Team Building, Ice Breakers, and Get to Know You Activities for Distance Learning or In Class

In order to teach children, we need to build relationships with them. In order to work comfortably with each other, they need to build relationships with each other. 

 

So how can we build relationships while staying socially distant? How can we build relationships when we're working remotely? 

Schools are opening in a variety of ways: in person, completely online, or some hybrid version of both of these. No matter how your school is opening, these things are important:

1. Building bonds of trust with your students.
2. Helping students build bonds with each other.
3. Get to know the students academic abilities,
4. Help the children get to know your expectations and procedures. 

This blog post suggests some team building and getting to know you activities, but these same activities will also help  you get to know your students, while showing your expectations as well!

 

Many team building activities can be done in a socially distant class as well as online. Here's one way:

 

Morning Meetings are a great way to start the day! I like to start with some sort of greeting, which can be done if we're all in the same room, or if we're working remotely. These Morning Meeting Greeting Activities come with a fun question for every single day, a nice picture (that can be used as a background for remote learning) and the same writing prompt that can be printed or sent home electronically. 

Whether you're in school or at home, Boom Learning activities are a must! They're amazingly easy to assign in class or online. They're compatible with every platform, and can be sent home with just a link. Plus, the teacher can monitor how each child is doing!

 

 

 

Who am I Boom Cards are perfect for the beginning of the school year. This is a chance for the children to think about who they are, and how they can contribute to their class. 

 

Plus, they get plenty of reading and writing practice! (And the teacher can assess these skills through their responses!)

 

Building Friendships is a popular Boom Resource that gets the children thinking about making good choices when it comes to socializing.

 

Good Citizenship Boom is a great opportunity for children to think about social situations! This will help them learn what kind of expectations you have in your class. The stories give them plenty of examples of positive interactions in the classroom and on the playground.

 

 

This resource has a collection of games and activities for building Classroom Community that can be played in a Socially Distant Classroom or remotely:  20 Socially Distant Team Building Games and Activities to Build Classroom Community
 

No matter how you are going back to school this year, I'm sure you'll find ways to build relationships with your students. What's your plan?

 

 

Three Words About Your Weekend!

Every Monday, we have a special topic for our Morning Meeting Share. Every Monday we share 3 words about our weekend!

 Believe it or not, it's harder for my second graders than it seems! 

Some have trouble limiting it to 3 words. They try to sum up their weekend into phrases and sentences. (I wish they'd apply this skill in their writing and speaking!)

Some actually have trouble remembering their weekend! They really can't remember what they did for the last couple of days! I've had weekends like that where everything blended in together.

Then I have others who start planning their 3 words on Friday, and are all excited when it's sharing time!

Then there are others who are so interested in the 3 words others share they can't remember what they planned to say themselves.  I admit, I've done that more than once.

One of the best benefits: It helps the children when it comes to note taking. It gives them practice choosing the important words and distinguishing them from those "little middle" words that aren't essential.

Example: "I went to Applebee's with my family. I had chicken."  becomes "Applebees, family, chicken"

or 

"I played in the snow with my sisters. We built a fort."

becomes "Snow, sisters, fort"

As the year goes on, they're getting better at it, and just in time! We're starting our big library research project!

Another advantage to this sharing?

It gives me lots of information about my students, and what is important in their lives. Plus, it doesn't take up a whole lot of class time!

What are 3 words about your weekend?