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This article really focuses on the importance of community in the early years and gives examples for how you can build community in these classrooms.

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The beginning of the year is a time for creating a sense of community, and your room is the gathering place. Here, all children can feel secure, nurtured and supported by the environment, each other, and YOU. This new group of individuals bring with them divergent interests, abilities, cultures, and families. Each child arrives at your door with a fertile background of experience that enriches your program. By demonstrating your loving acceptance of all children's backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints, you create an environment that says, "All are welcome here." At the same time you are modeling just how you want children to be with one another. The goal is to celebrate individuals while creating a sense of community.

We know from recent studies that children who feel a sense of identity within a group are the most well-adjusted and successful in school. As children progress developmentally, their group interaction skills become more finely tuned as well. Children's "world view" expands to add a greater understanding of the relationship between self and other. Studies also tell us that some of the most important skills children need for school readiness and success are the "people skills" of social interaction, communication, collaboration, and problem solving. They are the fertile ground that supports the academics of learning ABCs and 123s! That is what you are doing in the first month of school - creating an emotionally secure "home base" for children to learn in. So don't worry if you are not teaching many specific academic skills in your first month. By focusing on establishing a safe, secure, and nurturing environment, you are teaching children how to learn and are setting the stage for the entire year.

How can you help a child feel secure in a new community? Let's look at a few elements that allow children to feel known and supported.

Building Community Through Identity
Your children need to see themselves reflected in the classroom. Invite families to send in photos of their children and family before school starts or in the first few weeks. Finding themselves "already there" will go a long way towards making children feel comfortable. Not only will children enjoy finding their photos around the room, but they will delight in learning about their new friends and their families. Children may want to make family books in the first few weeks of school as a way of getting to know each other.

Building Community Through Familiarity
Moving into a new class of children can be very challenging. Children need to find things that are familiar to them in the classroom. It can be something simple, such as puzzles and games they might have played with in a previous classroom. These might be materials that seem too "easy" for them, but in order to build a community, children need to build a sense of comfort - the time to be challenged comes later. And interestingly, children who have a sense of success with a particular educational material or game are more likely to share it with others and thus build community. Don't forget to use familiar and favorite songs and books at group time. Children will feel so proud when they can say, "I know that book!"

Building Community Through Warmth and Beauty
Studies have shown that warm colors and soft spaces are welcoming to children and create a secure and nurturing "nest" from which they can grow. Lots of pillows, soft toys, fresh flowers, soft clay or dough, and items for water play, create a homelike environment. These elements also foster a sense of community. A soft place to share a book with a friend, a small clay table for two, or a beautiful bouquet of flowers to examine together all can create "warm spots" for children to share with a new friend. But perhaps the warmest element of your classroom is you and your SMILE.

Building Community Through Trust
At this stage of development, in order to feel part of their classroom community, children need to feel the same sense of trust in school as they do at home. Your calm acceptance of children's feelings during the transition from home to school goes a long way towards letting children know that it is safe to express their feelings and building their sense of trust in you. Reassure children by making eye contact, listening to what they need to say, and acknowledging their thoughts and feelings. Don't expect children to make friends right away. Children may need to engage in parallel play before they are ready to share and communicate with another child.

Building Community Through Predictability
Predictability is another important part of building an environment of trust and safety. Establishing predictable routines helps children know what to expect and helps them feel confident and capable in the group. Keep a regular schedule of activities throughout the day. If possible, take photographs of each section of the day and place them in a row at child eye level in a left to right sequence from the beginning of the day to the end. If children are wondering "what comes next" or "when do I go home," they can look at the sequence to see how many more activities are left for the day.

Building Community Through Family Involvement
Each child who walks through your door "comes" with a family. The family is a key ingredient to children feeling at home in your classroom. In some programs, you may only meet the families at special meetings or occasions. In others, you will have the pleasure of seeing them every day when they drop off and pick up their children. Make a point of connecting in a variety of ways, from phone calls to letters or notes sent home. If possible, learn their email addresses for instant family communication. They will appreciate your efforts and may reward you with active participation in your program. Invite family members to visit and share their culture, work, and interests. You will be expanding your classroom community to include the greater community of the town where your school resides.

Ultimately, the essential element to creating a sense of community in your classroom is YOU! It is not the number of toys and materials or the size of your space that really counts. It is your loving, compassionate attitude towards the children in your classroom family that creates a joyful community.

For more beginning of the school year activities, see Ellen Booth Church's book, Best-Ever Circle Time Activities: Back to School (Scholastic, Inc., 2003).

