How Can Teachers Create A Sense Of Community

All opinions are mine and mine alone.

How Can Teachers Create A Sense Of Community

A new school year begins. For every student, it is met with mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety. However, it can be a stressful time for students who have been homeschooled since the start of the pandemic. Indeed, some kids have not been physically in a classroom for the best part of 2 years. It is a huge amount of time for a young individual. They are likely to need to acclimate to the school environment again. Teachers will play a significant role in helping them get familiar with school routines and structures. Additionally, teachers can also ensure that these returning students will feel included in the classroom. Connecting with parents and fellow teachers can ensure you get to understand the challenges that students face in their day-to-day lives. Together, you can also come up with a strategy to smooth the transition process for students. Having a good relationship with other members of staff and parents can put you in a good position to tackle student-related challenges. How can teachers help formerly homeschooled kids to connect with others?  

By organizing team games

Games are not only fun, but they also help people to get to know each other. When you play games, you bond with other members of the team or other players around an activity that essentially creates a pleasurable sensation. It is a positive connection to share with others. So, if you have a few new students joining the class after a long homeschool break, you might want to set up gaming teams in the class and get everyone playing a ball game or a cornhole party outside. The teacher can even suggest investing in high quality custom cornhole bags that can be used every year to make new teams. Make it worthwhile by organizing a reward ceremony where all participant teams win a prize. 

By throwing a get-together party

Every new student faces a tricky time having to introduce themselves to the class. For older kids, there’s already plenty of interesting things to share, such as talking about their interests, their favorite subjects, etc. But for younger students, it can be stressful to talk to the class. The teacher can help by making the introduction on their behalf. You can explain the student’s situation and ask classmates to be helpful and welcoming. Alternatively, if the class has many returning students, it can be a good idea to plan an introduction game similar to speed dating where everyone wears a name tag.

By creating a class blog

A classroom blog is a great project that can get everyone involved. Similar to a school journal, the blog uses the digital medium to share news, discuss new ideas and events, and plan future projects. By giving every student a role, you can ensure that newcomers will instantly be part of the team. They can even write a short article about themselves, candidly discussing tips for people in the same position. Roles can be as varied as writer, researcher, photographer, website manager (the person who checks on layouts and can publish agreed articles), proofreader, marketer (the person who promotes the blog to the school), etc. 

It’s not easy to make returning students feel welcome. However, teachers can help create a sense of community by involving everyone in the process. Whether you choose to use games or a shared project is entirely up to you. Besides, those techniques are not mutually exclusive!