Overview
Relationships are at the heart of teaching and learning. It is the foundation upon which academic and personal success can be built. The activities and templates in this collection are intended to provide ideas and lessons for building community in your classroom. These experiences allow students to learn about each other, to get more comfortable with one another, and for you to get to know each of them, too. It is through this sharing that you can begin to create a safe, respectful, and trusting community of learners.
Options
At AVID Open Access, we’ve created templates and activities to get you started. The templates may be completed digitally or printed to complete offline. The benefit of the digital version is that multimedia content (images, videos, links) can be more easily included. If you find a Google version that you like, click the “Use Template” button to generate your own version that can be edited and shared as needed. You may also download a PowerPoint version if you are a Microsoft user.
Templates from AVID Open Access
“All About Me” T-Shirt Template
BINGO Mixer and Community Builder
“Meet Your Classmates” Class Collaborative Slideshow
“My Favorites” Speeches
“Star of the Week” Digital Sticker Template
Team T-Shirt Template
Virtual Locker Activity
“Would You Rather?” Template
Online Digital Tools to Use for Community Building
- Book Creator (Tips): create a class book or have each student create a book
- Canva: create an infographic or flyer about yourself
- Google Sites (Tips): create a class website with a page for each student
- PicCollage: create an image collage that represents you
- Piktochart: create an infographic or flyer about yourself
- Quizlet Live: create a quiz about the students in your class
Integration Ideas
Any activity that allows students to share their personal stories and get to know each other can help to build community. The templates and activities on this page provide students with a structure that helps to make this sharing safer and more comfortable. These activities can be done individually, in small groups, or as a full class. You can adjust the group size depending on the comfort level of the students in your class. If students create artifacts that represent themselves, consider posting them in your physical or virtual classroom spaces. This honors your students and their identities.
How Can I Learn More?
Explore AVID Open Access for more free templates, articles, tool tips, podcasts, and other great resources, including the related collection: Create Community and Nurture Connections to Support Social and Emotional Learning.