The Paradox of the Early Days: Building Trust and Respect

image from Uberallburo website

A few weeks ago, as summer was winding down and the new school year loomed, I came across this quote from Brenda Powers of Choice Literacy: "It’s a paradox that the early days of school fly by so quickly, yet it is still such slow, hard work to build trust and respect."

This resonated with me so much that I printed it out in large font on colored paper and pinned it to my (actual, real, physical) bulletin board by my desk as I started the year. I posted it because building trust and respect early in the year is such vital work, work that sets the tone for all other work for the rest of the year, and can easily get lost in the rush to jump into the business of curriculum. And I didn't want to forget to do it. 

Oh sure, the first week was full of get-to-know-you games and setting the expectations for all things school. But that's not enough. Here are some things I do to build classroom community throughout the first 6 weeks of the year:

image by hrlab

1. Share, share, and more share. Yes, part of the workshop structure already includes share time. But early in the year, share time IS the work. Write a little, share. Read a little, share. Reflect a little, share. "Pair-share with your elbow partner" is easiest, but it's important to get kids to share with others that are not in their immediate friend circle if you want to build classroom community. Other structures are: share across the table, two members of a table switch with two members at another table, mingle with music and share with whoever is closest when the music stops, make an appointment calendar with four other people and share with one of them, whip around the room so that everyone shares one small thing, and of course the classic (but scary for most middle schoolers) whole class share.
2. Reader-Writer Poster: Students make a poster introducing themselves as readers and writers. This includes a short About the Author bio, favorite quotes about reading and writing, an excerpt of a piece of recent writing, and 3 favorite books with blurbs and justification for inclusion. We do a gallery walk connection activity (another share!) where students look at each others' posters and have to find 4-6 commonalities between their own poster and others' posters (no repeats!). 
3. Six-Word Memoir: Students think about how they can capture their life philosophy, their hopes for the year ahead, or their past into six words. After drafting a few possibilities, they pick their best one, write it on a colorful sentence strip and share with others (remember #1?). These are posted on the wall for the first few weeks.
4. Writer's Workshop: I start the year in English Language Arts by launching Writer's Notebooks because we write about ourselves in our Notebooks, and then... yep, you guessed it, we share those stories with others! Students write memories, beliefs, entries about identity and pet peeves, important times in their lives, and rewrite earlier entries to practice craft. Although this is challenging for those students who are new to Writer's Notebooks, it is a great way to learn about each other through the first 3 weeks of school.
5. Reader's Workshop: Although it is already week 4, we are still building community and trust. Students think about their reading identities and... share those identities with others. What books do you like? What reading habits do you have? When do you like to read? What books made an impact in your life? This sets us up for a year of independent reading and book conversations. Students find others who like the same kinds of books (even if they are not "friends" socially), so that they can get recommendations and share their reading life with others who can relate.
6. Add in fun. Building community, trust and respect can be fun, and having fun together builds community. We know the get-to-know-you games during the first week are fun. But we often forget about fun after that. Share time is a great time to incorporate fun, even if it's just playing upbeat music while they talk. Get students out of their seats, have standing conferences instead of seated. Play rock-paper-scissors or a variation (I love gorilla-man-net instead) to see who goes first to share. Have kids high five or give an exploding fist bump after sharing as thanks to their partner. Build in stretch time after focused work by playing Simon Says. 

   

   image from Rizomatica website

English Language Arts is a scary place without trust and respect. I ask kids to write personal stories, take creative risks, bare their thinking, work collaboratively in groups. None of that important work will happen unless class is a safe place, not just with me, the teacher, but also with their peers. Building classroom community is important work early in the school year, and it takes time. Find the time, take the time, and your classroom will be a better place for it throughout the year.