Helping students become a classroom family is a challenge under “normal” conditions. How does one accomplish this during a pandemic and using Zoom or masks? This is what we devoted our curated resources to this month.
Early Childhood PBL Resource
In this project, children will collaborate to create an E-book, print book or website that helps them learn about one another so that they can begin to create a strong classroom community despite physical distance. Children will first learn what “community” means and then explore their role in their own communities, sharing a bit about themselves, their families, and their homes. They will learn mapping skills by creating maps of favorite rooms in their homes. They will also learn about non-fiction texts to learn how to write and create their content. Children will then bring all of these elements together into one public product (a website or book) that will be collected and shared with their classmates and families at a Book/Website Launch party! This project can be adapted for in-person, distance, or hybrid models.
Before You Build A Community You Have to Know What It Is
Teaching Tolerance created this lesson plan for K-2 students to identify people and places that make their own neighborhoods special. Extension activities explore science elements raised in the story.
Five-Minute Chats
This guide outlines “5 minute chats,” student-teacher conversations to build relationships. Have any of you done (or plan to do) something like this to build relationships with students?
How to Help Get Students Used to Masks
In many places, students returning to school buildings will be required to wear masks. These strategies can help elementary students adjust.
FFT Curated Resources For You
Building relationships with our students is job #1 — a big job in a normal year. Let’s build a really great bank of virtual energizers to build relationships. Check out this resource we’ve curated and share yours below!
Ice Breakers That Rock!
What kinds of icebreakers do you use to help your students get to know each other? CultofPedagogy shared these Icebreakers that Rock! Starting remote? Use the directions below to adapt them.
FFT Fellows: Lessons in Leadership
Many won’t be welcoming students back to school in the traditional way this year. How could you use older students to help you build community and create belonging like these Fellows did?
How Culturally Relevant Teaching Can Build Relationships While Students Are Home
One of our 2020 Fellows, Anthony Voulgarides, asked his students to write a shared journal about their pandemic experience last spring. What a great tool to build relationships and learn about each other! We can’t wait to see how he uses his 2020 Fellowship to transform teaching and learning in his classroom. Next summer, he will explore common political, cultural, and literary themes in Chile & Uruguay to leverage students’ bilingualism and culture as a primary asset
How to Build Community and Connection in a Pandemic
Transcend Education fuels R&D in school design and recently shared these ideas for building (virtual) community, relationships & supporting well-being.
How to Create Community in a Virtual Classroom
This Edutopia article suggests that by establishing routines that address the challenges of online learning, teachers can help students in grades 3 to 8 feel a sense of belonging.
How to Create Community in a Virtual Classroom
Getting to know students is more challenging than ever when it’s over Zoom, but it’s arguably one of the most important things you can do. Here’s a strategy to consider…
Activities for a Remote or Hybrid Start
Facing History has put together some resources to build community with a hybrid or remote start.
Can I Ask You A Question?
Student surveys are a great way to get to know your students. Here is a free one offered by the Harvard School of Graduate Education.
Starting School = Relationships > Content
For a #FellowFriday, we turned to the teaching team who used their grant to learn strategies for creating classroom environments that help each child achieve. On today’s blog, these teachers from Cicero, NY, share multiple strategies they learned and have applied at Gillette Road Middle School to help you do the same.