Building a positive classroom community is essential for managing your classroom. Students need to know that they belong, are safe, and are loved before you can try to teach any content. If you feel pressured to dive right into teaching content, you’re not alone! But don’t worry, there are easy ways that you can work on building your classroom community each morning.
1. Greeting your students at the door
There will always be that “one more thing” that you need to do, but it’s so important that you say good morning to each of your students every morning. For some students, you are the first caring adult that they’ve seen all morning. It makes all of the difference that you take a moment to say hello.
My students have lockers in the hallway, so I like to stand in my doorway as they unpack. As each student walks into the classroom, they choose a greeting from the menu that’s hanging on our classroom door. I say good morning to each one of them as they enter the room.
2. Sitting and playing with students during morning bins
Once students are in the classroom, there are a million things to do- take attendance, hand out breakfast, collect notes. The list can go on and on. Once all of my tasks are done, I go around the room and sit with a few students while they’re working in their morning bins. We might chat for a bit, or just sit and play together. Either way, we are building our relationship and I’m sending them the message that they matter.
3. Holding a morning meeting
Morning Meeting is an easy and fun way to help create classroom community and teach social skills. Using the 4 parts: the greeting, the activity, the share, and the message, morning meeting combines social, emotional, and intellectual learning. Students learn to greet one another, listen to one another, and work together which creates an amazing sense of belonging.
Are you ready to build an amazing community in your classroom? Check out these morning meeting questions that will help you and your students get to know one another while celebrating their similarities and differences!
