Can your classroom culture still feel a little off even when your routines are working? By October, students know what to do, but you may start noticing that the class isn’t connecting quite the way you hoped. This is a good time to focus on how students are connecting.
Classroom Culture Is More Than Good Classroom Routines
Routines matter. A lot.
They make the school day predictable and help students know what is expected of them. But routines and classroom culture aren’t exactly the same thing.
Students can know exactly how morning meeting works without learning much about the person sitting across from them. They can transition quietly and still choose the same partner every single time.
Once your routines are established, you can start paying attention to how students interact with each other.
Who talks? Who usually listens? Who always chooses each other? Who rarely gets a chance to share?
Those patterns can tell you where your class could use more opportunities to connect.
That’s where having a few classroom community builders you can use throughout the year can help you keep those connections going.
Look at Who Is Actually Connecting
The beginning of the year comes with a lot of built-in opportunities for students to get to know each other. There are icebreakers and plenty of activities designed to help students get to know each other.
Then regular school starts. š
By October, those opportunities may happen less often. Students have also had enough time to settle into their favorite friendships and familiar groups.
By then, you can usually see some of the patterns that have formed!
If students always choose their own partners, try occasionally assigning them. If the same students answer every discussion question, give everyone time to think or talk with a partner first.
You might use a random partner picker or a quick turn-and-talk to help students mix it up.
Think-pair-share also works well when you want more students involved. Give students a few seconds to think, have them share with a partner, and then invite a few pairs to share with the class.
Small changes give students more chances to interact with classmates outside their usual circle.
Use Discussion to Strengthen Your Classroom Culture
Even simple, silly class discussions can help students connect.
A quick “Would you ratherā¦” or “What’s your favoriteā¦” question gives students a chance to hear what their classmates think and find things they have in common.
This is one reason I like keeping discussion starters in the routine after those first few weeks of school. The routine is already familiar, so you can focus more on getting different students talking to each other.
If Morning Meeting is already part of your day, these morning meeting activities that build classroom community give you more ways to use that time for connection.
Give Classroom Community Its Own Time
By October, community building can easily get pushed aside because there is SO much else going on.
Even 5-10 minutes gives students time to practice how they work together. One week might be a quick team challenge. Another might focus on communication or reflection.
Switching up the format matters, too.
If every community activity is a discussion question, students are practicing the same type of interaction over and over. Movement, teamwork, and reflection give them different ways to connect.
If you want this planned out for you, my October Community Building Slides include five short community-building experiences you can spread throughout the month.
Each one takes about 5-10 minutes, so you can fit them into Morning Meeting, SEL, or classroom community time.
Give Students Different Ways to Participate
Some students love whole-class discussions. Others are much more comfortable working with a partner or doing something hands-on.
Think about what individual students might need to participate, too.
An English Learner might feel more comfortable practicing with a partner before sharing with the class. Another student might simply need a little more time to think before responding.
Mix up how students participate during community time! They might talk with a partner one day or work through a group challenge another day. You can also add independent reflection when students need a quieter way to participate.
You can also try these ways to increase student participation in morning meetings and closing circles when you want to hear from more students.
Classroom Culture Needs Attention After Back to School
October is a chance to build on what you already started in August.
Keep the routines that are working, then use those routines to give students more opportunities to connect in different ways.
A classroom can run smoothly while its classroom culture is still growing. A few intentional community moments throughout the month can help students keep getting to know the people they spend every day with!
Keep Building Your Classroom Community This October
Want a simple way to keep giving students opportunities to connect?
My October Community Building Slides include five 5-10 minute experiences you can use throughout the month during Morning Meeting, SEL, or classroom community time.
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