Community+Building+Ideas

Community Building Activities What you choose and/or adapt, depends obviously upon your grade level and content level; please elaborate on these activities as well as continue to add more.

Thank you! Comm
 * Snowball Activity- students put something unique about themselves on a piece of paper; everyone throws them onto the ground and then grabs another person’s snowball. Students engage themselves by interviewing and trying to guess the unique aspect to a student.
 * Headliner Activity- Write a newspaper headline about someone.
 * People Bingo, see Inquiring Minds, adapt to your unit
 * Think Tac Toes- see example from class, adapt to your unit
 * Students create rules
 * Y Chart for classroom norms or adapt for your own unit
 * Name Plates/borders
 * 2 truths and a lie
 * Toilet Paper sharing
 * “I connect” (yarn or ball)
 * Dating Game
 * Culture Quilts
 * “I am” poems, or bio poems
 * Introduction letters
 * Value Line, can move into Fold the line, to encourage discussion
 * Step forward, step back
 * Nobody knows…
 * Brainstorm encouraging words (think about nonviolent language)
 * Insider/outsider circle
 * Name Tag picture
 * Artifact and share with the class – something that represents you
 * Theme Song (good for m.s., hs., college) – bring a song that represents you, share with small groups why (and/or written response), then make cds or upload for class them songs
 * Student survey
 * Interviews
 * Line up via age, height, etc.
 * “Quiz” about preconceptions “What car do you think I will drive?”
 * Name Game (Marvelous Melissa, Curious Cathy, Jumping Jasmine)
 * Incorporate Nonverbal ice breakers
 * Fluid groupings to help students learn about each others
 * Bell – ask students to write about each themselves and show personal ideas/opinions
 * Opportunities for individual sharing
 * Morning Meeting activity
 * Graph your likes and interests using “People persons” a body shape they individualize and then use then when graphing
 * Self-portrait with 3 traits about person in background
 * Crest that represents self
 * Notecards
 * Journals
 * Personality Posters
 * Nerf Toss
 * Color Tests
 * Speed Dating
 * Answering a random questions
 * Brown Bag- artifacts, name on bag
 * “What I like about (name) – “have people write what they like about you
 * Facebook profile
 * Spectrum activity
 * Personality Brochure
 * Home visits
 * Summer soccer get together
 * Role Play