Fostering Connected Classrooms to Combat Loneliness
The U.S. Surgeon General recently released an advisory on social connection and community entitled Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation. The advisory cites decreasing rates of time people spend together and rising rates of reported loneliness. It details the emotional and physical benefits of connectedness, as well as the effects of isolation. According to the report,
“…lacking social connection can increase the risk for premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day” (page 8).
The advisory discusses the importance of connectedness among young people, which may come as no surprise to educators who have been following trends of mental health struggles among teens. The advisory cites research associating connectedness with positive academic outcomes for students, including grades, attendance, and graduation.
The advisory also provides a list of recommendations for schools to combat loneliness and promote connectedness, including health curricula, cooperative learning projects, equitable classroom management, peer mentoring, and more.
This back-to-school season, students will be re-entering classrooms after perhaps experiencing more isolation in the summer, and potentially with increased exposure to social media. Back-to-school offers a chance for students to forge meaningful, sustaining connections with their peers, that, according to the advisory, may have lasting effects on their physical health.
It’s important to note that educators have so much on their plates and should never be expected to solve this epidemic of loneliness. But educators also care deeply about their students, and schools will always be a vital element of every student’s social connectedness. So, we’ve gathered a few of our favorite ideas to help you inspire connections between your learners and create an environment where they can feel seen, heard, and valued by their peers.
Set Goals and Routines Together
You’re likely already preparing to introduce your class to routines, expectations, and goals. Consider how you might involve your students in the development of those classroom management tools to foster teamwork and help them feel some ownership of their community. Collaboratively decide on class rules, invite students to articulate what they expect of themselves, or use this poster to display a collective goal for the year:
Routines are a powerful tool for both classroom management and instruction. They can also be a great way to foster togetherness. For example:
- Set aside ten minutes at the end of every week to celebrate happy moments. Invite students to share something that they accomplished, experienced, or witnessed. In response, the class can snap in applause or reply in unison. Here’s an example called Tell Me Something Good.
- Start every day with a silly joke. Science tells us that shared laughter brings us together!
- Dedicate a section of your whiteboard to a daily appreciation routine. Have students shout out what they’re grateful for — from the sunshine outside to tacos in the cafeteria.
- Create a routine for compliments, where students have the opportunity to say thoughtful and positive things about one another. Here’s an example involving a whiteboard and a “hot seat.”
Finally, if your school practices restorative justice, ensure that you prioritize proactively positive interactions as well as reactive ones. Here’s educator Skylar Primm on his plans for the new year:
“For me, building community at the beginning of the school year is about circles, circles, and more circles. In a restorative practices training I attended over the summer, I was reminded that 80% of restorative work should be proactive (like getting to know you circles, small check-ins, etc.) and only 20% should be responsive (i.e. what we typically think of as restorative justice).”
Get Involved in the Community Together
Learning outside of the classroom is always a powerful experience for fostering togetherness. Field trips involving teamwork or games are great, but if an off-site trip isn’t feasible, getting outside on your school grounds for a few trust-building activities is also an option.
Educator and author Stacey Roshan works with a school that builds teamwork, respect, and confidence through experiential learning, which involves a two-day, outdoor trip strategically held at the beginning of the school year. Stacey says that the trips are a great way to foster relationships and emphasize the importance of building community and collaboration from day one. Learn more here.
If possible, set up a volunteer opportunity for students to get out into your community and help people, animals, or the environment. The act of giving or helping is a powerful tool for fostering togetherness. Here’s an excerpt from The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds on strategies to combat teen loneliness:
“Reaching out to others is key. This may be helping others in need, becoming a volunteer in providing services in your community, or joining a community organization. The process not only helps extract you from physical isolation, the gratitude of connecting with others is a relief. We also know that the process of giving releases oxytocin in the brain, and this is instrumental in feeling attached” (Beresin 2023).
Read Together
Reading stories helps us better understand ourselves through connections to characters and recognition of universal human experiences. Reading together, and discussing our reading journeys as we go, helps us connect even more.
For older learners, try assigning reads in groups and holding class “book clubs” with questions and prompts for students to share their thoughts on the book. Your students can bond over a whole-group story, too — you may think of the class read-aloud as only for early grades, but don’t discount the power of sharing time listening to a story together for older students.
Jenn, a Kindergarten teacher from Pennsylvania, sends home a bookmark with a QR code leading to a book to share with students’ families at the beginning of the year. Here are some of her favorite back-to-school read-aloud suggestions for little ones:
Perform, Share, and Sing Together
Bring your students together and foster meaningful connections through art. Sing together, write and act out plays together, and share creative works. Creating and performing in groups will help students understand each other, empathize with each other, and, importantly, have fun together!
Writing or acting out plays is often part of ELA curricula. Older students can practice self-expression and laugh together while acting out the literature they’re studying in English class. Young learners can enjoy theater, too. Our Reader’s Theater activities (from our Wonders program) are tiered for K-5 classrooms. Find them here:
Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5
Consider how you might create a safe, supportive, and celebratory environment for students to share their work with their peers. Create galleries for art projects that emphasize illustrations of community, self, and togetherness. Organize a spoken word session for students to read poetry aloud and celebrate each other’s writing.
If time and resources allow, consider how you might move students’ performances or creative displays to an audience outside of school, so that they have an opportunity to become contributors to an art scene in their community.
Talk About Well-Being Together
Finally, simply creating a safe space where students feel comfortable opening up about their experiences goes a long way in combating loneliness. Be sure to partner with school counselors and school psychologists to ensure you’re taking advantage of any support programs your school already offers. Be an active listener, empathize with your students, and model patience, kindness, and acceptance.
Organizations like The Jed Foundation (JED) can help you connect your students with accessible information and support on mental health. Their Mental Health Resource Center is designed for easy self-service so that young people can find answers to questions about their well-being, including topics like breakups, anxiety, and loneliness. Making resources like JED’s site available to students can help them help themselves before they’re ready to talk to a trusted adult.
“Schools provide remarkably powerful opportunities for young people to experience social connectedness, which is known to improve mental health and reduce depression, anxiety, and suicidality,” said Rebecca Benghiat, President and Chief Operating Officer at The Jed Foundation (JED). “That’s why JED is proud to partner with McGraw-Hill to help mobilize communities of care to meet young people where they are and provide important mental health resources.”
For more resources to foster togetherness, see:
https://jedfoundation.org/mental-health-resource-center/
For more on loneliness and mental health in young people, see:
References
Beresin, G. (2023, May 31). What can we do to combat teen loneliness?. Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds. https://www.mghclaycenter.org/parenting-concerns/teenagers/why-are-teens-so-lonely-and-what-can-they-do-to-combat-loneliness/
Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. (2023, May 3). Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation. www.hhs.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf
