Equality and Human Rights Commission
Learning area 4: Learn About the Meaning of Community
Scholars examine the jobs found in their community by way of surveying. After collecting data, pupils analyze their findings and share their observations with their peers. A video sparks interest. Two posters motivate participants to...
Missouri Department of Elementary
An Apple a Day
Three apples—green, red, and rotten—exemplify character traits, negative and positive. Following a discussion about the classroom community, scholars complete an apple-themed worksheet that challenges them to read each trait, color it...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Many Roles I Play in My Community
Small groups brainstorm their roles in the community. Then, individually, complete a community roles web worksheet. Peers share their completed product and extend the conversation to include the feelings and character traits that go...
PBS
Around the Block
Arthur and his friends help children explore the concepts of family, community, and diversity in a fun series of activities. From performing peer interviews to mapping out the different places students have lived or visited, this...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
PBS
Venn Diagram: My Partner and I Are Different
Celebrate your class's diversity with this Venn diagram template. A perfect resource for building a classroom community at the beginning of the school year, pupils are able to learn about their peers while discovering what makes them...
Curated OER
Building Classroom Community
Learners practice critical-observation and pre-writing skills as they recognize and embrace diversity. They discover how even though all people share some traits, we are also unique and name some physical traits that we all have in...
Teaching Tolerance
Be the Change...
An engaging lesson empowers individuals to make a difference in the community. Pupils work together to identify problems within the community and draft possible solutions. Scholars then take it to the next level by volunteering their...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Color Your Community
Eighth graders work together to come up with a topic for a service learning project that engages all members of the school community. Groups then develop a dialogue and visit other classrooms to encourage other students to participate....
Voices of a People's History
Voices in The Classroom
Everyone's perspective of the past is different. A thought-provoking unit gives young academics the opportunity to explore their perspectives on history and their neighborhoods. Based on the work of Howard Zinn, each lesson explores...
Curated OER
Building a Cohesive Learning Community
A classroom where each person feels important, respected, and accountable provides the foundation for successful learning.
Teaching Tolerance
Community Spotlight Cards
Not all heroes wear capes—or cleats. Class members identify unsung heroes in their schools or towns for interviews, then create trading cards. A celebration including presentations or trading of cards completes their investigation of...
National University
Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are the focus of a four-activity social and emotional learning unit designed for fourth graders. In the first activity, peers get to know one another by sharing an item that means something to them. Activity two...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Arts Showcase
An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Color is Your Apple?
Build your classroom community with an activity that uses apples to examine oneself and their classmates. Participants draw four large apples on blank paper then exchange them within a small group. Group members write a character trait...
Curated OER
Color Your Community
Eighth graders identify the self as an individual and as a member of a diverse local and global community. They recognize roles and responsibilities of being a family, school, or community member and the interrelationship of roles and...
Teaching Tolerance
Artistic Expression Showcase
No one is too young to create a masterpiece. Elementary artists delve into the topic of social justice with original artwork. Scholars keep journals to reflect on their experiences before putting paintbrush to paper. Final artwork is...
Teaching Tolerance
Fairness Fair
How can we create a more fair world? Chances are, class members have some ideas! After reading a text about fairness, individuals create skits around the ideas of fairness. Extend the learning and make their presentations a...
Teaching Tolerance
Identity Self-Portraits
What symbols represent you best? Individuals consider how they would draw peers using symbols about their identities with an interview and art activity. After conducting interviews and portraits, the art makes a great centerpiece for...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Puzzle Mural
Every piece of the puzzle is important. A lesson gives individuals the opportunity to create artwork that spreads a message of inclusion and tolerance. Class members work in teams to create pieces of the mural that form a larger picture....
Missouri Department of Elementary
Character Clovers
Build a classroom community with a lesson that uses character clovers to examine scholars' roles. Following a whole-class discussion, participants list four roles they play and accompany it with the character traits that go along with it.
Newspaper Association of America
Community Connections with Geography and the Newspaper
Understanding geography and government begins at the local level. Using maps and the parts of a newspaper, a unit plan introduces the concept of community. It starts with the creation of classroom and school maps, and then moves through...
Curated OER
Linguistic Diversity. Languages in Canada - Elementary
Create a language mosaic to reveal the linguistic diversity in your community. Pupils interview a person with a home language other than English and contribute to a bulletin board display representing the variety of languages spoken. The...