Psychological Membership: the feeling of belonging
Psychological Membership is foundational to the success of students in the school environment. In order to develop the feeling of belonging that every child needs to succeed, teachers need to be intentional in their efforts to build a classroom community. Every individual must be - and feel - respected and valued within the community. Teachers can build the classroom community as is typical with morning meetings and greetings and getting-to-know-you activities, but also, teachers must be insightfully focused on individual strengths and needs, in order to ensure that every child feels like a valued member of the community. Some simple strategies include:
1. Having Class Experts based on strengths, but with young children, we must have expert areas that everyone can fit into, so everyone can be an expert at something.
1. Having Class Experts based on strengths, but with young children, we must have expert areas that everyone can fit into, so everyone can be an expert at something.
- Shoe Tying Experts
- Buttoning Experts
- Zipping Experts
- Insect Experts
- Animal Experts
- Block-Building Experts
- Letter-Writing Experts
- Letter Sound Experts
- Oh Jesse! I love the way you are thinking! The lower case "p" and the lower case "q" both have a circle on the line and a line that goes down into the basement. You are really getting to know how to write those letters and to identify which letters look similar. This is great thinking! The letter we are looking at is actually a lower case "q" not a "p", (go over the way it is written), but I am so proud of you, Jesse, for knowing so much about these letters already! So many preschool children confuse the "p" and the "q", so we will all continue to work on getting to know "p" and "q".
- Jimmy, you are actually pointing to your elbows, not your wrists, but I want to thank you for doing that! (Give Jimmy a BIG smile.) In preschool and even in kindergarten there are some body parts that children continue to forget or confuse, and guess what...the wrist is one of those body parts! Jimmy, please point here on your body (point to your own wrist), and show the class where they can find their wrists, too. Everyone find your wrist, please. Now Jimmy, can you show everyone where their elbows are, please? Great! Now the wrists? Let's do it fast! Jimmy, do you want to lead? Okay, Wrists-Elbows-Wrists-Elbows-Wrists-Elbows! Awesome! Thanks for helping us with that Jimmy. I hope all of my preschool friends will remember wrists and elbows very soon.
- Every Error in Behavior Choice is a Learning Experience for the Child.
- Trash the Clip Chart and the PBIS Flip Chart! How Humiliating is that? As indicated in my original post on motivation, would your name clipped to this chart in the teacher's lounge motivate you?
 Feeling? |  Humiliated! |
- Public Humiliation DOES NOT WORK, and it is often the cause of the problem worsening.
- Many children are Much More Sensitive than we realize about the peer perception and public reprimand. No matter how kindly you ask a child to "flip their card" or "clip down", they are still experiencing negative feelings inside, and it is embarrassing...even to those who the teacher may have developed judgmental beliefs about their comfort level with undesirable behaviors at school. Experience and research prove it again and again, so consider revisiting your strategies.
Make it known in your classroom that this child participates in this activity and that child enjoys doing that, so that the pride of interest and progress are shared with peers. "Joey, how was that soccer game this weekend?" "Oh, Jane, you play soccer, too? Did you have a game this weekend?" Spare some time in your meeting, at the snack or lunch table or the last 5 minutes before going home to check in with children on their personal interests and activities. Be sure that everyone has their fair number of opportunities to share throughout the year. Other ideas...
- Show and Tell
- A News Board
- Person of the Day/Week Posters or Sharing Time
- Pet Day
- Assignments and Activities that give Free Choice of Topics to children and are shared with classmates, even displayed after sharing (easy options: journaling, building, painting, etc.)
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