Community-building in the

classroom: A process.

https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2164-
4683.1997.tb00370.x
https://doi.org/
10.1080/00094056.1999.10521988
https://doi.org/
10.1080/00405848609543203
https://doi.org/
10.1080/1554480X.2018.1437731
https://doi.org/
10.1080/1554480X.2018.1437731

https://www.educause.edu/
research-and-publications/books/
learning-spaces/chapter-4-
community-hidden-context-
learning
Autores:
Nicholas, Sacra Nevaire
Fuente:
Journal of Humanistic Education & Development. Jun97, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p198.
10p.
Tipo de documento:
 Article
Términos temáticos:
*HUMANISTIC education
Resumen:
Takes a look at the process of community-building in the classroom.
Description of the characteristics of genuine communities; Application of
processes of community-making to educational settings; Stages of community
in the classroom.
Rec
uen
to
tot
al
de
pal
abr
as:
4446
ISSN:
0735-6846
DOI:
10.1002/j.2164-4683.1997.tb00370.x
Número de ac
9708111802
Información d

Idioma

COMMUNITY-BUILDING IN THE CLASSROOM: A

PROCESS
Contenido
1. NEW PERSPECTIVES
2. DESCRIPTION OF A COMMUNITY
3. A CASE FOR COMMUNITY-BUILDING IN SCHOOLS
4. STAGES OF COMMUNITY-BUILDING
5. STAGES OF COMMUNITY IN THE CLASSROOM
6. ACTUAL EXPERIENCES OF COMMUNITY-MAKING IN THE CLASSROOM
7. CONCLUSION
8. REFERENCES

