Friendship Classroom Activities

The Internet enables students to connect with peers on an international level.

Creating a class environment that is comfortable for students of all temperaments is a teacher's primary responsibility. Connecting children within the group can help them feel more confident in their ability to contribute to the class and heighten their interest in participation. Teachers should implement interactive activities into their daily schedule in order to guarantee constant correspondence and enable open communication.

Connect

Divide your classroom into several groups within which students can bond and learn simultaneously. Each group should decide on a theme to implement in each of the activities they submit; this will give them a sense of pride and help them to establish their identity in the classroom. When arranging the groups, consider each child's temperament, interests, and motivation in order to implement balance and avoid conflict. Each student should submit a peer evaluation form at the end of the year to enable optimum communication.

Give

Design a system in which students can communicate with each other on a more personal level without feeling inhibited or shy. Assign everyone a labeled bag and instruct each child to write notes to their classmates whenever they especially enjoyed one of their presentations or noticed outstanding work. Notes do not have to be labeled with a name; this will allow students to be completely honest and open with each other. Additionally, the content of each letter does not have to be school-related. Place the bags in a back corner of the classroom so that students can deliver notes as discreetly as possible.

Share

Enable your students to connect with each other on multiple levels by instructing them to share the story of their life. Each classroom participant should conduct a presentation in which he describe's his hobbies and interests, as well as any significant accomplishments he's made or memorable moments in his past. Spectators should take notes and then make connections by identifying which traits they have in common with each student that has conducted a presentation.

Discover

Make it possible for your students to communicate with peers their age all around the world. Many contemporary web pages were designed for the unique purpose of connecting students on an international level and providing them with a foundation on which to develop meaningful friendships. Selecting a pen-pal for each of your students and enabling them to visit with them on a weekly basis will help them establish relevance between their personal lives and what they've learned. Additionally, it will give them something that they can look forward to and offset the monotony of the school day.

References

• Teacher Planet: Friendship Resource Page

Resources

• A to Z Teacher Stuff: Friendship Activities
• Scholastic: Creating a Classroom Community