Building the Community for Passion
What classroom conditions help students grow passion?
Use Classroom Community Circles for Get to Know Each Other
Community Circles can help a teacher get to know the students in the class. However, it is also an important strategy to help kids get to know each other. Circles offer connection and are powerful in aiding in a child's sense of belonging. The other benefit of circles is that they can be part of the process of developing student Passion Time projects. Choose one question to discuss with your class daily.
Tips:
- Allow kids to share their present "state of being". How are you feeling today?
- Then have the students answer a focus question.
Topics to Get to Know your Class
When you pick a topic daily, you start to connect with your students. The best connections are between students. In passion style questions, you can help students connect to what matters to them. This is an important step in finding a passion.
Topics that Shape Curiosity and Passion Discovery
- What are your talents?
- What motivates you?
- What do you do naturally well?
- What engages and excites you?
- What makes you feel awesome about yourself?
- What do you do in your free time?
- What do you wonder about?
- What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
- Have you ever lost track of time doing something? What were you doing?
- Are you a member of a club or a team? What is it? How long have you been a member?
- Have you ever spent a considerable amount of time learning something that wasn't for school? What was it?
- What problems do you notice in school? What changes need to be made?
- In what ways do you love helping people?
Topics for During the Passion Time Project
What is your goal today?
What challenges are you currently facing?
What do you need help with today?
What have you learned during your project?
Reflection TIME
Do you already use Community Circles?
How does this strategy help students?
What benefits do you see?
How has your own thinking changed?