Texto completo

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Why are some educators suggesting that the theory of schooling be changed from
organization to community? After defining and describing characteristics of genuine
communities, a case is made for building community in classrooms. Processes of
community-making, developed by Peck, are applied to educational settings. Peck's
(1987) stages (Precommunity, Chaos, Emptiness, and Genuine Community) are then
related to actual classrooms.
Issues like caring, community, and stewardship have recently been examined not
only by educators (Noddings, 1995, Setgiovanni, 1994, Smith, 1993), but also by
leaders in other disciplines (Block, 1993, Senge, 1990, Wheatley, 1992). Why?
Because these topics constitute some of the core principles on which sound
foundations for schools and other organizations rely to function effectively.
Sergiovanni stated the following:
Community-building must become the heart of any school improvement effort.
Whatever else is involved--improving teaching, developing sensible curricula,
creating new forms of governance, providing more authentic assessment,
empowering teachers and parents, increasing professionalism--it must rest on a
foundation of community-building. (p. XI)
The focus of this article is on community-making and its construction in the
classroom. The exploration of both principles and processes is combined with
information from members of cultures with rich community experiences. Native
North American tribes and Aboriginal groups in Australia are examples of groups who
offer insights and models for living in communities that differ from what is commonly
experienced by children in most U.S. educational systems.
Principles of community-making developed by Peck (1987) in Different Drum,
Community-Making and Peace are also used as a basis for the investigation of
community in the area of education. Although his book does not specifically address
the education community, Peck offers new perspectives on some of the guiding
principles that make the formation of classrooms more comprehensible and give
direction to more fulfilling social interactions that support learning. Although
community in its pure form may not be likely to occur, most educators arc probably
capable of developing an approximation to the ideal community described by Peck.
NEW PERSPECTIVES
Those of us raised in the dominant culture of the United States have been living in a
world based on logic, judgment, reading, writing, mathematics, cause-and-effect, and
the scientific method. Taking a look at ourselves from another perspective helps us
examine our living metaphors and perhaps demonstrates why the development of
community in our schools and classrooms might be very important. Morgan (1991)
described a currently existing Aboriginal society whose members have "destroyed no
forests, polluted no water, endangered no species, caused no contamination, and all
the while have received abundant food and shelter. They have laughed a lot and
cried very little. They live long, productive, healthy lives and leave spiritually
confident" (p. 11). In contrast, our "politically free" economically prosperous world
has produced a fragmented society with increasing crime rates, youth suicides,
broken families, illegitimate births, and disenchanted citizenship.
How can we live so that we no longer poison our offspring with toxic actions that
lead to polluted societies? Perhaps we need to listen and be willing to learn from
societies that have developed a strong community. Imitating them, even if it were
possible, would not be advisable. We may understand the processes and see the
benefits of community in other cultures, but each society must define itself and
create community from within, not just attempt to follow others ways of living.
Sarason (1994) explained that humans have need for transcendence, and that
because we feel the absence of a sense of connectedness and human community,
we are in psychological crisis. According to Oldenquist (1991), this connectedness
called "community;' is essential to human beings. Its absence results in alienation.
Embedded in these messages is a call to look more deeply into institutions, and
perhaps to build them on firmer foundations that support relationships that are
respectful of all involved.
DESCRIPTION OF A COMMUNITY
Before illustrations and applications of community-building are provided, it is
important to define community and examine why it is important for educators to
develop the understanding and skills that are used in facilitating and maintaining
effective communities in classrooms. The goal in the creation and maintenance of a
genuine community is for its members to seek ways in which to live with themselves
and others in love and peace. The relationships of members in communities are often
characterized by qualities such as respect, caring, trust, commitment, inclusiveness,
and empowerment (Raywid, 1993).
True communities include a variety of points of view. Individual differences are
actually appreciated, and differences in opinions in community are dealt with
through consensus. Conflict and chaos are allowed to happen in constructive ways.
Because so many frames of reference are allowed, a richer sense of reality is more
likely to be approached than in less open systems. The members of a true
community have learned to be contemplative through the process of community-
building and are thoughtful about the group as well.
Community is a safe place because no one is attempting to fix, change, heal, or
convert anyone else. It functions as a laboratory where its members can experiment
and gain new experiences from which they may extract new wisdom. This is an
unconditionally accepting way of existing versus the often very conditionally
controlling environments traditionally found in classrooms. According to Peck (1987),
Community is an amphitheater where the gladiators have laid down their weapons
and their armor, where they have become skilled at listening and understanding,
where they respect each others' gifts and accept each others' limitations, where
they celebrate their differences and bind each others' wounds, where they are
committed to a struggling together rather than against each other. (p. 71 )
Sergiovanni (1994) explained that a variety of forms of community may flourish in
