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Filtering by Category: Building Community
Are you looking for a way to build your school community and get parents excited about school? Holding evening music concerts for each grade level encourages parents to become involved in school.
I am currently teaching 2 separate classrooms and a group of online students during the same class period--57 students total! I am doing this by creating a curated list of activities based on the topic we are studying. I create a document with a table listing the activity title, a description, a section for notes, and a column for the students to mark it as completed. The first item on the playlist is always a video I have created listing the expectations for the list, including the days the students have to complete the list. The playlist is broken up with daily checkpoints, and I include videos I have created, videos from Youtube, Google Forms surveys/quizzes, guided notes pages, Padlet, and Nearpod activities.
Submitted by: Julie Thibodeaux, Madison Park Middle School, Phoenix, AZ.
Class Dojo allows you to communicate directly with parents and provide immediate feedback on student's behavior, academic success, and class information. This tool also features a translation option to help communicate with parents that do not speak English.
Desk Drumming helps maintain a strong, solid 'classroom family' bond with high levels of engagement and helps with transitions. My students can be anywhere (home, school, office, car, etc) and join in.
Submitted By: Jules Nolte, Belen Soto Elementary School, Litchfield Elementary School District
Video check-ins can be used to provide students with feedback, direct instruction, grade information, and to develop relationships. Try using a video check-in with your students.
Submitted by: Eddie Aranda, PXU Digital Academy, Phoenix Union High School District
Padlet is an amazing resource that can be adapted to fit any grade level, need, either in-person or online. Padlet is a collaborate multi-functional bulletin board which allows teachers to post discussions and provide feedback to students.
Submitted By: Jaime Hansen, Canyon Springs STEM Academy, Deer Valley Unifited School District
The Playworks staff has found, created, and sorted hundreds of games that will get kids off the sidelines and having fun. Whether you are looking for games that will keep kids active for a full recess period or just want to do a few minutes of ice breakers before an activity, there’s a game here for your needs.
Question of the day is strategy where a question is posed to students before or after lessons each day. The question is typically general and should be easy enough so that every student can answer it and contribute to the conversation.
Submitted by: Lina Munoz, Porfirio H Gonzalez Elementary School, Tolleson Elementary School District
Implicit bias refers to the unconscious attitudes that shape our responses to groups especially around race, class, gender, and language.
Roles in virtual small groups look slightly different than roles in-person. In a virtual setting, I will assign one student to share his or her screen while working in a small group. This ensures that every student is ‘on the same page.
Submitted by: Kristine Perrea, Central High School, Phoenix Union High School District
TNTP has put together numerous guides to support schools while they provide remote instruction as well as the transition back to the physical classroom. This particular piece includes eight tips for engaging families virtually. These suggestions can be applied by anyone at the district level administration down to the classroom teacher. Tips include methods which “meet families where they are” to better support community feedback and ways to support English Language Learners and students with IEPs.
Bitmoji is a fun and engaging way to build community in the classroom. These customizable, mini-me avatars can be used for everything from setting norms to creating entire virtual classrooms and learning hubs to facilitating at home recess or maker spaces.
You’ve created your own Bitmoji Classroom so that your students get to know your personality, but what about them? Lauren Vining with “Teach the World” created this “Design Your Own Virtual Locker” template so that students have their own space to decorate and share. Students can either present their lockers virtually or write a short summary. Teach the World also offers free virtual classrooms with international themes and other teaching resources.
Lunch buddies is an opportunity for teachers to build community in their classrooms and provide students with a structured time for socialization.