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Building Community in the Classroom | Scholastic

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The beginning of the year is a time for creating a sense of community, and your room is the gathering place. Here, all children can feel secure, nurtured and supported by the environment, each other, and YOU. This new group of individuals bring with them divergent interests, abilities, cultures, and families.

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This informational article gives great reasons why it is important to build community in a classroom

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EducationWorld is pleased to present this professional development resource shared by Dr. Jane Bluestein, an expert in relationship-building, positive school climate and effective instruction.

In a win-win classroom, teachers recognize the importance of the social environment and the impact a sense of community can have on learning and student behavior and attitudes. They pay attention to how kids treat one another and know they have the power to make a difference. Use the strategies below to reduce many of the problems that occur when kids aren't respectful and tolerant with one another.

Willingness

It would be hard to argue with people who have noticed what Michele Borba described as a "steady rise of impulsivity, depression, suicide, violence, peer cruelty, and substance abuse" or the "growing rise in disrespect for authority, incivility, and vulgarity, and cheating and dishonesty." But despite evidence of the truth in such social commentary, don't for a second imagine yourself helpless to present other options for your students.

The good news is that schools can make things better when they try, and even programs targeted to a specific problem can have positive outcomes far beyond the original intention. Teachers are, for many students, the best game in town, and one of few opportunities for them to see an alternative to win-lose patterns so familiar in the media, in their families, and among their peers. But nobody learns win-win strategies in a vacuum, so be prepared to address your attention to their social behaviors and know that your time will be well spent.

Advocacy

You don't necessarily need formal programs or lesson plans for building social skills, although they certainly exist. Some of the most powerful lessons you teach will come from your own modeling-how you interact with students and other adults, as well as your reaction to incidents between kids that you observe or overhear. If you act as an advocate and speak up any time you hear examples of bias, insult, or general meanness, you model behaviors that give kids permission, as well as the language, to do the same.

Unfortunately, in many instances, you are very much in the minority. Research points to infrequent intervention on the part of adults and reveals that the majority of incidents of social, verbal, and physical discrimination and violence are either ignored, accepted, or denied-that is, when adults admit an awareness that these incidents are actually happening. Even worse, there are widespread reports of adults using similarly discriminatory words themselves (including homophobic, racial, and ethnically offensive terms) or laughing when they overhear kids use them.

"The most dangerous deadly weapons in our schools each and every day are words," said Jo Ann Freiberg. "That's where it starts and that's where we can manage it." She cited research that indicates 90% of the school community hears putdowns, slurs, and degrading language on a daily basis. For a lot of kids, this language is used so casually and regularly in their worlds that some may not even realize how powerful and hurtful these words can be.

"Unless school personnel interrupt degrading comments, challenge the biased assumptions, and educate students about differences, we are likely to see perpetuation of bullying behaviors, harassment, and intimidation," Freiberg admonished.

We need to teach kids to stand up for tolerance and respect when they see violations occur. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." While aggressive kids and their targets tend to figure prominently in research, school policies, and intervention programs, let's not forget the power a group of bystanders can bring to a potential incident, as well as the overall climate of the school.

A simple sentence like "We don't say that here" or "Please don't use that word around me" sends a strong message without attacking or judging anyone. Repeat as necessary. Even if students only see it as a standard of behavior for your room alone, you have introduced a reality that requires the conscious, deliberate use of respectful language and opened the possibility of this mindfulness extending beyond your classroom.

Two more comments about the power of language. Freiberg recommends focusing on meanness instead of using the word "bully." "No student wants to be called a bully, no parent will claim that his or her child is a bully, and no school happily admits that there is any bullying in that school. This reality stems not from the fact that certain behaviors have been experienced, but rather because of the connotation of the concept itself."

Likewise, I much prefer the word "target" to "victim" when talking about kids on the receiving end of meanness, exclusion, or discrimination. Although many people use the words interchangeably, the word victim suggests a sense of abiding powerlessness that is not present in the word target-which implies a greater potential for control of the situation, including options and assertive ways out.

Building Tolerance and Friendship Skills

Anyone who dismisses the nastiness some children experience as acceptable rites of passage needs to appreciate the impact that exclusion, rejection, and other forms of attack can have. "When we feel rebuffed or left out, the brain activates a site for registering physical pain," reported Daniel Goleman. School connectedness includes aspects of social acceptance and feeling welcome in school.

