How to Build a Classroom Community That Lasts All Year [Episode 219]

Heidi 0:00
This is episode 219 of Teacher Approved.

Heidi 0:04
You’re listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I’m Heidi.

Emily 0:13
And I’m Emily. We’re the creators behind Second Story Window, where we give research based and teacher approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.

Heidi 0:27
We’re so glad you’re tuning in today. Let’s get to the show.

Emily 0:35
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today’s episode, we’re talking about how to turn your classroom from a group of strangers into a true community, and sharing a teacher approved tip for making your future back to school seasons a little easier.

Heidi 0:50
Let’s start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick win that you can try right away. Emily, what’s our suggestion for this week?

Emily 0:56
This week, try creating a community building supply kit for your classroom. Gather simple items you probably already have. Index cards for name games, a small bell or chime to signal when it’s time to switch partners, sticky notes for quick sharing activities and maybe some simple printables.

Heidi 1:14
Having these supplies ready to go in one designated spot means that you can jump into community building activities without having to scramble and find the materials you need. It’s one simple way you can add a little calm to a stressful time.

Heidi 1:27
Over the years, Emily and I have created an extensive library of back to school products. To help you find the tools that will make the start of your new year easier, today we are spotlighting one of our brand new back to school resources, the all about me backpack.

Emily 1:42
Yes, this is just a classic beginning of the school year activity. So students get a backpack page that they can color and then a sheet of paper patches that they can use to decorate their backpacks. But there’s a twist. The patches are arranged in this or that pairs, so students can decide if they’d rather add a cat or a dog picture or a space or an ocean patch.

Heidi 2:04
I love this because it gives a fun finished product that you can hang in the hall or on a bulletin board. But it’s also a great gateway for discussion. You can have the class gather around the finished backpacks and then lead a discussion about the similarities and the differences that the kids notice.

Emily 2:20
And we designed this with teachers in mind, as we always do. So it’s really adaptable to your first week of school needs. There’s a version that includes writing and a simpler version that skips it. You can give kids two sheets of patches, or if you want to be quick, you can just use one sheet to get the same benefits in a shorter time.

Heidi 2:37
Plus, because we know that some kids just can’t be caged by predetermined options, you know there’s always at least one, we included blank patches so kids can draw their own.

Emily 2:48
It is a simple craft with lots of community building benefits, and you can grab it at the link in the show notes.

Heidi 2:55
Now if you walk into any classroom in October, you can immediately tell which teachers approach community building strategically, versus those who just hoped that it would happen naturally.

Emily 3:05
Yeah, the strategic teachers have students who support each other, solve problems together and genuinely seem to enjoy being in the same room. The ‘hope it happens’ teachers have 25 kids who just happen to share the same space, and they may or may not know each other’s names.

Heidi 3:19
We know that when you are juggling curriculum standards, behavior management and the exhaustion of just trying to get everyone on the same schedule, it can feel like community building is just one more thing on an already impossibly long list.

Emily 3:34
But what the research tells us, and what we’ve seen in our own classrooms, is that when you invest time in community building early, it saves you countless hours of behavior management later. Students who feel valued and connected are more likely to make the kinds of choices that don’t cause headaches for their teachers.

Heidi 3:51
And we really want to spare you from as many headaches as possible. So today, we are walking you through exactly how to sequence your community building over the first month of school.

Emily 4:01
We talked about those crucial first three days and helping every student know they’re safe, seen and needed. But what happens next? How do you take that foundation and actually build a classroom community that lasts all year?

Heidi 4:14
So we’re going to break it down into five strategic phases that build on each other. First up, we have those first couple days of school. We call this the spark. If you joined us in Episode 211 we talked about using day one to help students feel safe and day two to help students feel seen. These two goals are the backbone of your class community.

Emily 4:35
These first days are all about breaking the ice and reducing that natural tension that comes with new situations. Your students are already processing so much, your expectations, the classroom layout, new faces everywhere. So your community activities need to be simple and structured.

Heidi 4:51
In these first couple days, think light and easy, not deep and meaningful. Save the heavy emotional stuff for later, when kids feel safer. So one of our favorite spark activities is a this or that walk. It gets kids moving and laughing without requiring them to share anything too personal just yet.

Emily 5:10
And it’s so easy to do, just present two choices like pizza or tacos, mountains or beach, or morning person or night owl, and have students move to different sides of the room based on their preference. It’s a simple way to get kids moving while discovering what they have in common.

Heidi 5:25
You may need a third option for neither, because, again, you’ve got those little rebels.

Emily 5:28
I don’t like pizza or tacos.

Heidi 5:31
Yes, absolutely. You know it will happen. But I love this activity because it’s structured enough that even your most nervous students can participate, but fun enough that your class clowns will stay engaged. Plus, you’re going to be amazed at the conversations that spark when kids realize that their quiet classmate also loves superhero movies, or that their reading buddy is also terrified of spiders. And I’m going to join that group too.

