During the back-to-school week, it is important to think about the head, heart, and hands. In other words, it is important to immediately get your students thinking, building relationships, and moving. Building a positive classroom community culture from the start can set the tone for a successful school year for both students and teachers. Today, I am sharing practical tools to begin fostering this positive learning space.
A Positive Classroom Community Culture = A Safe Emotional and Cognitive Space
Building a positive classroom community culture is important to create a safe emotional and cognitive space for learning. With young children, literature is a great teaching tool and provides a way to establish a calm and comforting environment. Check out books such as It Will Be Okay by Lysa TerKeurst and Natalia Moore, and Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller. These books help address ideas kids may already have in their minds but may not know how to articulate.
Children also feel safe when they know the expectations. Create an anchor chart that acts as a visual picture of what a great classroom looks, feels, and sounds like. In her blog (here’s the link https://proudtobeprimary.com/classroom-expectations/ ), Elyse Rycroft explains step-by-step how to develop a classroom contract using an anchor chart the students help create. For the Christian school classroom, it would be appropriate to use scripture to establish the feelings, sounds, and sights of a great classroom.
Classroom Scavenger Hunts
For upper elementary and middle school students, try using classroom scavenger hunts, or classmate bingo activities to foster relationships. These activities get the kids moving around while talking with each other. Scavenger hunts can be designed to not only discover the traits of classmates but also discover important features of the classroom, and school.
Tips for a Successful Classroom Scavenger Hunt
- First create a list of locations students will need to know about in the school, or equipment and learning stations that will be needed for various subjects and learning activities throughout the year.
- Using either a printed list with directions or an app designed for scavenger hunts, partner students navigate through the list, taking photos or tokens from each location to verify their steps of the scavenger hunt.
Ideas for Elementary School Scavenger Hunts
- Good Housekeeping: Scavenger Hunts for Kids – A collection of 35 themed scavenger hunts for your inspiration (includes links for downloadables)
- We Are Teachers – A collection of 40 scavenger hunts made by teachers (also with free downloads)
Upper Grades Scavenger Hunts
For the upper grades, there are apps designed specifically for scavenger hunts. Using one of the following apps, you can create your own list of locations or items for students to find or learn about. As students search for the items or locations on the list, they use the app to take photos or answer questions related to the item or location. Two popular DIY scavenger hunt apps for team building with teens and adults include Scavify, and GooseChase.
Building a Positive Classroom Community Culture Must Be Intentional
Learning happens best when the school and classroom culture includes strong interpersonal relationships among students and a sense of security. Being intentional to foster positive relationships among your students is one important step. Clearly communicating the expectations, and familiarizing kids with their immediate surroundings is another step. Focusing on heart, the social emotional and affective aspects of students, first will positively influence learning in a big way.
Blessings to you as we all step into the 2024-25 school year.
Want to learn more about building a positive classroom community culture and biblical teaching strategies? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Transformed PD offers biblical professional development services and trains educators on best practices for biblical integration in the classroom. Contact us to learn more about partnering with your school.