But Robert Blum, Clea McNeely, and Peggy Rinehart discovered that "nationally, four percent of students reported that they had no friends. There were socially isolated students in every school studied." In addition to being vulnerable to all the negative outcomes associated with disconnectedness from school, Katz believed that isolated students, the kids who lack the protection of social allies, often appear the easiest and "safest" ones for more aggressive kids to target.

Behaviors do not change on their own, however, and kids don't pick up many prosocial behaviors on the streets. Fortunately, some school personnel are beginning to address the need to build friendship skills and social intelligence in their interactions with kids, if not in the curriculum directly. The process doesn't have to be complicated or formal and, in most instances, will simply be built into the way you run your classroom.

For example, anything you do to accommodate your students' power needs in positive ways (such as offering choices, soliciting and using their input in your plans, or providing accommodations for individual learning styles) significantly reduces the need for them to get power needs met at the expense of others. In other words, few kids need to hurt or disempower other kids to experience a sense of autonomy and control when those needs are being met constructively in other areas of their lives.

For a strategy worth its weight in gold, find opportunities for your students to help other students through a peer-helping, mentoring, or tutoring program. We can teach tolerance and respect by giving kids opportunities to work with others toward some shared goal. Some of my most challenging students ended up being some of the most effective, mature, and responsible mentors in a program that assigned upper-elementary volunteers to help out in the kindergarten. Stay attentive, continue to remind kids about "how we act, talk, and treat one another in here," accommodate power needs, and offer activities where all kids can be helpful and competent. In short order, there's a good chance that you'll start noticing significant and positive changes in the social culture of your class.

This article was excerpted from Becoming a Win-Win Teacher (2010) by Dr. Jane Bluestein, Ph.D. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishing. See the book for a full bibliography of sources referenced above.

Related resources

Also from Dr. Bluestein:
Is Your School Emotionally Safe?
Accommodating Student Sensory Differences
Tips for Positive Teacher-Parent Interaction
The Art of Setting Boundaries
The Beauty of Losing Control, Part 1
The Beauty of Losing Control, Part 2
Stressful Student Experiences: What Not to Do

About Dr. Bluestein

Dr. Jane Bluestein is a speaker, trainer and specialist in programs and resources related to relationship building, effective instruction and personal development.

She is an award-winning author whose books include Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, High School's Not Forever, 21st Century Discipline, The Win-Win Classroom and many others. In addition, she has appeared on CNN, National Public Radio and "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Dr. Bluestein, formerly a classroom teacher, crisis-intervention counselor and teacher training program coordinator, currently heads Instructional Support Services, Inc., a consulting and resource firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Visit her Web site to access free resources, order books, read her blog and more.

Education World®
Copyright © 2012 Education World

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Building Your Classroom Community | Education World

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EducationWorld is pleased to present this professional development resource shared by Dr. Jane Bluestein, an expert in relationship-building, positive school climate and effective instruction. In a win-win classroom, teachers recognize the importance of the social environment and the impact a sense of community can have on learning and student behavior and attitudes.

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I think this activity would be great to introduce the students to the concept of community by them building their own out of paper and then leading into the discussion about classroom community

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This book could be used at a morning meeting to discuss a potential problem about tattle tales. By reading a book it could make the children more comfortable about talking about the subject.

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This song can be used to teach children about respect in a fun song. Teaching children about respect is super important for the basics of building community

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Respect Song Video - Classroom Mix Version

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The Respect Song (Classroom Mix Version) by Have Fun Teaching. Download this Video, Song, and Lyrics Sheet: http://havefunteaching.com/shop/downloads/videos/character-videos/respect-video/ This character song teaches students how to show respect to yourself, others in the classroom and at school. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

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This video shows a great morning meeting activity and how the teacher goes about reviewing the expectations for the game

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Sample Morning Meetings: Group Activity - Toe-to-Toe

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This video does a great job at explaining and showing how a productive class meeting works

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Individual Interventions for High School

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Uploaded by Colegio AngloAmericano on 2016-08-05.

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This would be great to share on the door or outside of the classroom to showcase to the school/families what goals we are doing in the classroom to be good community members

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I would like to have this as one of my class jobs. I think that if a student was in charge of pointing out the little acts of kindness in the classroom that it would set off a positive feel for the whole class.

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I think that having classroom jobs really teaches the students that everyone has a role to play in the class so that it all runs smoothly.

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I think this would be a really fun and effective way to teach/remind children how to give a compliment if they do not already know or need a gentle reminder of how to

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A different kind of full class participation reward system. I think these types of activities really give the students who may not already be a community member in the classroom naturally an incentive to join in and be apart of our team.

