Community Building
Students consider the leadership of Nelson Mandela by reading and discussing quotes about and by him.
Students think about how to create a kind, caring classroom using an interactive poem and a drawing activity.
An introductory circle invites participants to consider values that are important to them and the group.
Students reflect on the school year through a guided visualization, Circle, and community-building activity.
Circles use a highly structured process to create a safe space where people can share their feelings and experiences. Since 2011, Morningside Center has partnered with the NYC Department of Education to introduce circles into schools around New York City. Here, Morningside Center trainer Marieke van...
Students discuss Dr. King’s views about alliance-building; consider these in light of Obama’s inauguration; learn about the alliance-building work of Ai-jen Poo, founder of Domestic Workers United; and think about things in their own lives that they might want to build alliances to change.
This activity aims to help your class get the school year off to a good start. Students share their names and a high point of their summer; learn a little about their similarities and differences; and begin considering what kind of community they want to create in their classroom.
In the wake of the NY Giants' Super Bowl victory, this lesson contrasts the Giants' style of coaching and leading with that of the Jets, a team the Giants recently defeated. In the process, students consider: What makes a leader effective? What does it take to foster teamwork?
These two classroom practices give your students time and space to reflect on and discuss their thoughts and feelings.
An experienced classroom teacher offers two 10-minute activities she has found useful in building community in her classroom, particularly at the start of the school year.