Activities and Resources
Structures for Building Relationships and Belonging
Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
Read an excerpt from the text Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain that contains specific activities for building relationships with students in a culturally-responsive way.
We Belong: 50 Strategies to Create Community and Revolutionize Classroom Management
Tools to Accompany the ASCD text We Belong: 50 Strategies to Create Community and Revolutionize Classroom Management
Appreciation, Apology, Aha!
This video from Edutopia describes a brief closing circle activity designed to encourage student self-reflection and build community.
Teachers' Strategies for Pronouncing and Remembering Students' Names
Read about the importance of saying students' names accurately and strategies for doing so.
Morning Meetings, Responsive Classrooms
The Morning Meetings structure from Responsive Classrooms is used widely at CCSD. Read more about it here.
Dialogue Journals
Read about how dialogue journals build teacher-student relationships.
Video: Using Dialogue Circles to Support Classroom Management
This video shows how increasing student dialogue through Dialogue Circles builds collaboration, respect, and positive classroom management.
Student Interest and Learning Survey
Get to know your students better by asking them a variety of questions about their goals, interests, and preferences.
Student-Interests-and-Learning-Survey-Activity1.pdf80 Conversation Starters for Kids
Incorporate these questions to increase student dialogue and build relationships.
Video: Shout Outs!
See how a teacher incorporates peer-to-peer recognition in an elementary classroom
Fostering Belonging with Classroom Norms
Learn how establishing norms in a classroom encourages students to feel a sense of belonging.