Community Building Activities
Community building is about getting students to connect with their peers, help each other, learn from each other and encourage each other in the process of learning, problem solving and brainstorming. Students work together to produce an positive and productive classroom environment for themselves and others.
Community building activities are great way to build a cooperative and positive classroom environment. Students build empathy by sharing ideas and receiving feedback from their peers in a positive and productive way. Community building activities can be integrated into lessons and can provide strategies for opening up class discussion and community involvement at the start of class. These activities can help students get to know each other, challenge them to connect with peers that they may not normally interact with and find common interests or shared experiences.
General Community Building Activities
Tell me something happy, tell me something crappy
Students will begin the class by sharing something they are proud of or that made them happy and will be able to express something difficult they have experienced or some other frustration in their life. Students will discuss their experiences in groups of two or three.
Snowball Fight
Students write down three interesting facts about themselves. Without putting their names on the paper, they will crumple it up and throw it. Have students find a snowball, uncrumple it and read it. Each student must find the person who made the snowball. After finding their partners, students can share those facts with the class.
Give One, Get One
Following a presentation or lesson introduction, students are given a prompt and a worksheet. On the teacher's cue, students move around the room asking their peers for one of their ideas while at the same time providing one of their own.
https://freeology.com/back-to-school/give-one-get-one-activity/
Sole Mates
As a way for students to find a partner for a discussion or activity, have students find a partner based on the similarity of their shoes. This can give students an opportunity to pair up with classmates they may not have otherwise and discuss common interests or similarities and recognize those similarities in each other.
Fish Bowl
In a medium or large group, 3-4 students meet in an inner circle to discuss a topic or respond to a prompt. The remaining students in the group gather around the fishbowl listening to the group discussion and taking notes. Students are able to tap in and join the inner group discussion after a given amount of time or if another classmate decides to tap out.
Art Emphasis Community Building Activities
Artist Statement
Students will create artist statements describing their process of making and the rationale behind their creative choices. Artist statements will accompany work displayed on the walls in the classroom or in the halls. Other students will be given an opportunity to evaluate the artist statements of their peers to develop a better understanding of their thought process in making art.
In-Progress Critique
Students will meet in small groups to discuss their progress throughout the process of making. They will be given the opportunity to evaluate peer research and inspiration behind their work as well as providing suggestions for improvement of their initial design choices. Each student will present their work briefly for review and peers will be allowed to ask questions and provide feedback.
Whole Group Critique
Following the completion of an art project, students will present their work in a whole group setting and describe their process as well as providing a rationale for their creative decisions in the execution of their work. Each student will be given 1 minute to describe their work and peers will be given 3 minutes as a group to provide feedback about what they like and something they think could improve the work.
Positive Feedback and Expression
In a whole group setting, students will take turns saying something they like about their work and something they like about someone else's work. This activity allows them to become familiar with art vocabulary and articulating their ideas while at the same time promoting a positive environment.
Collaborative Art Projects
Students will work together to create a single work of art, sharing responsibilities researching ideas, topic choices and design process as well as being involved in the construction of a given work of art. Students will have to navigate the challenge of having others involved through each step of the art making process and will be required to brainstorm creative decisions together, appropriately resolving conflict. Students will be given an evaluation form to complete and discuss regarding group member involvement and contribution.
Community building is about getting students to connect with their peers, help each other, learn from each other and encourage each other in the process of learning, problem solving and brainstorming. Students work together to produce an positive and productive classroom environment for themselves and others.
Community building activities are great way to build a cooperative and positive classroom environment. Students build empathy by sharing ideas and receiving feedback from their peers in a positive and productive way. Community building activities can be integrated into lessons and can provide strategies for opening up class discussion and community involvement at the start of class. These activities can help students get to know each other, challenge them to connect with peers that they may not normally interact with and find common interests or shared experiences.
General Community Building Activities
Tell me something happy, tell me something crappy
Students will begin the class by sharing something they are proud of or that made them happy and will be able to express something difficult they have experienced or some other frustration in their life. Students will discuss their experiences in groups of two or three.
Snowball Fight
Students write down three interesting facts about themselves. Without putting their names on the paper, they will crumple it up and throw it. Have students find a snowball, uncrumple it and read it. Each student must find the person who made the snowball. After finding their partners, students can share those facts with the class.
Give One, Get One
Following a presentation or lesson introduction, students are given a prompt and a worksheet. On the teacher's cue, students move around the room asking their peers for one of their ideas while at the same time providing one of their own.
https://freeology.com/back-to-school/give-one-get-one-activity/
Sole Mates
As a way for students to find a partner for a discussion or activity, have students find a partner based on the similarity of their shoes. This can give students an opportunity to pair up with classmates they may not have otherwise and discuss common interests or similarities and recognize those similarities in each other.
Fish Bowl
In a medium or large group, 3-4 students meet in an inner circle to discuss a topic or respond to a prompt. The remaining students in the group gather around the fishbowl listening to the group discussion and taking notes. Students are able to tap in and join the inner group discussion after a given amount of time or if another classmate decides to tap out.
Art Emphasis Community Building Activities
Artist Statement
Students will create artist statements describing their process of making and the rationale behind their creative choices. Artist statements will accompany work displayed on the walls in the classroom or in the halls. Other students will be given an opportunity to evaluate the artist statements of their peers to develop a better understanding of their thought process in making art.
In-Progress Critique
Students will meet in small groups to discuss their progress throughout the process of making. They will be given the opportunity to evaluate peer research and inspiration behind their work as well as providing suggestions for improvement of their initial design choices. Each student will present their work briefly for review and peers will be allowed to ask questions and provide feedback.
Whole Group Critique
Following the completion of an art project, students will present their work in a whole group setting and describe their process as well as providing a rationale for their creative decisions in the execution of their work. Each student will be given 1 minute to describe their work and peers will be given 3 minutes as a group to provide feedback about what they like and something they think could improve the work.
Positive Feedback and Expression
In a whole group setting, students will take turns saying something they like about their work and something they like about someone else's work. This activity allows them to become familiar with art vocabulary and articulating their ideas while at the same time promoting a positive environment.
Collaborative Art Projects
Students will work together to create a single work of art, sharing responsibilities researching ideas, topic choices and design process as well as being involved in the construction of a given work of art. Students will have to navigate the challenge of having others involved through each step of the art making process and will be required to brainstorm creative decisions together, appropriately resolving conflict. Students will be given an evaluation form to complete and discuss regarding group member involvement and contribution.
Photo used under Creative Commons from BryonLippincott