schools. They are caring communities, learning communities, professional
communities, collegial communities, inclusive communities, and inquiring
communities. To be any of these forms, however, schools first must become
purposeful communities, where members are bonded through shared values,
conceptions, and ideology.
A CASE FOR COMMUNITY-BUILDING IN SCHOOLS
In recent years, research on school effectiveness has indicated that components of
school community such as school climate, shared values, and consensus regarding
the mission and direction of instruction are very important in effectively functioning
schools. Caring communities, according to Noblit, Rogers, and McCadden (1995),
provide a foundation for instruction, discipline, classroom organization, and all the
other pedagogical aspects of classroom work.
Lehman (1993), in summarizing research findings of several reports having to do with
community, concluded that schools that cultivate a sense of community display less
alienation, improved motivation, less student social misbehavior, increased
commitment among students and teachers, and greater teacher autonomy. When
over 24,000 pages of data were analyzed from a study of four culturally diverse
schools (all levels), Sergiovanni (1994) reported that the problems (lowered
achievement, higher drop-out rates, etc.) were consequences of deeper, more
fundamental problems involving difficulty with relationships. Studies of students at
risk indicate that their academic achievement often improves when they work with
teachers who encourage the formation of close personal ties (Wehlage, Rutter,
Smith, Lesko, & Fernandez, 1989).
Lewis, Schaps, and Watson's (1995) review on motivation research as it relates to
caring communities also provides evidence for the need to develop true communities
in the classroom. Their examination of the damage of extrinsic motivation to a
child's commitment to "lifelong learning," coupled with the indication that intrinsic
motivation is linked to creativity and persistence, suggested that educational
environments encouraging the latter are preferable. A caring community
Enhances the academic experience of students. For example, recent research
suggests that caring, responsive classroom communities foster more than students'
social and ethical development; such communities may also enhance students'
academic development. Students work harder, achieve more, and attribute more
importance to schoolwork in classes in which they feel liked, accepted, and
respected by the teacher and fellow students. (p. 552)
With respect to learning mathematics, Lappan and Ferrini-Mundy (1992) presented a
rationale for promoting classrooms as communities of learners. They explained,
We have ample evidence that learning in isolation from interaction with others is
likely to result in students' constructing mathematical worlds that have little fit with
the accepted "truths" of the discipline... The creation of a community in which one's
private world is exposed has the potential to challenge the learner's currently held
views and lead to the construction of more acceptable and powerful views. It is
through the give and take, the back and forth of shared questions, ideas, and
feelings that community begins. (pp. 7-8)
The constraints imposed by our current educational system make community-making
difficult to develop in classrooms or schools. Student and teacher relationships are
often emotionally distant, negotiated around issues of compliance, and
characterized by continuous evaluation and transience.
STAGES OF COMMUNITY-BUILDING
Peck (1987) believed that community-building, although unique to each group, tends
to progress through four stages: Pseudocommunity, Chaos, Emptiness, and Genuine
Community. Not all groups that reach the final stage arrive by passing through all
stages in the same order. Occasionally a group skips stages, especially in crisis
situations requiring immediate responses. (The community of rescue workers formed
as a result of the Oklahoma City bombing is an example.)
Brief descriptions of each stage and the author's interpretation of the occurrence of
these stages in the classroom follow. Because genuine community is hard to see, a
focus on the relationships between students and teachers is used as indicators.
Pseudocommunity
In the Pseudocommunity stage, group members "attempt to be an instant community
by being extremely pleasant with one another and avoiding all disagreements" (Peck,
1987, p. 86), however, this is only a pretense of community because individual
differences have not been accepted--they have only been ignored.
Chaos
The Chaos stage is an essential part of the community-making process because
individual differences are no longer ignored; however, the group is invested in
obliterating these differences. It is a time of unconstructive fighting and struggling.
Emptiness
The Emptiness stage is a time of emotional surrender for the group. It is experienced
as a kind of death in which the group members empty themselves of expectations,
preconceptions, prejudices, the need to control, heal, convert, or fix others, or find
the solution. This stage is the bridge between Chaos and Genuine Community;
however, a group may choose to move away from community and into organization
or return to Chaos or Pseudocommunity as a response to this uncomfortable stage.
Genuine Community
When true community emerges, group members feel a kind of peace and acceptance
among them. They become more loving and willing to straggle together to
accomplish tasks. Although coexistence of members belonging to Genuine
Community is not free of problems, they feel safe and secure enough to show and be
who they truly are. Masks are dropped and the benefits described earlier in this
article are received.
Throughout the progression of each of these stages it is essential that the leader be
able to abdicate leadership as one of their main functions so that others do not
develop unhealthy dependencies and learn to lead themselves. The role of the leader
is subtle yet essential so that, "a group can learn to go into emptiness only when its
leader is able to practice emptiness"(Peck, 1987, p. 117).
STAGES OF COMMUNITY IN THE CLASSROOM
How do the community-making stages look in real classrooms? It has been my
experience in developing classroom communities at the elementary and middle
