A SENSE OF BELONGING

A SENSE OF BELONGING

Children, like adults, need to feel emotionally connected to the people who are important to them. These connections give them a sense of belonging that results in feelings of security and contentedness. At first, this sense ofbelonging is established through relationships with family members. As children experience love, they feel special and important, and they come to see themselves as a vital part of their family groups. Later, as outside groups such

Getting into Focus as school and clubs enter children’s lives, teachers play key roles in helping

students develop a sense of belonging.

Helping Children Feel They Belong

It is essential for students to feel welcome and relaxed in the classroom and for them to understand that their contributions to the class are important. Here are some suggestions for helping students feel they are valued members of the class.

Suggestions

Let the students know they are important.

• Be available to students, whether they want to ask you school-related questions or they simply want to share something with you. Greeting students as they arrive through the door or staying after school just to let them talk with you communicates the fact that you value being with the class.

• Get to know each student. Listen to what students are saying, even in casual

Respect

conversation, and tune in to the things a student is interested in or curious about. If a student communicates that he is interested in dinosaurs, bring a dinosaur book to class for him to read. When students see that their interests and concerns are important to you, they feel important.

• Share your own personal information with the class. Let students know about your family,

hobbies, interests, and goals. As you and the class get to know one another, bonds of mutual trust and respect are established.

• Express appreciation when students are especially helpful and cooperative. Letting students

know that they have an impact on how you feel confirms to them that they are valued human beings.

Encourage cooperation and teamwork.

• Give the class opportunities to work in pairs or small groups. Vary the groups during the year so that students have a chance to work with different partners. As students work together and learn from one another, they see that individ- ual contributions count.

• Let groups share their work with the class. Then have students comment on what they liked about each activity or what they learned from the different

Participation

presentations. Having the class respond to their work gives students important feedback about what they did.

• Make sure you ask every student to take on classroom responsibilities such as handing out papers

or cleaning the chalkboard. These responsibilities let children know they are needed to help the class in particular ways.

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• Provide opportunities for the whole class to work toward one goal, such as tidying up the class-

room, decorating the hallway, or putting on a play. A class effort results in an accomplishment in which everyone can take pride.

• Set up a buddy system with an older or younger class, and let students write letters to one

another or read together. Older students can tutor younger ones in reading, math, or other subject areas; younger children can draw pictures or write stories for their partners. During the year, let your students show their appreciation to the other class by having them write thank-you notes or design “appreciation awards” for their buddies.

Capture group memories.

• Take photos of your class working together and post the pictures on a bulletin board or place them

in a photo album. Seeing these pictures can strengthen the feeling of connection students have with one another.

• Every few months, have each student contribute one page to a “Classroom Book of Memories.” The

pages in the book should describe school events or activities that students have especially enjoyed. As students read these pages, they will be reminded about the good times they have shared.

28 IF22636 Skills for Successful Teaching