Community Building Activities for Students

Research indicates a strong correlation between a student’s sense of community and their participation and engagement in school. Building a strong classroom community is essential for student success, especially considering the prevalence of mental health disorders among children. The Association of Children’s Mental Health (ACMH) states that 1 in 5 children has a diagnosable emotional, behavioral, or mental health disorder. This holds true for English Language Learners (ELL) and bilingual students, who may face additional challenges due to language barriers in English-focused curricula. Creating a classroom environment where every student feels valued and supported is crucial.

Understanding the Importance of Community in the Classroom

Fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom is not just about creating a friendly atmosphere; it’s about directly impacting student learning and well-being. When students feel connected to their peers and teachers, they are more likely to participate actively in class, engage with the material, and persevere through challenges. This is particularly important for ELLs and bilingual students, who may need additional support to feel comfortable and confident in their learning environment.

Teachers have long recognized the importance of creating a safe and secure school environment to help students focus on learning. A 2018 study revealed that teachers who intentionally cultivate a sense of belonging by greeting each student at the door experience "significant improvements in academic engaged time and reductions in disruptive behavior."

Factors to Consider When Planning Community-Building Activities

When planning community-building activities, it’s important to remember that every class is unique. The best approach will depend on a variety of factors, and you should always consider your students’ needs. If you have ELLs in your classroom, evaluate the language support that they will need to fully participate in games or discussions. Considering your students’ needs will make it easier to determine the best approach for building classroom community.

Icebreaker Activities

The first day of anything can be scary. Ease student anxiety with fun icebreaker activities.

Read also: About Grossmont Community College

Birthday Lineup

This game can be done in two ways. In the first, instruct your students to line up in order of their birthday, starting with January 1 and ending with December 31. Everyone will have to chat to find their place in line.

Or add an extra challenge by asking your students to line up in order of their birthdays, but with no talking. With some guessing and gestures, they’ll have to find their spot. There are sure to be lots of giggles - the mark of a great icebreaker!

Caterpillar Race

All you need for a caterpillar race is a starting line and a finish line. Split your classrooms into teams that have four to ten students. Each team will form a straight line. Then, everyone places their hands on the shoulders of the student in front of them. On the count of three, everyone crouches down like a caterpillar, being careful not to let go of their friend’s shoulders. Then, go!

Bingo

A spin on regular bingo, this team building game is a great way to get students talking to each other about things they have in common. Make your own bingo cards that include different characteristics your students may share. For example, “I have a sister” or “I like pizza”. Every card should have the same boxes to check off. Ask students to read through the boxes and find one that’s true for them. Have them walk around the room, comparing their box with the other students. Once they find a friend who has chosen the same box, they both mark that box and return their seat. Repeat the process until someone has a Bingo.

Storytime

This activity can be done with the whole class or small groups. Together they’re going to tell a story. Provide a theme, or let them have free reign.

The first person will start the story by saying just four words. Then the next person will add on four words of their own. Keep it going until everyone is giggling about the turtle who went to the supermarket and then jumped in the pool!

Sitting in a circle or line can make it easier to tell who’s turn is next, but it isn’t necessary. Happy storytelling!

Common Denominator

Common denominator, also called Thread, is a simple activity to build your students’ communication skills. Assign students to small groups and set a timer for five minutes. Ask your students to find one thing that they all have in common. It may be a type of pet or favorite food. Once a group finds a common thread, they can chat about it until the time is up. You can end the activity there or rearrange the groups and do it again. Or add arts and crafts and have your students draw a picture or flag to represent their group’s common denominator. Of course, icebreaker activities don’t have to be for just the first day of school. They can be great tools to start a small group conversation or to help reintroduce students when the seating chart is rearranged.

Team Formation Based on Similarities

For this team building activity, students will be encouraged to form “teams” based on their similarities. Compile a list of things you believe students will have in common. Students will have to walk around and talk to each other to find out which “team” they are a part of. To accommodate different learning needs or language proficiencies, you may want to create visuals for students to be able to complete the activity.

Venn Diagram Exploration

This activity is the perfect way to get students thinking about their similarities and differences. First, you will put students in pairs and give them a blank Venn Diagram. It may be helpful to provide young students and ELLs with sentence frames or sentence starters to guide their discussion. As students discover their similarities and differences, they can complete the Venn Diagram together. You may do this weekly at the beginning of the school year, assigning students partners until all students have met with each other.

