Using different methods of relationship skill-building activities in order to teach and guide children into appropriate, positive, and healthy relationships is crucial to student development. Providing students with healthy interactions will provoke a foundational understanding of a healthy relationship and the effect this has on daily lives.
Using a variety of fun – indoor and outdoor activities, our experts have put together 20 activities for students and teachers that will encourage positive relationships in and out of the classroom.
1. Start on the Right Foot
Starting the year off right can be extremely important for a positive relationship between students and teachers. Of course, eye contact and positive vibes are no-brainers on the first day of school. Using a non-academic question list can better engage your students.
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2. Establish Classroom Goals
Giving students a visual of what you need from them and what they can get from you, will help them to trust you and know what to expect. Making more positive boundaries and essentially building stronger relationships. This can even be used as a remote team-building activity during distance learning.
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3. Student Shout Outs
Student shout-outs are a fun activity for almost any grade. This simple activity will help your students feel comfortable and supported in the classroom while also allowing them to provide positive feedback to each other. A great classroom station to add to your indoor activities list.
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4. Teaching Positivity
Experienced and new teachers both know how much work goes into running a successful classroom other than just following the common core. Use this bonding activity to take different ideas from your students and display the proper ways to act and stay positive in the classroom.
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5. Relationship Healthy Activities
Providing students with different ways to be kind is very important for their growth and development. Use quick relationship-building activities like this in order to build positive rapport between students.
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6. Mental Health Check-In
It’s not only important to help students build positive relationships with each other, but also with themselves. Use a priority list like this in order to give students a strong sense of connection to their own feelings.
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7. Teacher-Student Relationship
Giving students a sense of reliability in you and their relationship is vital to giving them the ability to have trusting relationships in their lives. An entire class activity like this is a great way to make sure that students are comfortable asking for what they need.
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8. Student-Student Relationships
Not only do we have to make sure that our students feel comfortable with us, but also with each other. Providing scaffolds that remind students how to treat one another can be the basic knowledge they need in order to build healthy relationships throughout their lives.
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9. Strong Relationship – Friends
Friendship skills are super important and beneficial for kiddos in primary classrooms. Constantly having activities for students to promote positive friendships and different team-building activities will provide students with foundational skills to solve many issues in life.
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10. Health Relationship Videos
Sometimes providing visuals that directly relate to what you would like students to learn can be beneficial. Giving them an engrained vision about how to treat other people. Spend quality time helping your students to build a strong relationship with this video.
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11. Friendship Soup
Another way to relay a positive message in a creative format. Virtual skills-building activities are super fun for distance learning. Whether you use this in the classroom or at home, have students create their own friendship soup to have on display.
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12. Read Alouds for Relationship Skill-Building Activities
Read-alouds are extremely helpful for trying to teach all different kinds of lessons to our students. A short video that will only take 2-3 minutes followed by an activity that could take 15-20 minutes this book is perfect for teaching students to establish boundaries.
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13. Kids Talk
Sometimes seeing other kids talk about relationships is easier to bond with. Take 10-20 minutes and listen to these kids’ personal stories and how they feel about relationships! Have the entire class write their feelings on a sheet of paper to assess their knowledge.
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14. Understanding Empathy
Understanding empathy is an essential skill for students that they will surely carry into their adult life. Activities for students about empathy are constantly integrated into the classroom. Here is a great anchor chart that can be made together, taking only 10-20 minutes.
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15. Walk in their Shoes
Work alongside the first empathy activity with this fun activity. Whether students complete it in art class or elsewhere, this is a perfect way to empathize with students’ personal stories. Use separate sheets of paper at first, and then have students create the shoe of their choice.
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16. Mirror Mirror
Building a healthy relationship with self can be a daunting task for both students and teachers. Especially in middle school, using a separate sheet of paper, have students write everything they love about themselves and have students exchange lists. Display their mirrors in the classroom.
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17. What Would You Do Game?
Making sure that students know to be kind outside of the classroom is equally important. Use a sheet of paper to complete this game or as a whole class. Use a non-academic question to spark creative thinking. Also, print out and use them as partner questions!
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18. Stop the Drama
Unconventional thinking doesn’t begin to explain this beloved game. A fun game that can be used with 4-16 participants is perfect for a quick break lasting even just 2-3 minutes. Check in with your students during this simple game and physical activity about what they would do to stop the drama.
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19. Social Emotional Learning Cards
Relationship skills-building activities start as early as Preschool. Using different indoor activities, like this simple game – Social Emotional Learning is a great way to get young students to be aware of their relationships. Whether you’ve got 5-7 minutes or 30-90 minutes this game can be used!
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20. Thought Filtering
Use a little chunk of time in your classroom over your morning cup of coffee, just 5-7 minutes to make this negative thought-preventing anchor chart. Use a simple game to come up with different ideas or just some classroom creative thinking.
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