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First Week of School |
One of my first priorities at the beginning of every school year is to establish a strong sense of community in my classroom. I feel that when students understand that we all belong together and that their actions affect the whole group, they make better choices.
I introduce the concept of community by creating this bulletin board. Each student receives a puzzle piece on day 1 to draw a self-portrait on. When they come to school on day 2, the bulletin board is ready.
We sit together in front of it and talk about things like:
- What it means to belong to a community;
- How wonderful is to be part of our community;
- How members of our community treat each other;
- How our actions affect all of the other members.
I refer to that board several times during the year to celebrate what a great team we are, and to remind students that our choices make a difference.
If you would like to create this bulletin board in your classroom, download the template for free!