Activities to Encourage Communication and Collaboration

Teamwork and cooperation are essential for learning. Teamwork helps students build communication skills as they collaborate and strategize. And, as student groups work together to conquer problems, student confidence grows. Of course, these skills don’t just apply to the classroom. They’ll continue to serve your students in their everyday lives - from playing sports to building friendships, and even into their adult years. Ready to incorporate more teamwork into your classroom? Team building activities are a great place to start!

Indoor Team Building Activities

Most of the time, you need activities that can happen right inside your classroom. Even though most classrooms don’t have a lot of extra space, these fun team-building activities will do the job.

Human Knot

This activity requires no set-up or special materials. All you need is your students! To start a human knot, have small groups of 5 to 10 students stand closely together in a circle. Instruct them to reach their hands into the middle of the circle and randomly grab another student’s hand. Once every hand is grabbed, have students untangle themselves without letting go. Giggles will ensue as the group works together to bob, weave and climb their way back out.

Cup Stacking

This quick-paced activity requires loads of teamwork and communication! You’ll need a rubber band, some string, and a few cups. Split your class into teams - groups of four to eight work best. Each team needs one rubber brand and as many strings as there are teammates. Each player ties their string to the rubber band. Then, everyone steps back and works together to place the rubber band around the cup, expanding and contracting as needed to place it just so. Together, they will maneuver the rubber band to fit over the top of the stacking cup.

Hula Hoop Fingers

This simple activity only requires a hula hoop and a group of up to eight students. Arrange the students in a circle and have them all hold out their hands, palms up. Place the hula hoop in the center of the circle, resting it on their fingertips. Their goal is to set the hula hoop on the ground without dropping it or hooking their fingers around it. And there’s absolutely no grabbing! For added difficulty, ask students to use only one hand or just their index fingers

Marshmallow and Toothpick Challenge

Divide your classroom into two equal teams. Give each team a set number of marshmallows and toothpicks. Then give them their challenge - make the largest, tallest, or most creative structure!

You can give the students a few minutes to strategize or just jump right in. Teammates should take turns adding one toothpick and one marshmallow at a time to their structure. Your students will quickly learn that faster doesn’t always mean better. Their structures will need to have a good foundation and be well-built to stay steady as they get taller. It’s sneaky physics learning that’s a ton of fun.

Outdoor Activities for Team Building

If it’s a pretty day, take your students outside and enjoy some team-building activities in the sunshine.

Chuck the Chicken

Chuck the chicken is an awesome team-building game for burning some energy! It’s a crazy striking and fielding game with three different variations. Check out this video for all the details and get your students moving.

Tug-of-War

Tug-of-war is a classic team game. Split your class into two teams and grab a sturdy rope. Try your best to make sure the teams are equally matched so it’s fun for everybody. And before starting, survey the environment to make sure that there are no obstacles that can injure the players. Then have each team pull as hard as they can in order to bring the other team across the line or off their feet.

Hula Hoop Pass

Teaching a large group? Hula hoop pass is a perfect choice! Have your entire class form a circle and hold hands. Grab a hula hoop and place it on a student’s arm at one point in the circle. The goal is to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle without releasing their hands. Then enjoy the laughter as everyone wiggles the hula hoop around themselves. Need an extra challenge? Have your students race against the clock to see how fast they can get the hula hoop all the way around the circle, or divide the class into groups of two for more competition.

Group Jump Rope

Group jump rope can be lots of fun if you have multiple adults or teenagers to help out. You'll need an extra-long jump rope and plenty of space. Start swinging and have your students jump the rope in groups of two or three. They’ll have to work together to not get in each other’s way while jumping together.

Obstacle Course

An obstacle course can be used in several different ways to build teamwork. One option is to split your students into pairs. One student is blindfolded while the other only uses their words to guide them through the course. Good communication is key!

Another option is to complete the course as a relay. Students can cheer each other on as they encourage each team member to complete the course the fastest.

Strategic Team Building Games

Build problem-solving and critical thinking skills with these strategy-based team building games.

Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great option for larger groups. Students can search for a single hidden prize or a list of objects. Another variation is to have students find one object for each color of the rainbow or letter of the alphabet. Students can work in pairs or small groups. If they’re looking for many objects, they’ll learn it’s fastest to strategize and divvy out the objects each person is responsible for finding. Prepare a list of important things to find in the classroom and have students copy it into their journals.

