Community Building

This collection of light, fun activities invite you and your students to come together and enjoy each other’s company during these stressful times, and take a break from more serious classwork.

As schools and districts shift to online learning in response to the coronavirus, we educators need to create supportive and caring classroom communities in this new virtual environment. Here are ten tips for doing it.

It's helpful to create community guidelines for our online gatherings of staff - during the coronavirus pandemic, or at any time. Here are some sample guidelines from a recent online gathering of Morningside staff.

This online activity provides a supportive virtual space where students can connect and gather strength during the coronavirus pandemic.

This online activity provides a supportive virtual space where school staff can connect and gather strength to support our students during the coronavirus pandemic.

The poem Yes, by William Stafford, is a timely one to share with students and colleagues, either face to face or virtually. Here, a reading and suggestions for how to reflect together on the poem. 

Segue from the summer into the new school year by having students consider the summer's news, its impact on their communities, and what kind of impact they'd like to have in their communities.

How can we foster a classroom climate where every student feels supported - and where we can talk about the issues that are upsetting us? Here are some ideas.

During the last few weeks of school, we and our students often struggle to stay focused. And yet there is still work to be done. Try these steps to keep students engaged (and yourself sane) as summer approaches.

This is Tip 2 of our 3-part end-of-year care package. See Tip 1 and Tip 3. 

Students discuss Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul," listen to her recording of the song "Respect," and consider how to ensure that everyone is respected in the classroom.