday, they will recieve a Birthday Book. This birthday book contains a drawing/letter from every other student wishing them a happy birthday! These are such a great way to hype up a student on their birthday and allow them to feel truly special. These also benefit as a great keepsake to look back on in future years!
Class jobs help students foster responsibility and teamwork. These jobs can range from distributing materials, taking attendance, or being the "line leader" to more specific roles like organizing books or watering plants. Students feel a sense of ownership and pride in their classroom, which helps build a community atmosphere where everyone contributes to maintaining a positive environment.
The students will collaborate to create a list of classroom agreements or norms. These include how to treat each other, how to speak respectfully, and how to share responsibilities. Involving students in creating their own rules leads to ownership and accountability for maintaining a positive classroom atmosphere.
In my class, I highly value group discussion. This can either be in the form of small group turn-and-talks, or in whole-class discussions. This promotes active listening, speaking skills, and gives everyone an equal opportunity to contribute to the conversation, fostering respect and understanding.
Students write down their hopes, dreams, or goals for the year on a piece of paper. They can also add small items that represent themselves. Then I put away the time capsule and plan to open it at the end of the school year (another option is when they graduate high school!). The time capsule encourages reflection on individual and group growth, and the anticipation of opening it helps build excitement and a sense of shared experience.
The class can decide on a goal together, such as extra recess, pajama day, board game party, etc. Once they have decided on a goal, they are able to work towards it. Every time they have an overall good day, they are able to add a star to the goal jar. Once the goal jar is full, they will get their chosen goal!
One fun way I like to get students motivated to be kind and create a community is through what I call "Daily Quests" Every day I will put a new quest on the whiteboard. Some examples are "Daily Quest: Hold the door for 5 people" or "Daily Quest: Give 3 meaningful compliments". This gets students motivated each day to complete their new quest and be a good person!