Build as a Team

This activity is a fun way to get those creative juices flowing! Give each team the same building materials and a set time for creating a structure. The building materials can range from books to duct tape to boxes to string. Whatever you have available works. Decide if your student teams should all build the same thing, like the best bridge, or leave it open-ended and see where their imaginations take them.

Hidden Structures

Hidden structures is an awesome team-building activity. To start, you’ll need to make a structure out of legos or building blocks. Then hide it from view, under a tarp or a bedsheet.

Split your students into small groups, and instruct them to designate one person as the leader. The leader on each team comes to your desk and has ten seconds to look at and memorize your structure. Then they get 25 seconds to describe to their teammates how to build it.

Finally, the teammates will get one minute (or longer if it’s complicated) to replicate your structure. Once the time is up, unveil your structure to the class and decide which team got the closest to the original.

You can repeat this process with a new structure and new leader from each team as often as you’d like.

Team Challenges with Limited Information

Divide students into two teams. Gather one team on a flat bedsheet, tarp, or blanket. The goal is to have the team flip the sheet over without anyone stepping off.
Prepare a tray with 20 unrelated items, e.g., a book, an eraser, a juice box, etc. Have each group divide the items into four categories that make sense to them. For example, things you wear, things you use with your hands, etc.
Objective: This blind drawing activity requires teamwork and clear communication as one student directs the other to draw a picture. Give one student a blank piece of paper and a pen or a marker. Give the other student a picture of a simple object. The student holding the illustration will not tell their partner the name of the picture.

Activities Focused on Building Empathy and Understanding

Read-Alouds

Books are wonderful tools for building classroom community. Many picture books are designed to cultivate a sense of belonging and mutual respect. Read-alouds aren’t just for younger students-consider reading mystery or detective stories with your older students. Our Favorite Day of the Year by A. E.

Meaningful Conversations

One of the best strategies for building classroom community is encouraging meaningful conversations. According to Lily Allen Hughes, “The Morning Meeting uses teacher modeling for students to practice and learn important social skills that will benefit the students’ social and academic lives. Depending on class size, you can break students into groups or have everyone gather in a circle to have a group discussion.

"Fill the Bucket" Activity

Based on a popular children’s book, “Fill the bucket” is a classroom community activity that teaches students the importance of helping others and being kind. Teachers can begin by having students read the “Have You Filled a Bucket Today?” story independently or together. Teachers can encourage students to participate by giving them a goal or reward to work towards. Students can either choose from pre-filled acts of kindness that you’ve displayed or write their own.

Sharing Experiences and Feelings

This team building activity encourages students to share their experiences and feelings about certain topics. Students will each take a turn choosing a question or prompt and have 3-5 minutes to share their answers and explain why they feel that way as their partner(s) listen quietly. Then, encourage students to present their partners’ answers to the class, showing them that they heard and understood what they were saying.

Quick Activities to Foster Community

Some of the activities below take less than five minutes.

Shout-Outs

This is a quick way for students to celebrate each other for doing a job well or for attempting something difficult. Shout-outs can be incorporated at any point in a class. First-grade teacher Valerie Gallagher of Providence, Rhode Island, rings a chime when she wants to get the class’s attention to ask who has a shout-out.

“It’s not just me as the teacher saying, ‘You’re doing well’-it’s a way for them to interact with each other and celebrate positivity,” says Gallagher.

Friendly Fridays

Elizabeth Peterson, a fourth-grade teacher in Amesbury, Massachusetts, uses Friendly Fridays as a simple way for students to lift each other and themselves up. Peterson has her students write a friendly, anonymous note to a classmate, practice using positive self-talk, or use storytelling to give a peer a pep talk.

Sharing Acts of Kindness

Fifth-grade teacher Marissa King, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, shares two activities that encourage kindness. Having students come up with their own norms creates “a pathway toward belonging for every single student in that class,” says Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder of Turnaround for Children.

“Instead of a top-down list of rules that a teacher gives a class, these are words that we generated together,” says Shaddox. “It helps us own the behavior in the classroom.”

Group Salutes

A moment shared between two or more students at the beginning or end of an activity, a Group Salute is a teacher-prompted interaction that is a quick, low-prep way to cultivate community.

Morning Meetings

Morning meetings have long been a staple of elementary classrooms, but they can help students in all grades transition into class. Riverside School, a pre-K to 12th-grade school in Ahmedabad, India, uses a version of morning meetings at every grade level as “a pure relationship-building time.” Bonding exercises led by teachers or students include physical or social and emotional activities, or discussions of sensitive topics like bullying.

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