Belonging in our Classrooms by Millie Hobgood

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Games where kids work together

Science

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Sharing about personal experiences and how they tie to our science topics.

See Yourself in History

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Give students voice/choice in project topics so that they can explore interests, aspects of their identity through history, etc

Mandatory participation improv games. It sounds terrible but it's very fun.

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Team building activities and talking about our weekends every week

Welcome!

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Greet students at the door

Social emotional check ins

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We have an open door policy in the counseling and mental health offices: All are welcome.

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Trivia Wednesdays

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Students get to work together, we listen to music, they get questions about pop culture and French/Spanish :) It's the best!

I make the kids learn the names of everyone in the class (they have a quiz)

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At work, I feel a sense of belonging when people check in on my personal life. Also, when I’m able to exercise my knowledge when helping others

Math

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Interactive Scavenger Hunts

Greetings

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Free every student no matter what time they come into class, and quietly catch them up.

ELD

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Checking in with students by having conversations to get to know each student and their background/family!

Concentric Circles

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Everyone has a chance to share and interact with each other while going around the circle! Great for getting to know each other and ensure that all voices are heard

Belonging

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I always use random selection. Everyone has the same chance to participate and everyone's contributions are valued.

Putting up student work to be admired!

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Any

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As a warm up after breaks ask questions about what they did and allow them to talk with each other about it. Then ask if anyone is willing to share some things whole class. This builds community among students as well as a connection with the teacher.

K- Sense of belonging…

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Music

Connections beyond the material

ceanderson — 2024-12-11 14:39:59 UTC

Asking students about their hobbies, jobs, work. Write about something you're really good at, and then share in groups. Then do show and tell.

Team sports

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Making consistent teams during units.

Learn names

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I learn every students name by the end of the first week of class. I make it a point to be able to address each person as an individual as soon as possible.

Instrumental Music

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Valuing and recognizing student contributions, no matter where they are at in their playing. Recognizing publicly that the group/ensemble sounds better because of their contribution.

Students as teachers :)

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When I learn from my students and they learn from me we activate their background knowledge. I will never know all cultures BUT if I lean into my curiosity it frequently goes a lot better.

Belonging

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I regularly encourage students to share their ideas about what we’re doing and make sure that every idea is validated in some way. Sometimes this is whole class work and sometimes it’s in small groups.

How I am cool

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I started name tent check ins, so I get to learn names really fast at the beginning of the year, and I get to have individualized communication with students so we learn about each other quickly.

Review GAMES!

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STUDENTS LOVE THE GAMES....Kids are engaged and they ask for more. I used different platforms to mix it up. We can use them for vocab and grammar review.

I do hot seat every day where a different student is highlighted through a photo story they create as their first assignment. We get to know them and play a game, then students write them kindness notes. This usually takes all first semester to get through and sometimes longer.

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LA

mrussell40 — 2024-12-11 14:41:10 UTC

Invitations every day--greeting students at the door, inviting students to share, sending students out the door, invitations to a small group discussion, invitation to a large group discussion after a silent "discussion"

Using survey data

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I have students complete an “all about you” survey on day 1 and I use that to learn their names quickly! I read their responses carefully and try to follow up about their individual interests throughout the year

Fidgets

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I have a basket of fidgets that kids can grab to use while they work.

One on one (Fritz)

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I started the year with one on one conferences with kids about their getting to know you survey. They took weeks, only meeting with 2 or 3 kids at the beginning of class, but each kid told me something they hadn’t written down. It was such a cool way to get to know them and let them know I really care about them as people.

Standing up

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Teachers speaking up when students are being discriminated against (racist, homophobic, other prejudicial comments/actions, etc). It’s important to educate students when they are saying/doing things to bully or harass others.

Fine Woodworking

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Personalized Projects: Allowing students to design and build items that reflect their identity and interests helps them feel seen and valued. For example, projects like nameplates or tactile literacy tools for the visually impaired give students the opportunity to express individuality while contributing to a shared goal.
Accessibility: Adapting tasks, such as using hand tools for safety or designing simple projects for students with special needs, ensures everyone can participate and succeed.

Business

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Personal Brand Project - Tells me all about them, what's important to them, what they are good at, what they love about themselves. Encourages being vulnerable which in turn I have to be too when I show them my brand.

Door entry problems/word of the day

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Asking a student a word of the day or math question on their way in a good way to talk to every student and a great way to connect/invite them to talk to the teacher. We are both sensing how we are feeling from the start.

Inquiring about their interests

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I love to visit every table and get to know students on a personal level. Students love when you ask them about their interests or you notice something about them like a new haircut. I frequently ask them about their sports, music, jobs, etc.

Lucky Reading Game

kbraband — 2024-12-11 14:43:52 UTC

Games are great! This game could be used for any class as a review for topics. You just need the linked slide and a deck of cards. Students are in groups of 4 or 5. You have whiteboards at the front. Ask a review question. Students write out the answer and pick a card to earn points for their group.

Humor

2024-12-11 14:48:06 UTC

I use a lot of humor, often self deprecatory. I also socialize with students during downtime, and then try to follow up with things that they tell me (tryouts, job, interview, concert,…).