school levels that the first stage, Pseudocommunity, is likely to occur during the first
few days of school. In Stage 1, the teacher may feel pleased with his or her group of
students and optimistic about what they will accomplish together. The group of
students also considers that they are fortunate to have a nice teacher. Everyone
puts their best foot forward during the Pseudocommunity stage. The stage can be
abbreviated when, for example, a class contains one or more highly undisciplined
students. As soon as one of these students acts out in an unexpected or
unacceptable manner, the class is often thrown into chaos.
The second stage, Chaos, is usually reached after just a few days in the classroom.
Some students seem to have forgotten much of what was taught during the previous
year and several start testing limits. This often results in frustration for everyone in
the classroom, prompting the teacher to attempt to reestablish limits, change
unacceptable behaviors, and remediate learning difficulties of certain individuals or
groups of students. The students tend to bicker with each other and see the teacher
in a less favorable light than when the class was in the Precommunity stage.
Stage 3, which Peck referred to as Emptiness, is accompanied by unpleasant
feelings of depression, sadness, and thoughts about how things will never be as the
teacher or the class had hoped. There is a temptation, and even pressure at times,
for the classroom teacher to opt for organization at this point in the community-
building process. The problem with this choice is that the benefits of community are
then not available to the students. In my personal experiences of building classroom
communities, I have never recognized I was in Stage 3 until I was almost ready to
move out of it and on to Stage 4. It is my impression that although the students may
feel out of sorts during this stage, they have very little conscious awareness of the
dynamics that occur in this or any of the other stages.
Stage 4 is called Genuine Community, and is characterized by a sense of
acceptance. The teachers now know more about the many dimensions of their
students and although an awareness of problems and annoyances exists, the
students are still accepted and loved for who they are and what they are able to do.
The students, too, come to a deeper understanding of each other and their teacher
while adopting a more accepting attitude.
Because of the unique composition of individuals and circumstances in each
classroom, there is always variation in the community-making process from class to
class. However, the first year I taught school I had several rich experiences that had
I known more about community-making and the stages of this process, I might have
at least felt a little less frustrated. For instance, my first-grade class was thrown into
Chaos by one student who, upon entering the classroom on the first day of school,
proceeded to run around the room touching everything and causing general mayhem.
At the end of the day, this student was the child who read all the credits in the movie
being showed to all first graders. The same year, I also had a built-in human
"community-sensor;' a child by the name of Mike, who often cried and sang in class.
He cried for the first 3 weeks of school (as the community was being formed), sang
throughout class for the next few months (during Genuine community), and cried
again during the last couple of weeks of school (when the community was
dissolving).
It usually takes me about I month to move into Genuine Community with my
students; however, this varies with each group and also with individual teachers. For
example, my son once.had a teacher who seemed to complete the process of
community-building in the first (very intense) week of school.
Peck (1987) warned that genuine communities must not avoid troublesome issues
and problems, engage in chaotic fighting rather than struggling to incorporate
individual differences, form destructive alliances, or create dependency instead of
interdependency. When a classroom gets a new student, the community must be
renegotiated and formed to include the new student as a viable member. However,
much more disruptive than adding or losing a student to a classroom community is
for a class to get a new teacher. Although leadership in community is almost
invisible, it becomes quite evident what a powerful stabilizing force it can be,
especially when it no longer exists or when new leadership is introduced.
ACTUAL EXPERIENCES OF COMMUNITY-MAKING IN THE CLASSROOM
I always find it helpful to hear how teachers take a new idea or theory like
community-building and incorporate it by reconstructing their classroom
environments. For this reason, I share some community-making ideas applicable to
individual classrooms as well as a summary of one schoolwide community-making
project described in the literature. Other excellent examples of community-building
at the schoolwide level are reported by Smith (1993) and Sergiovanni (1994).
One idea comes from some of the Native North American communities. To build
consensus, they use a "talking staff" (in the classroom "talking pencil") to determine
who states an idea, opinion, or possible solution for a defined problem. When
someone is holding the staff, no one else has the right to interrupt, even if the holder
is silent or talks unceasingly. The talking staff continues around the circle until each
and every person can say "yes" wholeheartedly to one of the proposed solutions: a
consensus has been reached. It is hard to imagine not having to modify some
aspects of this process for the classroom with limitations on time and rigid
schedules that must be honored; however, even with modifications, I have been told
by teachers that this consensus-building activity can be very effective.
In my own middle school computer lab and classroom, I used to work at diminishing
my status as an "all knowing guru" (which I definitely was not) and sharing
leadership with my students by announcing that I had calculated the time I could
spend answering questions and this time amounted to one question and one answer
per day per student. Because of my limited availability, I told them they were free to
ask other students in the classroom for assistance as often as they desired. As a
result of this policy, many interesting things happened in my classroom over time.
