Playing Nice

Earlier this year, I was challenged to inject a little joy in my classroom. As an Independent Studies teacher, I technically don't have a classroom. But, I do have a roster of students I supervise as they work towards graduation.

Most Independent Studies teachers don't have an actual classroom and that makes it difficult to build social-emotional learning and classroom bonding. After all, students are there to get their stuff done and go home.

However, there are a couple of things you can do if you want to build joy in your classroom. My favorite is called Say Something Nice. Here's how to play:

1. Create a list of at least ten questions increasing in intensity and thoughtfulness. For example, your first question can be: "what's your favorite food and why?" Your last question can be: "what is your end goal here at school?" or: "What is one thing you would want your teacher to know to help you succeed in school?"

2. Hand out flyers to your students and pick a time that is reasonable for them to all show up to school. Pump up your game and let them know it should be a lot of fun (see the link for a sample flyer and Say Something Nice instructions!).

3. On the day of your Say Something Nice game, have your students stand in two circles: one inner wheel and one outer wheel. Both wheels face each other and the outer wheel moves clockwise after every question. Remember that list of ten questions? Now, students have one minute to answer per question.

4. After the group has rotated around once, end the game and tell them to collect one sheet of paper with a safety pin already in it or some tape already attached. Instruct the students that they must try to find something nice to write on every person's paper. Yes, it may be hard, and yes, students may not know each other, but that's the point: being nice is about putting other peoples' feelings first, which is an amazing life skill for students to learn, while getting to know each other better (see the link for a sample of students saying something nice on my paper).

So, there you go, as an Independent Studies teacher, you can still instill joy in your classroom!

If you have any ideas on how to spread joy in your classroom and build the bonds between your students and yourself, share them in the comment section below! 

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