Creating a strong classroom community is essential in any educational setting. It fosters an environment of trust, collaboration, and understanding among students and teachers alike.
But how do you go about building this kind of community?
There are a lot of activities out there that can help bring together a class, but which ones work best? In this article, we’ll look at the top five classroom community building activities that you can try today.
1. Make Kindness Chains
Kindness chains can help create an atmosphere of compassion and unity. To start, have each student write a kind message on a piece of paper. These messages can be about anything from cheering someone up to complimenting someone on their hard work.
Once everyone has finished writing their message, connect all the pieces of paper together with tape or string to form a chain. Hang the chain somewhere in the classroom as a reminder for everyone to stay kind and respectful towards each other.
This activity helps teach students that even small acts of kindness can make a big difference in creating a supportive environment. It’s also great for teaching empathy, understanding different perspectives, and building relationships between classmates.
2. Get In A Circle And Share Compliments
This activity is an excellent way to build a supportive classroom community. It encourages students to be kind and supportive of each other by taking time to recognize their peers’ strengths and accomplishments.
To begin, have the students form a circle with their chairs. Once they are seated, ask them to take turns sharing compliments about another student in the group.
These compliments can be big or small – from something as simple as praising someone’s outfit or hairstyle, to more meaningful things like recognizing their hard work on a project or their academic achievements.
Encourage the students to really think about what makes each individual special and unique, so that their compliments are sincere and heartfelt.
This activity is not only great for building community in the classroom, it also helps boost self-confidence and encourage positive thinking among all members of the group.
Even if someone doesn’t receive a compliment directly, hearing other people’s kind words can help lighten the mood and brighten everyone’s day!
3. Play The Gratitude Game
Nurturing gratitude is an important part of any classroom. Building a sense of appreciation and thankfulness in the classroom can help foster a positive and supportive learning environment.
It may seem intimidating to play a game that involves expressing gratitude, but it’s actually quite simple and fun for everyone involved!
Here are some benefits of playing the gratitude game:
Improves emotional well-being.
Fosters empathy.
Encourages students to be mindful.
Helps build strong relationships between classmates.
To play the gratitude game, start by having each student take turns saying something they’re thankful for. It could be something related to school or life outside of school.
This exercise allows students to gain perspective on what they appreciate, as well as providing an opportunity for classmates to share meaningful experiences with each other.
The key is to create a safe space where everyone feels comfortable expressing themselves and listening without judgment or criticism.
When the activity is over, you’ll likely find that your classroom has become more connected than before – which can make all the difference when it comes to learning, collaboration, and problem-solving.
4. Use Note Cards To Share Fun Facts
Using note cards to share fun facts is a great way to get students to learn more about one another and foster a sense of connection and understanding. It’s simple – all you need are some blank index cards or scraps of paper and some writing utensils.
Ask each student to write down five fun facts about themselves on their cards. Once everyone has finished, have them pass their cards off to someone else in the class.
Each student should then take turns reading out loud the facts from the card they received, trying to guess who wrote it.
This activity is a great way for students to get to know each other better and build trust with each other. Plus, it can be a lot of fun too, as you may find out some surprising things.
Before wrapping up this activity, ask students what they learned from it, such as any new things they found out about their classmates or anything they realized about themselves.
This will help solidify what was learned through this exercise and give everyone something tangible to take away from it.
5. Work Together Toward A Reward
Working together toward a reward is an excellent way to build a classroom community. It encourages teamwork and collaboration, while providing a sense of accomplishment when the goal is achieved. Here are some ideas to get started:
Establish a goal that the class can work together to achieve.
Break down this goal into smaller tasks that each student can help with in order to reach the larger objective.
Once the goal is met, celebrate as a class with something special like a pizza party or extra recess time.
This type of task will help foster communication, cooperation, and problem-solving among students. It’s also very motivating for them because it gives them an end result that they can all be proud of.
Plus, it teaches them important life skills like working together to accomplish something bigger than oneself.
Ultimately, working together towards a reward helps create an environment in which everyone feels valued and appreciated for their contributions.
6. “Get To Know You” Balloons
This activity is great for any classroom and is a fun way to get students talking to one another.
It involves having each student write a short answer to a question on a balloon and then throwing the balloons around the room.
Each student will take turns catching a balloon, reading the answer, and then introducing themselves to the person who wrote it.
This helps break down barriers between students and encourages them to communicate with each other in an open and friendly manner.
The questions can be anything from “What do you like to do in your free time?” to “What are you hoping to accomplish this school year?” You can even ask each student their favorite color or food!
Depending on how much time you have, you can also encourage students to ask follow-up questions that relate back to the answers they read on the balloons.
This activity can help build relationships among students and create an environment of trust and respect within the classroom.
It also serves as an icebreaker for new students, allowing them to become comfortable with their new classmates quickly.
7. Play “Would You Rather…?”
Playing “Would you rather…?” is a great way to build community in the classroom. It’s an easy game to play and incredibly fun for the whole class.
To get started, the teacher should pose two questions that require students to pick one option or the other. For example, they might say, “Would you rather eat ice cream or cake?”
The students can then discuss their answers with each other and explain why they chose what they did.
This not only helps them learn more about each other, but also provides a platform for healthy debate and engaging conversation.
It encourages critical thinking and allows students to express themselves without feeling judged.
At the same time, it creates an enjoyable atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions.
In short, playing “Would you rather…?” is a great way to bring people together and create a strong sense of community in the classroom, and it’s a sure way to get students laughing and relaxed.
8. Give Your Students A Voice
Giving your students a voice can be an invaluable way to build community in the classroom.
By allowing them to share their ideas, feelings, and opinions openly and without judgment, you create an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.
This type of open dialogue encourages students to think critically, engage with one another, and learn from each other’s perspectives.
One great way to give your students a voice is through class discussions.
You can use these discussions as an opportunity for students to express their views on a particular topic or issue while simultaneously engaging in healthy debate with their peers.
Encourage students to listen respectfully and consider others’ points of view, even if they don’t agree with them.
It is also important that everyone feels comfortable speaking up without fear of being judged or criticized by their peers.
Another way to give your students a voice is through student-led activities such as debates, presentations, or group projects.
These activities give each student the chance to take ownership over part of the lesson and express their ideas in unique ways.
They also allow for collaboration among peers, which further fosters classroom community building.
Through these activities, you will be able to see how your students work together as a team and how they support each other when tackling difficult tasks.
Conclusion
Classroom community building activities are a great way to build trust, respect, and camaraderie among students.
Studies show that students who feel positively connected to their peers and teachers perform better academically than those who don’t. And it makes for a pleasant and enjoyable journey through the school years.
With so many fun and creative activities available, it’s easy to get your students involved in building their classroom community today.
Hi, my name is Helena Waters and I was a teacher for 40 years before retiring last year.
During my time as a teacher I dedicated the majority of it to making classrooms as fun as possible, with educational parties, fun activities, and low cost entertainment that made the children excited about learning.
I taught children of all ages, from preschoolers to high school students. Now, with the pandemic having uprooted everything that children once knew about school and learning, I think that the need for my ideas is bigger than ever.
That is why I created School Sparks, a place in which I can write down and share all of my ideas on how to get students excited about going to school again. I hope that you’ll find some useful within a school setting, even at home too!
