When I reflect back on my time in the classroom, the part of my classroom that sticks out the most to me and that I miss the most, is the sense of community. During my last few years in the classroom I went full in on the idea of a morning meeting, and I have to say it was a game changer! Those 20 minutes every morning helped me to connect with my class as a whole, and helped to build a sense of community within my classroom. While those 20 minutes worked well in my elementary schedule, I am aware that structure will not work for every classroom. Therefore, today I want to share with all of you, some community building activities you can implement into your digital classroom to help build that sense of community in a much smaller time frame.
The great thing about digital community builders is that they can be done at different times, while still allowing everyone an opportunity to participate. Therefore, if you have students who are absent, or who are currently working on a different assignment, they can come back to the activity at a later time, or date, to participate in the task and continue building that community feeling.
This image can be added to a Google Slide or Jamboard. When posted into your Google Classroom with editing rights for students, students can respond to the prompts given in the heading of the column. Due to this being assigned in a digital space, you may consider posting this task on Monday and having it due by Friday. This will allow students to work on this task at a time that works best for them throughout the week. Once everyone has had an opportunity to complete this task you can look for trends. Based on those trends you could start to plan out supports that will better assist students throughout the year. It could also be a great jumping off point for class discussions!
Begin with an image in a Google Doc. This image can be anything that you think would be of interest to your students. I have provided some examples below. You will then assign your Google Doc into Google Classroom to small groups. I would recommend keeping your groups between 4 -5 students. In Google Classroom, you will assign this Google Doc with editing abilities.
To assign to specific students you will click the drop down menu next to All Students. Un-click "all students" then select just those students you would like working on that story. Once assigned students will go and write a story based on the picture you have provided. Each student should add a few lines to the story. Again, you can assign this on Monday and have it due by Friday. Throughout the week students can go in and add to the story, as well as read what their peers have read. This is another great way for students to feel that they are a part of a group and have a purpose, without taking up a lot of class time. At the end of the week you may consider sharing stories out to the other students who were not a part of the group so that everyone is able to reach each group's story.
As your students become more comfortable in your classroom and get to know each other, this Mystery Person activity can be a fun way to test their knowledge of their peers. In this template students can choose to enter 8 facts about themselves, or answer the 8 prompts to provide facts in the second template. They will then enter their name in the speaker notes. This template can be assigned through Google Classroom, by "making a copy for each student." This will ensure every student has the opportunity to share about themselves, while making their information hidden from their classmates.
Once you have templates from each student in your class you can then share one student's work each day. Remember to delete the student name in the speaker notes prior to posting. This can be done as a question inside of Google Classroom. Students can take guesses throughout the day as to who they think the mystery person is. At the end of the day you can post or verbally share the true identity of the mystery person.
Google Earth "My Favorite Memory" Project
Within Google Earth students have the option of creating "projects." The projects are designed so that students can pin point different locations around the globe. They also have the ability within their place markers to add images and text. A great way for students to showcase a little more about themselves as an individual is to create a project in which students pin point one location on the globe that their favorite memory took place. In the place card students can write about their memory. If students have pictures of that memory they can also add those images to the place card. Again, give students a time frame in which they can work on this activity. At the end of that time frame, allow students time to "visit" each other's locations and read about those memories.
For additional information and directions on Google Earth Projects you can access a cheat sheet here or a video tutorial here.