First, students stopped asking me to repeat instructions. (They hated wasting their
question on such trivial matters when someone else in the class could easily answer
this question for them.) Next, students learned to depend on other students in the
classroom as resources. Teacher questions even became a form of classroom
currency. Students asked to carry unasked questions over to the next day (not
allowed), or let another student have their question for the day (allowed). Students
often found that putting their ideas together with the talents of another was
beneficial, and the more able students who enjoyed helping others felt especially
empowered. In addition, it was a relief to be in a classroom with so many wonderful
"student" teachers. This shared leadership was the kind of relationship advocated by
Peck in community-building.
Another excellent example of community-making at the schoolwide level is
described by Lewis et al. (1995). They noted actions taken by a group of elementary
teachers who, after attending several annual science fair awards assemblies,
became dissatisfied with the negative impact this ceremony had on many of their
students. They responded by redesigning the fair and creating a "family science
festival" to take its place. The staff used three goals to guide the design of this new
form of science fair. First, it had to meet their children's needs for friendship,
participation, and belonging in a constructive manner. Second, they wanted the
experience to make families of their students feel welcome at school. Last, they
wanted an emphasis placed on inherently interesting and challenging science
projects rather than competitive awards. As a result of these changes, the school
was transformed into a hands-on science museum for one evening each year with
record numbers of students and parents in attendance. Those teachers
demonstrated how a learning environment can be designed to have both intellectual
rigor and a caring community as essential components.
CONCLUSION
Why is it so important that we make the effort to construct communities within our
educational systems? One reason is that schools may be one of the few places
where there is enough stability and continuity in a child's life to make learning about
and experiencing true community possible. In such an environment, children can
begin to overcome a sense of alienation and launch the search for meaning and
significance that is primary to every human being.
Why might a teacher choose organization over genuine community? There may be
many reasons, but one of the primary factors has to do with the structure and culture
of classrooms and schools. Many are designed to maximize control, and yet, a true
community encourages pluralism with decisions being reached through consensus. A
teacher who dares to develop a true community in the classroom must be willing to
let go of a need to control, including the need to monopolize verbal interactions, be
overly helpful, look like a hero, give quick and easy answers, or promote only their
own ideas.
Our schools currently seem to be organized to avoid themes like caring and
community. Smith (1993) suggested that schools, as they are currently constructed,
do not foster the experience of community. He stated:
If schools are to provide the support and guidance young people need to become
responsible and engaged adults motivated by a concern for the common good, they
will need to be reformulated in ways that counter the disintegrative impact of their
present organizational and governance structures as well as their curricula. More
than discourse about educational communities and shared visions will be needed to
bring about this change. (p. 11)
With respect to the theme of caring, Noddings (1995) argued, "it is morally
irresponsible to simply ignore existential questions... but it is equally irresponsible to
approach these deep concerns without caution and careful preparation" (p. 677). An
awareness of the community-making process seems to be a good place for
educators to begin addressing this point.
One potential problem associated with advocating and developing programs that
encourage community is that these types of programs may be associated with the
idea of teaching attitudes and "values." The debates and discussions over such
issues have left communities so embroiled in controversy that school officials often
avoid dealing with these types of essential school issues.
A second obstacle is black-and-white, either-or thinking that keeps people vacillating
between a concern with challenging curriculum and a concern about students' social
well-being in our schools. Both issues are important and must be dealt with
simultaneously. Competent classroom teachers never attend to one aspect of their
students to the exclusion of others, so why should educational policy makers?
A third issue that must be addressed if schools are to become true communities is to
address school cultures as they have evolved and exist today. We need to minimize
educational practices that undermine community, such as tracking, pullout
programs, or the overscheduling of extracurricular in-school programs, classes, and
activities that contribute to a fragmented school day. Perhaps consideration should
be given to keeping some students together for more than one year to facilitate the
deepening of students' relationships with both the teacher and peers. This might
allow students and teachers to devote more time to academic tasks if the usual
energy devoted to getting to know and form communities in the first 2 months of
school is not repeated every year.
We need to help educators develop the understanding and skills used in facilitating
the community-making process and building strong healthy relationships. Some of
these skills include knowledge of consensus building, group dynamics and group
facilitation processes, and the ability to listen actively and communicate effectively
with others. As Canning (1993) explained, "Our work together is developmental.
Given that we are looking for action in the world beyond 'lip service' to ideals that
require changes in established patterns of power, the work is going to be slow" (p.
384).
The case presented in this article for building genuine communities does not imply
that engaging in important curricular or pedagogical issues in education is
unimportant. These latter issues, however, rest on a foundation of community and