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This would be the perfect book if you were to have a "Bucket Filling" classroom. I like the idea and think it really teaches children to be kind to one another

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I really like having music being apart of my classroom. I think this song would be a gently reminder to have a great day and be a good person

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Greg & Steve - Good Morning . i remember singing this song every morning during pre-k

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This teacher had a playlist of music to get everyone settled in in the morning. I really liked this idea because children love music and having something fun in the morning will help keep the positivity going throughout the day.

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I think this would be a cute morning meeting song for preschool. This would help the children start recognizing each others' names and build community with even the young students.

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I think this would be a good stepping stone for younger students that could lead into a more detailed class pledge. This would teach the children responsibility.

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I love this idea! Having my extra pencils on my desk have positive comments on them would really make a students day and most importantly let them know that I think they matter!

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Aside from having morning meetings, I think having this activity at the end of the day will be really beneficial to keep the idea of kindness and community consistent throughout the day.

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End of the Day Closing Circle Reflection Cards - UPDATED 1/15/17!!

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UPDATED 1/15/17: This product now includes 44 questions instead of 28. I have also added cut lines based on a buyer's suggestion!! You can simply re-download if you already own this product! At the end of the day I gather my students in a circle on the carpet for

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I think this idea would work starting in like 2nd grade or older. I believe that if the students were giving compliments to other students that it would really boost their confidence and continue to reinforce the community feel.

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I love this idea! I think this would be a great to incorporate the families into the classroom community and to make everyone feel welcome. Everyone wants to know they feel welcome in a classroom

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This blog gives one example for how to lead a morning meeting. I definitely plan on doing morning meetings in my classrooms and I think they are super important because it has the whole class come together as one and let's everyone have a chance to speak and clear their minds.

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***This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on the Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase.***
In the regular ed classroom, Morning Meeting was always my very FAVORITE part of the day, and most of my students shared this sentiment. During Morning Meeting, I connected with my students AND they connected with each other on a personal level more than any other time of the day. Not only did I feel like I feel like our classroom community was nurtured and refreshed, I felt that the "positive vibes" during Morning Meeting set the tone of mutual respect for our entire school day. The truth is, every child, every day needs to feel valued and included. The long term benefits of Morning Meeting make the 20-30 minutes per day well worth your time!

I've seen several variations of Morning Meeting, some that are entirely focused on building social/emotional skills, some that are heavily focused on academics (often involving calendar and math skills), and some that involve a little bit of both. My favorite model of Morning Meeting is from the Responsive Classroom program and is almost entirely devoted to social and emotional development, but easy to incorporate academic review as well. According to the Responsive Classroom philosophy, the social/emotional curriculum is just as (or even more) important than the academic curriculum. My favorite Responsive Classroom resources are The Morning Meeting Book and The First Six Weeks of School. Quite honestly, they changed my ENTIRE classroom philosophy, guiding me to build the ideal classroom community of learners! Click below to learn more about the Responsive Classroom program!

(Affiliate links shown below)

You might be wondering (as I did) why Morning Meeting might be worth your time. Like you, my instructional minutes were already packed as tightly as possible. How on Earth could I devote 20-30 minutes per day to One. More. Thing?! Well, it takes some flexibility and careful planning for sure, but the truth is, more and more students are entering our classrooms each year with a significant lack of social skills, leading to a continual increase of behavioral problems and social conflicts...ALL of which INTERRUPT our instructional time on a regular basis. It's an unfortunate reality that so many children do NOT learn or practice social and emotional skills in their homes, and the responsibility is ours to ensure that we are sending students into the world as models of citizenship and character. I promise you, Morning Meeting is a pivotal tool that will PREVENT behavioral issues, allowing you to devote even more time to academic instruction.

Here are just a few of the skills that are practiced every single day during Morning Meeting:

Here is the sequence for the Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting:

I've seen teachers do the Message either at the very beginning of Morning Meeting or at the very end. I always did mine at the end, for reasons that I'll discuss below, but it's really a matter of personal preference. Students are usually seated in a circle for morning meeting, either on the carpet or in chairs.

