Building Community Primary
Topics and activities that assist with building community in the primary classroom:
Class Meetings
Class meetings allow students the opportunity to share ideas, give feedback, and have input into class activities and classroom culture. It is also
Daily Greetings
Your first interaction with your students is your chance to gauge mood, help them reset if needed, make a connection, and positively start off your day together.
Size of the Problem
Introducing “Size of Problem” is important in helping primary students to problem solve independently and strengthen social skills.
Apologizing
Primary students must learn to offer sincere apologies to others through direct teaching and modeling.
Diversity
Students explore the concept of diversity (traditions and celebrations in various families and communities).
Good Manners
Good manners are a fundamental building block when establishing a positive classroom community.
Me in My Local Community
Students explore the people and places in their local community and consider their own role in that community.
Loose Parts Play
Giving students the time and space to experiment and build with large loose parts has many benefits, including strengthening connections between students.
Don't Laugh At Me Curriculum
With music and other integrated arts activities included in each lesson, and grade level specific modifications, Don’t Laugh at Me engages students in experiences and learning through four cornerstone themes that build essential skills for reducing bullying and conflict, establishing a peaceful, supportive learning environment, and engaging young people in active participation in their community.
Daring Classrooms (K-5)
“We must be guardians of spaces that allow students to breathe, be curious, and to explore the world and be who they are without suffocation. They deserve one place where they can rumble with vulnerability and their hearts can exhale. We should never underestimate the benefit to a child of having a place to belong—even one—where they can take off their armour. It can and often does change the trajectory of their life.”
This is a link to Brene Brown’s K-5 classroom integration plans.