5 EASY Techniques to Teach Fairness and Respect While Building a Positive Classroom Community
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Creating a positive classroom community is at the heart of effective teaching! As elementary teachers, one of your primary goals is to cultivate a sense of fairness and respect for all students. This not only sets the foundation for a positive learning environment but also equips your learners with important and necessary skills they will carry with them for life!
Why Teach Fairness and Respect
Teaching fairness and respect goes beyond instilling good behavior— it lays the groundwork for a compassionate and empathetic classroom environment. In a world that celebrates diversity, it’s crucial to nurture an inclusive mindset very early on!
By integrating fairness and respect into your classroom, you help create individuals who become responsible, are well-rounded, and can face challenges that will come their way.
5 Techniques to Teach Fairness and Respect
- Utilize Social Skills Stories and Activities
- Practice Role-Playing Exercises
- Have Opportunities for Classroom Discussions
- Work Together Often
- Implement Morning Meetings
1. Utilize Social Skills Stories and Activities
Social skills stories help students learn and understand how to apply important concepts or process big feelings. Using related activities solidifies comprehension in interactive and engaging ways!
The Fairness Social Awareness Social Skills Stories & SEL Activities Bundle is a great resource to have on hand to help you teach fairness and respect in your classroom.
This bundle is perfect for guiding students in learning about getting along with others, turn-taking, respecting personal space, sportsmanship, accepting differences, reporting vs tattling, and so much more!
Get your own FREE social skills activities set about accepting differences to strengthen the unity, empathy, and compassion amongst your students. Just fill out the form below and it will be delivered to your inbox.
*Unsure about using social skills stories? Read more about why social skills stories are such a game-changer in the classroom!
2. Practice Role-Playing Exercises
Another great way to teach fairness and respect in your classroom is by organizing role-playing exercises. Choose ones that model real-life scenarios where these skills come into play.
Role-playing allows kids to actively practice fairness and respect… which helps them better understand how important they are!
Conflict Resolution Role-Play Example
Teach students how to address conflicts respectfully and find fair solutions.
Scenario: Two students have a disagreement over a popular book in the classroom library. One student claims he had it first while the other insists that she did.
Have two students role-play this conflict while ensuring they express their different views and feelings. Encourage them to practice active listening and respectful communication as they role play together.
Guide them to brainstorm fair solutions as a team. When they have come to a solution they are both pleased with, talk with the class about the importance of compromising and understanding peers’ perspectives.
3. Have Opportunities for Classroom Discussions
It’s also vital to create a safe space within your classroom for open discussions about fairness and respect. Encourage students to share their thoughts and experiences with each other while also practicing listening skills when it’s not their turn to share.
A Feelings Circle is a wonderful way to incorporate this into your daily routine!
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How The Feelings Circle Works
- Sit in a circle on the rug and pass Charlie the Hedgehog around the circle.
- Share your feelings when Charlie is passed to you.
- Encourage students to share as much or little as they want. Motivate all students to at least say something because it’s so important for children to recognize and own their feelings!
Feelings Circles are also a great time to pull out your Fairness Social Skills Bundle to teach little ones how to respect each other’s privacy and personal space!
As you address students’ feelings, you will also find yourself addressing real-life situations together. Students will learn how to navigate challenging situations and appreciate the perspectives of others— which are both so important for building a positive classroom community!
4. Work Together Often
Allowing students to work together often will naturally lead to them learning fairness and respect. As they collaborate to achieve a common goal, they will learn the value of teamwork and respecting each others’ strengths.
Easy Ways for Students to Collaborate
Don’t overthink this— students working together can be as simple as a few of them building a really impressive block tower during indoor recess or completing word ladders as a small group!
More Teamwork Ideas:
- Partner reading
- Morning tubs
- Play games
- STEM projects
- Partner jobs
5. Implement Morning Meetings
Finally, you can cultivate a classroom full of fairness and respect for each other by implementing Morning Meeting the first 10-15 minutes of each day.
Morning Meeting is a great way for students (and you!) to interact together and start the day with a bang! This time truly sets the tone for a successful classroom community while building necessary skills along the way.
The different skills learned and practiced during Morning Meeting are endless:
- Speaking and listening
- Social-emotional skills
- Language arts
- Science
- Problem-solving
- Asking and answering questions
- Asking and answering jokes
- Math
- Social skills
Kids learn all these skills and more while also learning how to communicate and work together fairly and respectfully!
Building a classroom community that prioritizes fairness and respect for everyone is an investment in the future! By incorporating social skills stories, role-playing, open discussions, teamwork, and Morning Meeting into your routine, you are empowering your students to become compassionate, responsible individuals in your classroom and beyond!
Let me know if you have any questions about anything you see here. Don’t forget to pin this post to refer to it later!
Other posts you may enjoy:
Top 10 Activities For Teaching Feelings In The Elementary Classroom
4 Powerful Ways to Immediately Boost Student Emotional Well Being
10 Tips For A Successful Morning Routine To Reduce Chaos In the Elementary Classroom
GUIDE STUDENTS IN DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET WITH THESE
Free Growth Mindset Punch Cards
The perfect way to start meaningful habits and conversations with your students!
Diane Romo
Thank you for being here! I love sharing ideas with other teachers! If you are looking to enhance your teaching and build a positive classroom community, you have come to the right place!
