Activity: Community Web

Objective: To help students discover shared interests and qualities among their peers, fostering a sense of connection and community.

Instructions:

1. Prepare Your Paper: Each student will receive a piece of paper or a few sticky notes.

2. Share Your Uniques: On your paper, write down 2-3 interests, hobbies, or positive qualities that make you unique. For example:

   • "I love to draw."
   • "I'm good at math."
   • "I enjoy reading adventure books."
   • "I like playing basketball."
   • "I am a good listener."

   Think about what makes you special and what you enjoy! Be ready to share these with your classmates.

3. Find Your Connections: Once you've written down your items, stand up and walk around the room. Your goal is to talk to your classmates.

4. Draw a Line: When you find someone who shares one of your interests or qualities, write their name on your paper and draw a line connecting their name to yours. For example, if you both love to draw, connect your names with a line.

5. Talk It Out: Briefly chat with your classmate about your shared interest! Why do you like it? How long have you been interested in it? This is about building real connections!

6. Keep Connecting: Try to find as many different connections as you can in the allotted time! The more lines you draw, the more you're building our 'Community Web.'

Reflection Questions (after the activity):

• How many different connections did you make?
• What was the most surprising connection you found?
• How did it feel to discover things you have in common with your classmates?

Discussion: Our Community Promise

Objective: To reflect on shared connections and collaboratively establish norms for an inclusive and respectful classroom community.

Discussion Prompts:

1. Reflecting on Connections:

   • How did it feel to discover shared interests and qualities with your classmates during the Community Web activity?
     
     
     
   • Were there any surprises? Did you find connections with people you didn't expect?
     
     
     

2. Importance of Knowing Each Other:

   • Why do you think it's important to know about each other's interests, strengths, and unique qualities in our classroom?
     
     
     
   • How can knowing these things help us work together better?
     
     
     

3. Building Inclusivity and Respect:

   • What does it mean to be inclusive? How can we make sure everyone in our class feels included and valued?
     
     
     
   • How can we show respect for both our shared interests and our differences?
     
     
     

4. Creating Our Community Promise:

   • Based on what we've discussed and learned today, what are some agreements or 'promises' we can make to each other to ensure our classroom remains a strong, supportive, and inclusive community?
   • Let's brainstorm a few key statements together that we can all agree to follow. (Teacher will write these on the board to create a collective 'Community Promise'.)

Conclusion:

• Review the collaboratively created 'Community Promise.'
• Emphasize that living by this promise every day will strengthen their classroom bonds and create a truly wonderful learning environment for everyone.

Circles of Connection: Teacher Script

Introduction: What Makes a Community? (10 minutes)

Teacher: "Good morning/afternoon, everyone! I'm so glad to see all your wonderful faces today. Let's start with a big question: When you hear the word 'community,' what comes to mind? What does a strong community look like, or feel like?"

(Display Slide Deck: Circles of Connection - Slide 1 and 2. Allow students to share their initial thoughts. Write down key ideas on the board.)

Teacher: "Excellent ideas! You've mentioned things like helping each other, feeling safe, sharing, and being kind. Our classroom is a community, too! And just like any great community, it thrives when we understand and support each other."

"Today, our goal is to strengthen our classroom community even more. We're going to do this by discovering what connects us, celebrating what makes us unique, and practicing how we communicate respectfully with everyone. We want to create a place where every single one of you feels valued and included."

Activity: Community Web (20 minutes)

Teacher: "To help us uncover these connections, we're going to play an activity called 'Community Web.'"

(Display Slide Deck: Circles of Connection - Slide 3. Distribute paper or sticky notes.)

Teacher: "Here's how it works: On your paper, I want you to write down 2 to 3 interests, hobbies, or positive qualities that are unique to you. These could be things like 'I love to draw,' 'I'm a great soccer player,' 'I'm a good listener,' 'I enjoy reading fantasy books,' or 'I'm good at solving puzzles.' Think about what makes you special and what you enjoy."

"Once you've written down your 2-3 items, your task is to walk around the room and talk to your classmates. When you find someone who shares one of your interests or qualities, you'll draw a line between your names on your paper. For example, if I love to draw and Sarah also loves to draw, I'd write 'Sarah's name' and connect it to mine with a line. And Sarah would do the same on her paper!"

"The goal is to discover as many shared connections as you can and build a 'web' of friendships on your paper. Remember to talk to each other about your shared interests! Don't just point and walk away. This is about building bonds!"

(Allow students to circulate and engage in the activity for about 10-12 minutes. Circulate and observe, offering encouragement and prompting as needed. Refer to Activity: Community Web for further guidance.)

Teacher: "Alright, everyone, let's start to come back together. Find your seats. What an amazing buzz of conversation I heard!"

"Who would like to share one interesting connection they discovered during the Community Web activity? Tell us who you connected with and what you had in common!"

(Call on a few students to share their connections.)

Discussion: Our Community Promise (15 minutes)

Teacher: "That was fantastic! Seeing all those connections form is exactly what we mean by building a strong community. Now, let's think about what this activity taught us."

(Display Slide Deck: Circles of Connection - Slide 4.)

Teacher: "First, how did it feel to find shared interests with your classmates? Was it surprising? Did it make you feel more connected?"

(Allow a few responses.)

Teacher: "Why do you think it's important for us to know about each other's interests, hobbies, and strengths in our classroom? How can knowing these things help our classroom community?"

(Encourage students to think about collaboration, empathy, and understanding. Refer to Discussion: Our Community Promise for more prompts.)

Teacher: "Great points! When we know more about each other, it's easier to be inclusive. What does it mean to be 'inclusive'? And how can we make sure everyone in our class feels included, valued, and respected, even if they have different interests than us?"

(Guide the discussion toward active listening, inviting others, and celebrating differences.)

Teacher: "Fantastic ideas! To bring all of these wonderful thoughts together, I think we should create our very own 'Community Promise' for our classroom. This will be a short statement or a few bullet points that remind us how we commit to treating each other and building our community every day. What are some key things we want to include in our Community Promise?"

(As students offer suggestions, write them on the board to form a collaborative 'Community Promise.' Refer to Discussion: Our Community Promise and Slide Deck: Circles of Connection - Slide 4 for guidance.)

Conclusion (5 minutes)

(Display Slide Deck: Circles of Connection - Slide 5.)

Teacher: "What a powerful 'Community Promise' we've created together! Let's read it aloud as a class. Remember, our classroom is a special community where every single one of you belongs. By celebrating our connections and respecting our differences, we build a supportive and inclusive place for all."

"Let's commit to keeping our 'Community Promise' alive every day, making our classroom the best community it can be! Thank you, everyone!"