Building and maintaining a strong classroom community provides a range of benefits for all kids. For some, it can be a reason they are able to access school.
I supported a 4th grade gen ed classroom teacher to include a wide range of students in his classroom. A special education teacher was assigned to the class as a consultant teacher, providing him with modifications, strategies and some push-in time.
One of the students in this class was a friendly, funny, creative and musical girl. I’ll call her Emma. In prior years, when Emma got frustrated or confused, she might yell, say the same words over and over again, engage in repetitive actions like throwing things in the garbage can, and would occasionally turn over desks or chairs.
Her teacher welcomed her and was eager to learn strategies to support her. His greatest concern was how to talk with his other students about her behavior and what they should do when she was upset. He asked if I would work with his class.
He started with regularly scheduled class meetings. The class co-created meeting norms and processes for sharing. This was the first crucial step in creating the climate of inclusivity and belonging needed.
With Emma’s permission, I came in to answer questions during a class meeting. We gave Emma the choice to stay for the meeting, to have a signal to leave at any time, or to not attend at all. It was very important that she and the class knew that we weren’t doing something behind her back or without her permission. She chose to stay for the first meeting, and various times throughout the year she took each of those options.
The students asked meaningful, thoughtful questions about Emma and why she did what she did. I did not, of course, share confidential information, but answered the questions I could and said I didn’t know when I didn’t. Emma’s communication skills were such that she couldn’t answer some things either. After the first two sessions, I turned their questions over to the class.
- What do you think you need if Emma is upset?
- What do you notice she responds to?
- Any ideas about what we can put into place to be helpful to her or you?
They became increasingly creative in their problem solving as their teacher was awed by the meta-cognition they were developing in this process.
The cafeteria was a hard place for Emma. The students approached us and asked if a small table could be put in the cafeteria for Emma and 2-3 kids who would rotate weekly to eat with her. It worked beautifully for all of them.
A few months into the school year, Emma was showing some signs of agitation that we couldn’t put a finger on. Her family wasn’t sure what was happening for her, and neither were the adults at school.
We called a meeting with the kids. They told us that as Emma was more and more comfortable with the lunch table, she was getting increasingly animated with the kids. Apparently, their table was getting raucous! They shared that anytime Emma got loud, EVERY adult in the cafeteria came running over in concern that she was acting out. The students said that response scared them, so they could only imagine how agitated Emma felt.
These 4th graders created a plan in which they would have a representative student who would go get an adult if Emma was agitated. She didn’t turn over any cafeteria tables her entire 4th grade year…a first!
The more students feel seen, heard and empowered to solve problems, the more interdependent and creative they become!
If you need some ideas for community building, join our FREE webinar on Wednesday, October 30th! You can register HERE. And if you’d like some new Community Building activities for your classroom, check out our Community Builders at learn.lakretz.com. Happy community building!