First of all, what is classroom community?
A strong classroom community means that students feel like they belong and their classroom is a positive place for them. Students often come to school to be heard and loved. A strong classroom culture accepts students and helps solve problems so that students can learn.
Try these 7 strategies to build classroom community:
- Daily classroom meeting-A morning meeting builds classroom community. The meeting can be anytime throughout the day. The vital components are a gathering signal (a song or chant), greeting, sharing, uniting activity, and a personal promise. Need more details? Grab this resource here
- Movement breaks-Take time to have students move their bodies. You can use an online resource such as GO NOODLE or just do Simon Sez or everyone do 5 jumping jacks before sitting down to work. Let students choose an activity-providing students with a choice is another way to help students feel connected.
- Sharing-provide opportunities for students to share their thoughts, ideas and opinions. This builds classroom community- Read more about it here.
- Games-There are many different games to play with your students to review content or just for fun! Here’s a list of 10 games and activities to play with your class!
- Kindness habit-Share a favorite book about kindness–Charlie the Caterpillar is my favorite. Make a habit for students to notice kind acts in their classmates. Create a chart to record the acts of kindness.
- Goal setting-When students set goals they feel empowered and can celebrate their success in accomplishing their goals. Read more about it here!
- Think about students’ interests- Finally in building classroom community-take students’ in mind. Maybe you can incorporate a student’s passion about flowers by planting seeds. Maybe you can ask a student’s family member to come into the classroom to share an area of expertise.