Emily 5:57
I think go noodle has a bunch of these activities that you can show that can give you a second to sit down and take a sip of water before you fall over. So that could be a good way to use it.

Heidi 6:06
Yeah, you definitely want to take any opportunity for a break in the first few days. Another thing I like to do at the start of the year was have students bring three small things from home for show and tell on the first day, and then I’d also schedule some time for on the second day, for the kids who forgot their stuff on the first day. It’s a really basic activity, but it’s an effective way to get some insight about your new students.

Emily 6:27
Just don’t make the mistake of trying to get through the whole class in one sitting. Your fresh from summer break kids do not have the focus for that. It’s much better to break it up into a few chunks throughout the day. Learned that one the hard way.

Heidi 6:42
And while these types of activities have value on their own, they’re also the perfect laboratories to teach and reinforce expectations while the stakes are low. This is so important. Teach your active listening expectations before show and tell time. Discuss how to be a good partner before having the kids play a game, you can set guidelines for how to move around the room safely during this or that.

Emily 7:03
When you’re clear about behavior expectations and students recognize that you hold them accountable for meeting those expectations, you’re not only making your classroom management easier, but you’re also signaling to them that emotional and physical safety matters to you, and you’re someone students can trust.

Heidi 7:18
No matter which activities you choose to launch the year, the key principle is to keep things light, short and highly structured. By the end of these first two days, students should feel safe and seen. They should know that your classroom is a friendly place where they can be themselves without judgment.

Emily 7:34
And that sets us up for phase two of community building. We’re calling it surface, and this is where you start getting to know personalities and interests on a slightly deeper level. Students are feeling more comfortable by days three to five, when this phase is, so you can introduce activities that reveal more about who they are. The mystery classmate game is a great way to spotlight each student. Distribute a small questionnaire and give students a few minutes to work. When they’re finished, collect them, pick a random one, and read the clues out loud, ask the class to guess who they think the mystery classmate is.

Heidi 8:06
The nice thing about this is that you can stretch it out for a few days. You can read a few papers a day as a warm up or a time filler. Just make sure that you commit to getting through the whole class, or you are going to have some very disappointed new students.

Emily 8:18
Desk doodles are another great activity for day three or four. Give each student a few sticky notes, then ask some get to know you questions, like something that makes me smile is, or my favorite snack is. You could even pick some wackier prompts, like, if I had a pet dragon, I’d name it… For each question, have kids write or draw a quick response and then come stick their note on the wall around the room, on the door, or set up a bulletin board titled get to know our class.

Heidi 8:46
I love this because it’s such a simple way to get some student work on display with the most minimal effort. Plus, you are building the sense that your class is one community made of many parts, and that’s one of the big goals for these surface days. You want to create opportunities for students to know that their contributions are welcomed and valued.

Emily 9:05
Simple shout outs are perfect for this phase. Ring a chime and have each table give a shout out to someone they notice doing something well. It teaches kids to look for the good in each other.

Heidi 9:15
These activities are still fun and engaging, but they’re helping students see each other as real people with unique interests and strengths.

Emily 9:24
All right, you’ve made it through the first week. Now things are really cooking. Week two is what we call the shape phase, and this is where community building shifts from getting to know you to deciding who we want to be together.

Heidi 9:35
At this point, students are getting comfortable enough to actually contribute to setting expectations and creating the culture that you’ll share. This is when you can move from individual connections to group identity. Week two is the perfect time for anchor read alouds with meaningful discussions. Books like Our Class Is A Family or The Name Jar can spark conversations about belonging and inclusion that go way deeper than day one activities.

Emily 10:01
Collaborative classroom agreements happen in this phase too. Instead of just hearing your rules, have students help create the expectations. They’re way more likely to follow rules that they helped make.

Heidi 10:12
And this is also when you can start class identity projects. Maybe you create a class chair together, choose a mascot, or decide on special traditions that make your classroom feel unique.

Emily 10:23
One thing that can really help is making a point to have a one on one interview with each student. It gives you a chance to talk about what they like and don’t like about school, what matters to them, and what they’re hoping for this school year.

Heidi 10:35
The nice thing about this is that you can stretch it out over several days or even weeks, if you need to, the goal is to just create a point of connection between you and your students so that you have a foundation to build your relationship on. It’s really hard to feel connected to someone who is only ever addressing you as part of a larger group.

Emily 10:55
What’s beautiful about combining these individual conversations with the group identity work is that when students feel truly seen by you as individuals, they’re more willing to invest in the group. They know you value them personally, so they trust the community you’re building together.

