One of the biggest tasks we have as teachers is building a safe classroom community. Starting on the first day of school, we build classroom and community rules, talk about what it means to be a good friend/classmate, and discuss ways for our students to address conflict or disagreements. Part of building our classroom community entails building a sense of belonging for all community members. This free classroom community lesson kit, created in partnership with our friends at the Kids Mental Health Foundation and available in English and Spanish, is a great tool to help guide your discussion of belonging. Just fill out the form on this page to get your copy.
Here’s what’s included in the Building Classroom Community Lesson Kit, available in English and Spanish:
For grades K-4, check out the resource “Everybody’s Different, I’m Glad I’m Me.”
In this lesson kit, you will find the activity “The Rainbow Colors of Me.” This activity will help guide your students to think about what makes them unique. The rainbow worksheet will help guide students to think about both physical characteristics as well as interests and abilities. It will also help students explore what qualities/interests they share with their peers, thus fostering a sense of belonging. You will also find a family letter to help guide your students’ families to understand the importance of supporting children’s development of sense of self, self-confidence, and belonging and bridging this support between both home and school environments.
For grades 5-8, check out the resource “What I Need To Feel Like I Belong.”
In this lesson kit, you will find the activity “All About Me.” This activity will help guide students to think about their traits and characteristics that make them unique. Coming together for a group discussion, you can guide your students to think about how the classroom community would not be the same if one of them were missing because their unique contributions to the classroom would be missing. This activity can help highlight the importance of celebrating each student’s unique qualities and ensuring the classroom is an emotionally and psychologically safe environment for students to be themselves. The accompanying family letter can further reinforce how families can help students build empathy and compassion for themselves and their peers.
Creating a sense of belonging and community in the classroom contributes to fostering the overall social-emotional and mental health of students. These are essential to ensuring that students are in the optimal environment for learning and engagement in academic activities. We hope you find these free resources helpful in supporting your students and their families.
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