the quality of that community may be vital to students' long-term learning.
Community-building is an inside-out process that requires individual teachers and
individual schools to define themselves and make a commitment to their own life
and practice of schooling. By building communities in our schools and classrooms,
we ensure a more equitable distribution of power and provide a model for students of
how to live in ways that honor individuals without sacrificing the welfare of all.
REFERENCES
Block, P. (1993). Stewardship: The triumph of service over self interest or choosing
service over self interest. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Canning, C. (1993). Preparing for diversity: A social technology for multicultural
community-building. The Educational Forum, 57, 371-385.
Lappan, G. T., & Ferrini-Mundy, J. (1992). Knowing and doing mathematics: A new
vision for middle school students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
Lehman, D. (1993). Building community in an alternative secondary school. In G. A.
Smith (Ed.), Public schools that work: Creating community (pp. 86-100). New York:
Routledge.
Lewis, C. C., Schaps, E., & Watson, M. (1995). Beyond the pendulum: Creating
challenging and caring schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(7), 547-554.
Morgan, M. (1991). Mutant message downunder. Less Summit, MO: MM Co.
Noblit, G. W, Rogers, D. L., & McCadden, B. M. (1995). In the meantime: The
possibilities of caring. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 680-685.
Noddings, N. (1995). Teaching themes of care. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 675-679.
Oldenquist, A. (1991) Community and De-alienation. In A. Oldenquist & M. Rosner
(Eds.), Alienation, community and work. (pp. 91-108). New York: Greenwood Press.
Peck, M. S. (1987). The different drum: Community-making and peace. New York:
Simon & Schuster.
Raywid, M. A. (1993). Community: An alternative school accomplishment. In G. A.
Smith (Ed.), Public schools that work: Creating community (pp. 23-44). New York:
Routledge.
Sarason, S. B. (1994). Psychoanalysis, General Custer, and the verdicts of history and
other essays on psychology in the social scene. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Senge, P.M. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning
organization. New York: Doubleday Currency.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Building community in schools. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Smith, G. A. (1993). Introduction: Schools and the maintenance of community. In G.
A. Smith (Ed.), Public schools that work: Creating community (pp. 1-22). New York:
Routledge.
Wehlage, G., Rutter, R., Smith, G., Lesko, N., & Fernandez, R. (1989). Reducing the
risk: Schools as communities of support. Philadelphia: Falmer.
Wheatley, M. J. (1992). Leadership and the new science: Learning about organization
from an orderly universe. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
I was in love with loving.
--St. Augustine
Confessions (388-395), III, 1
~~~~~~~~
By Sacra Nevaire Nicholas

Building a classroom community.

Autores:
Kepler, Lynne
Fuente:
Instructor-Primary. Sep98, Vol. 108 Issue 2, p47. 8p. 7 Color Photographs, 1
Black and White Photograph.
Tipo de documento:
Article
Términos temáticos:
*COMMUNITY life
*STUDENT activities
*EDUCATION
NAICS/
Códigos del
sector:
611710 Educational Support Services
611699 All Other Miscellaneous Schools and Instruction
923110 Administration of Education Programs
Res
um
en:
Suggests cross-curricular activities on how to enlist the participation of grade
school students in building a classroom community. Includes poster making
during the first class meeting; Discusses the abstract of the Focus on
students' names; Chorale reading; Creating a classroom stationery.
Recuento tota
palabras:
1438
Número de ac
1039194
Idioma

BUILDING A CLASSROOM COMMUNITY

 Contenido
1. CLASS MEETING 1:
2. CLASS MEETING 2:
3. CLASS MEETING 3:
4. CLASS MEETING 4:
5. CLASS MEETING 5:
6. My Great-Aunt Arizona and Me (Literature Link)
7. Classroom Stationery (Language Arts)
8. Making a Local Field Guide (Science, Social Studies, Language Arts)
9. RESOURCES

Texto completo

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Sección:
PRIMARY THEME CLUB
Enlist your students' help in building a strong classroom community where they will
feel valued and demonstrate respect and responsibility. Class meetings are a great
way to start, as Nancy Letts writes in Creating a Caring Classroom (Scholastic,
1997). Here's a plan for class meetings and activities to get students asking "What's
best for the group?" not just "What's best for me?"
CLASS MEETING 1:
Welcome to our class (Critical Thinking, Language Arts)
Use the ThemeClub poster as the focus of your first class meeting. Read the poster
aloud. Talk about how these statements are "principles to live by" for the year, then
discuss the first principle. Ask: "How do we show respect for each other?" Make sure
your discussion includes concrete examples of respectful behavior-listening to each
other, not teasing, and so on. Discussion of the second principle should help
students understand that you expect them to take pride in their work and to always
do their best.
CLASS MEETING 2:
Celebrating Our Names (Language Arts, Art)
Begin this activity as an early homework assignment. For each student you will need
a 3- by 12-inch strip of light-colored tag board. You'll also need a book of baby names
that includes the meaning of the names. Send a note home asking parents to share
with their child how they chose their name. The next day, in a class meeting, ask
students to share how they got their names. Look up the names in the baby book and
read the meanings aloud. (Try researching names that aren't in the book ahead of
time.) Finally, write each student's name on a tag and pass them out. After students
decorate the tags with something they've learned about the names, laminate them
and attach them to students' desks.
CLASS MEETING 3:
Me and My Friend (language Arts)
Chorale readings can be a fun way to bring children together. Pair up students for
this activity. Give each student a copy of the ME AND MY FRIEND reproducible (back
of poster). Let pairs work together to complete the page. One should answer the ???