Heidi 11:11
Oh, exactly. That’s so important. Those one on one moments actually strengthen the whole class community, because each student feels secure in their individual relationship with you. When kids know they matter to their teacher, they’re more open to mattering to each other.

Emily 11:26
The focus of this shape phase is for students to start thinking of themselves as we instead of me. They’re not just individual kids anymore. They’re part of this special community.

Heidi 11:38
That brings us to weeks three and four, and this is our strengthen phase. Stuff is getting real here. By now, you’re going to start seeing authentic personalities emerge, and you know that means you’re also going to be seeing some challenges too.

Emily 11:52
But try to look on the bright side. It means students feel safe enough to be themselves. But this is when you need to strengthen bonds, and you probably also need to teach conflict resolution.

Heidi 12:04
Yes, it is a pain to have to sacrifice academic time to teach social skills, but try zooming out and looking at the big picture. Losing a few minutes of math time here and there for the sake of teaching students how to productively solve problems is actually going to save you time in the long run.

Emily 12:22
Yeah, and when your day to day isn’t bogged down by having to play a referee, you’ll be amazed at how much of your content you can actually cover. Plus teaching students how to navigate conflict constructively, actually builds a stronger community than just pretending that problems don’t exist.

Heidi 12:38
Another way to strengthen your class identity is to build relationships outside of your class. If you can arrange cross grade buddy partnerships, this is a great time to start that. Older students love mentoring younger ones, and it builds that sense of contributing to the larger school community.

Emily 12:54
By the end of this strengthen phase, your students should feel like a team that can work through challenges together.

Heidi 13:01
And our final phase is sustain. And this is about keeping that community connection alive all year long, through consistent routines and rituals.

Emily 13:10
But your sustaining needs to be sustainable. A good idea might be limiting yourself to two to three routines that you can actually maintain without burning yourself out rather than trying to do everything.

Heidi 13:22
Weekly high and low shares work great. You just ask students to share the best and the most challenging parts of their week. It helps everyone keep connected to each other’s lives.

Emily 13:32
Community service projects work beautifully here too. Writing thank you notes to school helpers or organizing playground equipment gives students a shared purpose beyond just academics. Be intentional about celebrating kindness in your classroom as well. It will influence how your students relate with each other.

Heidi 13:49
One simple idea that I love from one of our teacher approved listeners, is to start each day with a Laffy Taffy joke. It sounds silly and ridiculous because it is silly and ridiculous, but kids absolutely just love that moment of groaning at cheesy humor together.

Emily 14:04
Oh yes. Another meaningful way to start the day is with a quick social emotional check in. Post a bunch of emoji faces and ask students to point, write on a whiteboard, or place a sticky note next to the emoji that reflects their feelings that day.

Heidi 14:19
Morning meeting also works beautifully for sustaining community throughout the year. Having time to gather as a group really grounds the energy of the room, and you can extend this into routines like a daily closing circle or even just a Friday closing circle to wrap up the week on a high note.

Emily 14:34
Oh, I loved having those in my classroom. There are so many effective and powerful ways to create classroom community all year long, but unfortunately, there just isn’t time in the day to do them all. So decide on a limit for what you can maintain and stick with it. Remind yourself that a simple routine done every week beats an elaborate activity done once a month, and maybe just pick one to start and add in more if you find you’re able.

Heidi 14:58
Yeah, that’s such a good advice. And as you’re thinking about sequencing these activities, remember that community building has to work for all students, not just your outgoing social ones. Create space for your introverts with quiet reflection time and optional sharing opportunities. Our goal with community building isn’t to make every student extroverted, it’s to help every student feel valued in their own way.

Emily 15:21
So as you’re planning your first month, ask yourself, What will my class do together that starts building them into a team? How will I sequence deeper connection activities? And what sustainable routines will keep that community spirit alive all year?

Heidi 15:34
Start with the spark activities that break the ice, move to surface activities that reveal personalities, then shape your community identity together. Strengthen those bonds when challenges arise, and sustain the connection all year long.

Emily 15:50
Relationships aren’t just nice to have, they’re essential for learning. When students feel they belong, they’re more willing to take academic risks, ask questions and support each other through challenges.

Heidi 16:00
We would love so much to hear about your favorite community building activities. Please come join the conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.

Emily 16:08
Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week’s teacher approved tip is remind yourself now what you can do in May. So tell us about this. Heidi.

Heidi 16:21
Well this is your annual reminder. I think we’ve done this probably at least twice, if not three times already, but we want you to take a second right now to make next year’s back to school season easier. So we’re going to be super strategic here. So as you are preparing, pay special attention to any tasks that could be done ahead of time.