The "Greeting" is the first component of Responsive Classroom's Morning Meeting, and is a terrific way for students to practice healthy, respectful communication skills, not to mention begin the school day on a positive note! Appropriate greetings must be explicitly taught, modeled, practiced by students, and reinforced appropriately in order for them to be optimally beneficial in the classroom. As you introduce Greetings at the beginning of the school year, emphasize the following expectations:

*Clear speaking voice with appropriate volume and friendly tone

*Stating the other student's name

*Safe, appropriate touches

I also find it helpful to have a classroom job called the "Morning Meeting Master," and that student is responsible for beginning the greeting for the duration of the week. As students gain mastery and control over Morning Meeting, I will allow the Morning Meeting Master to choose the greeting each day. Also, it is important to promote an atmosphere of kindness and respect for others during Morning Meeting, emphasizing that there will be a time for silly greetings, but self-control is still expected. The Greeting Cards pictured above can be purchased in my TpT store. The package includes 32 of my favorite greetings, along with editable greeting cards for you to add your own!

Sharing might be my very favorite component of Morning Meeting. It's no secret that students LOVE to talk about themselves. It builds confidence, helps them feel valued, and helps them learn how to communicate effectively. I learn more about my students' interests, families, and talents during Sharing time than any other time. Unfortunately, we do not have time for every student to share every day, so I have a daily schedule, with 4-6 students sharing per day. Students always look forward to their "Share Day" to share special news with the class. I allow them to share whatever they'd like, although students might need a prompt or starter at the beginning of the school year until they feel that they can open up more to their classmates. When students finish sharing, they may choose 3 student volunteers that may ask a question, give a comment or compliment, or make a connection. This is where the communication skills are optimally practiced, as all students must listen and respond appropriately and respectfully. When a child finishes sharing, he or she says, "Thank you for listening," and the class responds, "Thank you for sharing."

The Activity or Game is usually the students' favorite part of Morning Meeting. Why?! Because it's so much fun! Responsive Classroom activities and games are intended to introduce, practice, and establish a classroom community of respect and trust. The ultimate goal is a gradual release of teacher responsibility, with a focus on student-led decisions and control. Through activities and games, students gain self-discipline, confidence, communication and social skills, empathy, respect for others, and a sense of belongings. Students must be specifically taught expectations and given ample time to practice them. In order for the activities to become student-led, they must be repeated regularly. The first six weeks of school is the ideal time frame to introduce and practice expectations for activities and games. This is also the time for teachers to model procedures, lay "ground rules," and deal with behavioral issues in a proactive manner. Specific skills to model and practice with students include cooperation, self-control, sharing, taking turns, listening skills, following directions, sportsmanship, mindfulness, metacognition, and basic social skills.

2) Model, practice, reinforce

3) Repeat activity, gradually releasing teacher control

The Morning Meeting Activities and Games cards pictured above are also available in my store, containing 85 favorite songs, activities, and games. They are color-coded for the beginning, middle, and end of the year and also include editable cards for you to add your own!

The Message, as shown in the example above, gives students a "preview" of their day to come, including major lesson objectives and special events. Children LOVE to know what to expect, and the Message is a simply way to give them a quick summary. I always add a challenge, review or website link at the very end that leads into our first lesson of the day. In the example, the prompt at the end would lead directly into a whole class mini-lesson on adjectives. Morning Messages can also be handwritten on chart paper or large dry erase boards. Giving that I have zero patience for handwriting ANYTHING, I always type mine to project on our Interactive Whiteboard.

***BIG TIP: If you plan to type your Messages, I would suggest that you use PowerPoint and SAVE your slides by the week! This is a huge timesaver because you can simply edit the general format year after year!***

I hope these tips might encourage you to give Morning Meeting a try in your classroom! The benefits are truly limitless for both you and your students.

***This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase.***

***Fonts by KG Fonts, Digital Elements by Paula Kim Studio, Clip Art by Melonheadz***

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How to Make Morning Meeting the BEST Part of Your Day

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This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on the Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase.*** In the regular ed classroom, Morning Meeting was always my very FAVORITE part of the day, and most of my students shared this sentiment.

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This activity would be cute to do with any age. You can teach the children about everyone being different but that everyone comes together and the classroom is one big community.

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This book could be used during a morning meeting if the problem of bullying comes up in the classroom. This would be a more non-threatening way to bring up the subject and talk about it with the class.

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This great multi-cultural book would be good to use for introducing everyone in a new class and teaching respect for everyone's difference. By doing so, you start building relationships with everyone in the class.

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This super cute book would be great to use on the first day of class to set up the positive atmosphere for the rest of the year

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This blog had some great ideas for whole group activities to do on the first day of school. I would use these activities to get to know my students and see how they think this year should go. I think it's important to get their input, especially with the start of a new year.

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I think that I had the best first day ever in all of my MANY years of teaching!

I just love my class!

