Building a strong classroom community for students is crucial for creating a positive and supportive learning environment. Here are some easy ways to help you achieve this for your classroom.

4 Ideas for Building a Positive Classroom Community

1. Create a Gratitude Board: Gratitude boards bring a sense of positivity to the classroom. Students choose appreciation rather than negativity. Showing gratitude also cultivates empathy, promotes emotional regulation, and sets a lifelong habit which can lead to overall wellness. Studies also show that gratitude can boost academic performance by students being more motivated to learn and perform well in school.
2. Show and Tell: While Show and Tell sounds obsolete, it is an important time for students to share about their lives. Classroom schedules have recently become so full of academics, that this time for sharing has mostly been put aside. Students LOVE to share about their activities, pets, hobbies, etc. This time is not wasted but rather will help build strong community and connections.
3. Hold Compliment Circles: Compliment circles are very powerful to boost self-esteem and build positive relationships. I recently observed one in action and watched how the students loved to receive but also, more importantly, to give compliments.
4. Create a Shout Out Board: In addition to compliment circles, a shout out board is also a way to build self-esteem and community. As your classroom community grows, so will your Shout Out Board. Click here for Shout Out Forms that may be helpful in your classroom.

• When staff or students see someone doing something awesome, they fill out the form and put it on the board.
• This board will build self-esteem and confidence in your students.
• Research shows that positive reinforcement is what changes behaviors.
• In this activity, positive behaviors are reinforced without drawing attention to negative behaviors.
• Prep is easy and quick…. just print and you are good to go.
• Students love sharing that they were on the Shout Out Board!

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There are many ways to build Classroom Community. What are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments.