Working with your young learners to build a supportive community within your classroom is one of the most important things you can do as a teacher. It not only makes teaching easier and helps your students succeed in school, the kindness, respect, generosity, empathy, and compassion they learn in your classroom will have a huge effect at home and in their community, too.

Check out these 5 books and activities to inspire kindness in your classroom this school year.

To help your students learn everything they need to know about supporting one another inside and outside the classroom, check out these 5 must-have teacher resources for building a supportive classroom community.

Get to know one another
These Extra, Extra, Read All About Me! posters are not only a great way to break the ice during the first few weeks of school, they’ll inspire your students to share with their classmates everything that’s important to them. How to use: Encourage your students to fill out their posters and choose one student to present their poster to the class each day. Be sure to leave some time for Q&A and class discussion, so students really get to know one another.

Start filling buckets
How Full is Your Bucket? is a must-read for any elementary class looking to build a supportive classroom community. It’s a great way encourage young readers to consider the feelings of others and how to respond to them. After reading, talk to your class about the book and encourage them to look for ways they can fill one another’s buckets throughout the school year.

Get to work
From line leader to weather monitor, there’s always an important job to be done in your classroom. This graphic jobs bulletin board set not only makes managing and delegating responsibility a breeze, it will inspire your young learners to take ownership of their classroom and ensure it continues to be the best learning environment possible. 

Create a code of conduct
Developing a code of conduct or classroom constitution for you and your students to follow throughout the school year is a must for building a supportive classroom community. This Classroom Code of Conduct Chart is the perfect place to start during the first few weeks of school. As you move further into the school year, customize it to meet the needs of your students and classroom.

Start every morning off on the right foot
This Quick Tips! Morning Meeting resource is filled with creative and engaging skill-building meeting ideas to help you set a positive tone for the day and strengthen your classroom community. With daily routine suggestions; songs, chants, and poems to add into your morning meeting mix; and tips for integrating reading, writing, and math exercises to start the day, this teaching tool builds community and promotes learning at the same time.

To build a supportive classroom community you have to help your students foster kindness, respect, generosity, empathy, and compassion for one another. It takes time, but these teacher resources will be a huge help. For more ideas and tips to help build a supportive community in your classroom this year, check out these other essential classroom materials from Scholastic.