We did lots of team building and getting to know you activities today and not much meat.

I learned a LOT about some of my kiddos!

One of them is even PERFECT (just ask him!)

One of the things we did today was the sticky note posters - you know which ones.

They are all over Pinterest.

No surprises on this one.

We learn new stuff every day.

We learn new things.

To get ready for college.

OKAY, a few surprises here...

To fly around the world. (?)

Getting good grades/Honor Roll

They nailed this one!

No talking, playing and doing silly stuff.

Here are some of their responses...

My third grade pals trained them well!

Here's where it got interesting.

One of my boys came up and said there really wasn't anything I could do.

I said, "Really? You are already perfect? I mean, I already know that you are AMAZING, but try to think of something I can do to help you be successful."

After a few minutes he's back with his answer, "I got nothing. I'm just perfect."

...and he is, and I love him already!

Here is what he put on the chart

Oh, and they want HOMEWORK!

Here's what they want from each other...

AFTER I planned it, I found out that they did it last year! Oh well, they had fun anyway.

It was a great day, and I can't wait to get back to these kiddos tomorrow!

I hope all of you have fabulous first days too!

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I think that I had the best first day ever in all of my MANY years of teaching! I just love my class! We did lots of team building and getting to know you activities today and not much meat. I learned a LOT about some of my kiddos!

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I love this idea! I think that notes from the teacher to students with positive comments would really help build community in the classroom. I would give these out to students when I notice that they are doing something amazing or if they need a pick me up.

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These 15 note templates are a great way to build community in your classroom. They only come in B/W! you can print on colored paper if you choose. I plan to give out about 5 a day to students and might share them in our morning meeting.

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I really liked this idea for a We Got This Board. I would use this to help build community because not only would it be teaching them kindness with comments, but having the whole class come together. I would love to have this be a weekly thing.

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This blog really had some cute ideas about different activities the class can do on the whiteboard to build relationships with their peers and make the classroom a community. I would love to use this with 1st or 2nd graders, to have them learn how to be kind to one another and to give my class a positive vibe.

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Hi, friends! I've had quite a few people ask me about my whiteboard messages that I use in my classroom, so I thought, "Why not make a blog post about it?" Here we go!

WHY do I do these messages in my classroom?

*I pride myself on creating a classroom that genuinely feels like a family. A place where students love to be and love the people that they're with. A place where students set goals and encourage other students on their journey of meeting their own goals. I want my students to feel like they are in a safe, judgement-free zone where they are respected by not just me, but by their peers as well. Each time I complete one of these boards, I feel like my class is getting that much closer to being a true family.

Students need daily reminders about the importance of friendship and community. They need you to give them opportunities to see how just simple actions can truly make someone's day. and they need you to make them feel loved and appreciated. If you can get your students all supporting and fighting for each other, they're going to carry that with them for the rest of their lives. These simple messages are so meaningful to my students, and I hope they have the same impact on your students, too.

How do I come up with my board ideas?
My messages are focused around two main components: goal-setting and kindness. The main questions that I ask myself when thinking of a new message are:
What do I want my students to be thinking about?
What are my students needing to hear?

After sharing my whiteboards on Instagram, a new hashtag was started: #miss5thswhiteboard. I get a lot of inspiration for new ideas by browsing through the feed. It's an amazing feeling being able to see so many different teachers and classrooms utilizing these messages in their classrooms. I encourage you to check out the hashtag on Instagram for whiteboard ideas- you'll find plenty! :) I also have a list of prompts available for download here.

How often do I write a message on my board?
*On average, I complete 2-3 boards a week. I write the messages so that students see them first thing that morning. Sometimes I repeat the boards we've already done, but the wonderful thing is that each day is different. You could do the same board over and over and you would get different responses each time!

When do my students respond to the message?
*My students know that if there's a message on the board when they walk in that morning, they can answer it any time between 7:40-8:20 (our morning work time). I usually only like 2-3 students at the board at one time, so my students know they need to wait their turn. I also have students who come in at 7:40 and then others that come in at 8:05, so the staggered arrivals kind of eliminate the "crowd."

What markers do I use?
*Expo, folks. Plain, old Expo markers. :)

Happy boards, happy students, happy teachers!

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Establishing a Classroom Community with the Help of your Whiteboard

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Hi, friends! I've had quite a few people ask me about my whiteboard messages that I use in my classroom, so I thought, "Why not make a blog post about it?" Here we go! WHY do I do these messages in my classroom? *I pride myself on creating a classroom that genuinely feels like a family.