Activity 1: Belonging Cards — Ways of Being Inclusive and Accepting

What is it all about?

Students create Belonging Cards by responding to the question, “What are some ways we can make our classroom and school welcoming and accepting of everyone?” The cards are posted in the learning space for students to be engaged in co-creating an inclusive and accepting classroom and learning environment in which all students may feel safe and have a sense of belonging.

What is needed?

• Student Resource: Fillable Belonging Card (DOC)
• Teacher Resource: Sample Belonging Cards (PDF)

How is it done?

Use the following instructions to facilitate the Belonging Cards activity to engage students in co-creating an inclusive and accepting classroom in which all students may feel safe and have a sense of belonging.

• Identify a space in the classroom for a word bank with the title, “In this room, we are ... ” The goal is that by the end of the activity every student can identify with a descriptive word on the word bank to help them feel valued and have a sense of belonging.
• Use the teacher prompts to facilitate a whole group discussion about the importance of everyone feeling welcomed and having a sense of belonging.
  • Teacher Prompts: Why is it important to make others feel welcome in our classroom space? What can we do and say to help others feel like they belong?
• Use the whole group discussion for students to generate a list of positive, inclusive, and accepting ways to describe others (e.g., talented, honest, creative, intelligent). Record student ideas to create the class word bank.
• Provide students with two or three blank Belonging Cards (Reference Student Resource: Fillable Belonging Card), as well as the names of two or three other students. Using the words generated on the word bank, have students work alone or in pairs to create a “YOU ARE” statement that captures how they would describe the classmates whose names they have received. Consider using the Teacher Resource: Sample Belonging Cards to model sample statements.
• Have students exchange cards with each other. Consider having students submit the Belonging Cards they created for review before exchanging them.
• Throughout the year, have students use the fillable Belonging Card to reflect on the positive qualities of group members after group and collaborative work. Encourage students to share them with each other during this time or any other learning moment.