Heidi 16:40
So for example, if you like to have each kid in your class make a 3d all about me booklet, make a note to run your copies and cut the ribbon ahead of time. And then what you need to do is to send this list into the future somehow. Maybe you send yourself an email and schedule it to arrive in the middle of May, or you schedule a reminder on your phone to prompt you to check the to do list that you made in your notes app. Just find some way to make sure that this list gets to you near the end of the next school year.

Heidi 17:11
Then if these tasks are still relevant to your future plans, use your resources to get things checked off of that list. So if you have parent volunteers coming in during the school year, have them cut out the paper shapes for the next back to school. Or, if you have instructional aides at your school that maybe need projects to do to stay busy during end of year testing, get them making your back to school copies.

Emily 17:35
You also might want to keep a list of the materials you’re using first as you set up your room. That way you can plan what to put in your need first box when you’re packing up your room next spring.

Heidi 17:46
And again, the key to making this work is making sure that that list comes into your life at the time when you’re going to need it. You will tell yourself that you’ll remember life is going to be so crazy nine months from now that you will forget that you even made a list, much less where that list actually is. So make it easy to get ahead and schedule the reminder now.

Emily 18:07
We love giving a gift to our future selves around here, so doing something today that can benefit your life a year from now is gold metal future self gift giving. That’s a copyrighted phrase, trademarked.

Heidi 18:21
To wrap up the show, we’re sharing what we’re giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?

Emily 18:32
I’m giving extra credit to the knee cube from pillow cube. So have you seen the pillow cube? It’s like, basically like a rectangle, cube pillow that you lie on your side. Yeah. And I’ve wanted to try it as a side sleeper, and I still haven’t. So I may, in the future, come back and say that I’m loving that as well. But the knee one got me. I was like, let me try this knee one, because it’s not straight rectangular for the knee. It has cutouts. But the thing I like about it is that it supports more than just right where your knees connect. Because it’s much bigger, it can support higher up onto your thighs or lower onto your calves, depending how you use it, you can turn it like two different ways. And then it’s got all these different, I wish that this was a visual medium so I could show everyone, but it has a bunch of different indentations based on how you want to sleep. So you could have, like, your bottom leg going straight and the other one at a right angle because of the way the indentations are.

Heidi 19:21
Oh that’s cool.

Emily 19:22
And so it took me a couple nights to get used to it, because I was just using, like a small, regular knee pillow before this. But now that I’m used to it, I love it. I’m obsessed with it. So the other thing is, they just came out with the cooling version, which I don’t know if it’s necessary. That’s not the one I’m using, but that means the original has gone down in price. So.

Heidi 19:40
Oh, that’s cool.

Emily 19:41
That’s a bonus win, is it’s a little more affordable now, so I’ll put a link in the show notes.

Heidi 19:46
Hey, I might have to check that out.

Emily 19:47
It’s good. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

Heidi 19:51
My extra credit goes to Bare Bells protein bars, and Emily, I know you already gave them extra credit for this, but now I’ve become hooked, so I feel like they deserve a second shout out.

Emily 20:01
Okay, I will agree to this.

Heidi 20:04
They really have such good flavors, and each one that has 20 grams of protein, they are the way to go as far as I’m concerned. I have one for breakfast pretty much every day. It’s just so convenient, and they’re tasty. And, you know, protein bars can just feel so heavy sometimes. But this, these aren’t bad at all. So fingers crossed that GNC does another big sale for Labor Day, because the massive stash I built up on Memorial Day is about to run it.

Emily 20:29
That’s the key. You gotta stack up on these when GNC has their buy one, get one free promo. That is the key to saving. Then you do a subscription, so that brings a price down, and then you just immediately cancel the subscription when it’s delivered. Then you just stock up every time there’s a sale. But one time they had a buy one, get one sale recently, and bare bells were excluded. But there has been one since then that they were included. So I’m hopeful they will be included again, hopefully around Labor Day.

Heidi 20:57
And I feel like there was a coupon code even on top of that, it was like, buy one get one.

Emily 21:01
Yeah, because it was like a memorial day deal, so that was the best I’ve ever seen it.

Heidi 21:05
Yeah, it was, it was a good moment for if you need protein in your life.

Emily 21:09
If you like these, you got to stock up when you see them on sale.

Heidi 21:13
So let’s all have our fingers crossed for Labor Day.

Emily 21:15
Yes, please.

Heidi 21:17
That is it for today’s episode. Remember, strong classroom communities are built by design, not by default. The strategic sequencing we talked about today can transform your group of individual students into a supportive team.

Emily 21:29
If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a teacher friend who’s working on building classroom community, and join our Teacher Approved Facebook group where we’re always sharing practical ideas and supporting one another.

Heidi 21:42
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I’m Heidi.

Emily 21:46
And I’m Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.

Heidi 21:52
You can connect with us and other teachers in the Teacher Approved Facebook group. We’ll see you here next week. Bye for now.

Emily 21:59
Bye.