The final lesson in the First Days of School series focuses on how to build a classroom community where all class members can feel safe, heard, and valued. The resource includes step-by-step directions for engaging pupils in developing...

Wouldn't it be lovely if we all had a space where we were seen, heard, and valued? As part of creating a safe, respectful classroom community, participants envision such a space and then generate a classroom contract that will establish...

Scholars continue their exploration of the concept of community by first completing an anticipation guide and then engaging in a Four Corners activity to share their responses. They analyze an essay in which the author defines community...

In the post-pandemic classroom, it's more important than ever to begin the school year by building a strong sense of trust and community. Using the Make Meaning and Big Paper teaching techniques, groups develop a definition of community...

Here's a great way to build community during the first days of the new school year. Participants read personal narratives, then craft and share their stories with others.

If you could frame something important to you, what would it be, where would you hang it, and why would you choose this particular thing to frame? These questions launch a lesson designed to help class members get to know each other....

Names come with all sorts of nuances and can influence how we see ourselves and how others see us. To gain insight into the power of names, class members journal about their names and then read a short essay about a girl and her feelings...

Many of us have multiple identities. There's who we are at home, school, friends, and strangers. And often these identities come with different names. The third activity in the First Days of School series examines how names reflect...

Rumpelstiltskin understood the power of names. The second lesson in the First Days of School series focuses on building community by recognizing the importance of the relationships among names, identities, and cultures. Learners engage...

Masks, a pandemic, remote learning, and isolation; scholars reflect on the past school year and consider what positive things they would like to see continued in the current school year and what negative things they would like to...

Build a strong classroom community with a closing routine that asks each participant to share something they appreciate about their classmate(s), issue an apology if they may have hurt someone's feelings or an "aha" moment when they...

What does it take to make a town run smoothly each and every day? Scholars create their own Biztown with hands-on interactive activities. Using games, demonstrations, and decision-making skills, they learn what resources they need for a...

Take the time to teach learners with moderate disabilities how to identify recyclable materials. They learn how to recycle as a mode of social responsibility and community involvement. They practice identifying and sorting recyclable...

Your class may be active in the community, but what about showing appreciation for what others do? Turn the tables with this fun idea as learners celebrate those who have worked to make their campus better. They discuss the ways in which...

Students identify the characteristics of a community. In this Seedfolks literature study lesson, the second in a unit, the teacher finishes reading the class Seedfolks and students answer comprehension questions and examine how...

First graders go on an in-school scavenger hunt to get to know the many kinds of people that make up an elementary school community. They work in small groups and use digital cameras to take pictures of the workers they find.

Students present persuasive speeches about philanthropy.  In this persuasive speech instructional activity, students create speeches to encourage younger children to become involved in their communities.  Students use...

Students participate in a folk dance presentation. In this multi-cultural lesson, students and their families work together to learn and perform folk dances at a school sponsored festival. The teacher acts as facilitator, working with...

MAAP lessons, developed at Teachers College, Columbia University, help teachers at all levels engage in content through stories about building community, resisting slavery, and contributing to New York City's development. Lessons are...