questions; the other should answer the ??? questions; and they answer the ???
questions together. They should each record all the answers on their own page.
When all pairs are satisfied with their work, gather for a class meeting in which each
pair shares their writing. Students should follow the same symbols to recite their
work in a choral reading. Allow them to rehearse before performing for the class.
CLASS MEETING 4:
Hanging out with a Winning Line-Up! (Language Arts, Social Studies)
Early in the school year, take a closeup photo of each student. (Get double prints--
you never know when they'll come in handy.) Glue each photo to a piece of tag board
(about 9- by 12-inches). Under each photo, write:
This is our friend (underscore).
She/He (underscore).
Hold a class meeting to look at the photos. Ask students to help complete each
photo poster by giving positive statements about their classmates. For example,
"This is our friend Muir. She runs really fast!" Let each student decorate or illustrate
his or her poster. Then laminate them and hang them from a clothesline in the hall
outside your classroom along with the title:
WE'RE HANGING OUT WITH A WINNING LINE-UP.
When you take down the display, collect the posters into a traveling book. Make a
cover page and a page for parents to sign their name and comment on the book.
Punch two holes near the top of each page and gather the pages in binder rings.
CLASS MEETING 5:
Be a Problem Solver (Critical Thinking, Language Arts)
Read the book/Hate My Brother Harry by Crescent Dragonwagon, then talk with the
children about how they can better resolve these kinds of conflicts. Make a list of
things that the children have sometimes had disagreements or conflicts about and
then brainstorm possible solutions. Now give each child a copy of the HOW I SOLVED
MY PROBLEM reproducible (back of the poster). After selecting a problem, children
will finish the sentence "I used to have a problem with..." Then, on the other side
finish this sentence "Now I..." to describe a positive way of solving the problem.
When they have finished their sentences, let the students illustrate their page.
Compile the completed pages into a class traveling book of solutions.
My Great-Aunt Arizona and Me (Literature Link)
Read aloud My Great-Aunt Arizona (Scholastic, 1992). Have students brainstorm
ways that Arizona showed how she cared for her students and list them on chart
paper. Display this list for the next part of the activity.
Demonstrate how to make simple flip books (or make them ahead of time, if needed).
Each student will need two sheets of 8 1/2- by 11-inch white paper. Lay a sheet of
paper flat on the desk, then lay a second sheet on top of it, leaving about 1 1/2
inches showing at the bottom of the underneath sheet. Fold the top part of both
sheets down so the top flap is about 3 inches long and all flaps over.lap an equal
amount. Staple across the top fold and there's your flip book!
Help students to turn the top page into a title page by writing "My Great-Aunt Arizona
and Me." On the edge of the next piece of paper that is showing (don't open it yet!)
give students the sentence starter: "Arizona showed she cared by..."
Students should copy down this part of the sentence on their book then complete the
rest of the sentence using an example listed from the book. Repeat with the
remaining two flaps using these sentence starters:
 "Another way Arizona cared was by...~
 "I show people I care when I..."
Finally, let students go back and illustrate the cover and each page. This may sound
complicated, but it's very easy, and your students will love the results. They can
make flip books anytime, and even add an additional sheet or two for longer books.
Classroom Stationery (Language Arts)
Help your students take pride in being part of the classroom community by having
them create official class stationery. On a sheet of 8 1/2- by 11-inch white paper,
pencil off a 1-inch margin on each side of the paper. In the margin, make one block
for each student in the class, plus one for yourself. Invite each student to draw a
serf-portrait of him or herself in one of the blocks, leaving enough space to write his
or her name in the block. These should just be line drawings done with very sharp
pencils, not colored in. Make copies of this paper to use as stationery for notes home
to parents, notes from you to your students, notes from students to classroom
visitors, and so on. At year's end, give your students several sheets so they can write
to classmates over the summer!
Making a Local Field Guide (Science, Social Studies, Language Arts)
This activity will encourage your students to take a closer look at the world around
their classroom.
1 Pick something to study from your local environment that is interesting to your
students--birds, seashore animals and plants, insects, or even local buildings are just
a few ideas.
 2 Help students make a list of different things from this topic that could be found
locally (such as species or types of buildings). Then let each child choose one to
research and write a short report about. They should also include a drawing with
their report.
 3 When each student has a final copy they are ready to share, organize the pages
into a field guide. Make enough copies so that each student has a local guide to
take home and share with his or her family.
RESOURCES
For Teachers:
Creating A Caring Classroom by Nancy Letts (Scholastic, 1997). This book is full of
ideas on how to turn your classroom into a caring community for children.
For Students:
I Hate My Brother Harry by Crescent Dragonwagon (The Trumpet Club, 1983). Sibling
rivalry is treated humorously in this book about a sister and her older brother.
Joyful Noises.' Poem for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (HarperCollins, 1988). These
enchanting poems for two voices may be too difficult for beginners, but consider
having your better readers perform them for the other students.
My Great-Aunt Arizona by Gloria Houston (HarperCollins, 1992). Fictional account of
real-life Appalachian teacher Arizona Houston Hughes, who inspired her students
through books, song and dance.
Rosie & Michael by Judith Viorst (Aladin Paperbacks, 1988). The positive
characteristics of two friends are explored in this story.
~~~~~~~~
By Lynne Kepler
Kelly, R. (2011). Building Learning Communities beyond the Online
Classroom. Online Classroom, 5.

