Building a Virtual Class Community

The first couple of weeks of virtual teaching were rough. I cried often. For me, the most
challenging part was coming to the realization that I'd have to do everything completely different than I have for the past twelve years. I needed to find a new groove AND get my students to find a new groove also. I understood that it wasn't just more challenging for me, but also entirely different for them. Like me, they were used to collaborative community building activities the first couple weeks of school: Find Someone Who? Getting to Know Me, Teacher Investigations, etc. I was at a complete loss on how to create an interactive, virtual community. 

After days of figuring out how I could re-create my cheerful, lively classroom, I started doing some research. As usual, I found many tips and tricks on different social media platforms. Teachers across the country were struggling like me. They were looking for ways to recreate their lively, interactive classrooms. I poured over countless blog posts and slowly started to rebuild my classroom community. It's far from where we usually are in November, but it's also far from the first couple of school days. 

*Please note: I'm not here to say that I have it all figured out, but I don't cry daily, so I feel like that's a start.  

Here are three things I'm doing to help me connect virtually with my students:

1. Attendance questions

Where I first found this idea?

My research led me to a wonderful teacher on Instagram, The Townie Teacher. She is super inventive and shares her resources for free! One of her resources that I've been using daily is "The Ultimate Attendance List." 

What is it? This idea is very similar to restorative circles or check-in questions. This resource (linked above) is a list of "this or that" and my favorite questions. Students have to think about how they will respond and share their answers with the class. 

How I use it? I choose five each week and type them onto my "Get Ready" slide for each day. I refer to them attendance questions, and my students now know to share their answer by un-muting and saying it aloud when their name is called. Sometimes, to save time, I have them type their answer into the chat and ask 2-3 students to find someone who has a similar answer to their own. This process ensures that they listen or read each others' responses and think about their classmates as a person rather than a thumbnail picture that they are sharing a Zoom meeting with. 

2. 5 Similarities and Flipgrid 

Where I first found this idea? I got this idea during my time with the Inland Area Writing
Project this summer. This three-week professional development was done virtually this summer. In this setting, our leaders knew that building our virtual community was essential, and it was evident how much planning went into this portion of our learning. 

What is it? 5 Similarities is a chart where students answer common questions (e.g., Favorite color, number of siblings, favorite food, etc.). Then, in a virtual classroom setting, they record their answer using Flipgrid. 

How I use it? Students then need to go back on to Flipgrid and listen to all of their classmates to hear who they share similarities with. As they listen, they keep notes on the answers their classmates shared. I also asked them to reply to their classmates on Flipgrid with something like, "Hi friend, I also love sushi. Maybe after this pandemic, we can eat sushi together. What's your favorite roll?" After they gather data from their classmates, I asked them to write three statements: One about what they learned from their class as a whole, one about what they wonder about their classmates, and one question that they wish I would have added. We've done the 5 Similarities routine 3 times since school started. I have used the questions they wished I would have added. They are learning more things about each other, which is helping us to slowly build our community. 

3. Positive notes home

Where I first found this idea? This is another idea that I found from a teacher on Instagram(Miss Bertels). She shared this idea last fall when she moved schools and wanted to start the year off on a positive foot with her new families. 

What is it? Basically, this note is a "caught being good" slip that you fill out and send home. 

How I use it? I print out a slack of these

positive notes and keep them on my desk. This year, I decided to write my students' names on the slip and address the envelopes ahead of time. So when a student shows respect or responsibility during our meetings, I grab a note, fill it out and send it off that day. I decided to fill them out ahead of time to ensure that I send them home to each student at some point over this trimester. My goal is to send them out to each student twice over this school year (*Side note: I've also noticed that my outlook each day is much more positive because I'm looking for the stand out behaviors rather than the negative ones). 

Please let me any ideas you have in comments:)

We can do this!

-Jenni Merry