Community Building

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.

Students work in small groups to create a group "machine."

Students discuss their own experiences of helping others, then view and discuss a brief video about Japanese children who are working together to help their community in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami.

This fun activity is a good one to use at the beginning of a course. It's a quick way for students to connect with one another and overcome shyness.