Building Learning Communities

beyond the Online Classroom.
Autores:

Kelly, Rob

Fuente:

Online Classroom. Aug2011, p5-5. 1p.

Tipo de documento:

Article

Términos temáticos:

*INTERNET in education
*LEARNING communities
*ELECTRONIC classrooms

Empresa/
Entidad:

STEVENS Institute of Technology

Gen
te:

ZOTTI, Robert
 Resumen:

The article discusses the making of online learning communities for online
classroom. Robert Zotti, assistant dean of Stevens Institute of Technology
WebCampus, is working on projects to sustain communities. The article
stresses that the key to create and sustain online learning communities is to
encourage group learning inside and outside the online classroom.

ISSN:

1546-2625

Número de ac

70311236

Building Community With "The

Important Book.".
Autores:

Rodger, Emilie Berruexo1

Fuente:

Childhood Education. Spring2010, Vol. 86 Issue 3, p168G-168I. 3p.

Tipo de documento:

Article

Términos temáticos:

*CLASSROOMS
*CHILDREN'S literature
*BOOKS

Revisiones y
productos:

IMPORTANT Book, The (Book)

NAI
CS/
 Cód
igo
s
del
sec
tor:

414420 Book, periodical and newspaper merchant wholesalers

424920 Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers
451211 Book Stores
451310 Book stores and news dealers

Gente:

BROWN, Margaret Wise, 1910-1952

Resumen:

The article focuses on the use of the book "The Important Book," by Margaret
Wise Brown to develop activities for building classroom community. It details
the importance of community building within the classroom. It cites the
advantages of using children's literature as a vehicle for discussing relevant
topics to children of all ages.

Afiliaciones d
1
Associate Professor, Northern Arizona University

ISSN:

0009-4056

Número de ac

48377963

Creating a caring community in

classrooms.
Autores:

Krall, Charlotte M.
Jalongo, Mary Renck

Fuente:
Childhood Education. Winter98/99, Vol. 75 Issue 2, p83. 7p. 2 Diagrams.

Tipo de documento:

Article

Términos temáticos:

*TEACHER-student relationships
*CLASSROOM environment

Resumen:

Describes how teachers can create a safe, just, inclusive, communicative,

inviting, and caring classroom community. Building mutual trust and respect;
Becoming more caring, competent teachers; Being honest; Cultivating
communication skills; Adjusting the schedule; Altering perspective; Being
human.

ISS
N:

0009-4056

DOI:

10.1080/00094056.1999.10521988

Número de ac

1793670