Belonging Y-Charts

Posted on October 4, 2005

Students across our model schools are working on the Core Concept of Belonging. One activity we ask our teachers to do with their students is to develop a Y-chart of each Core Concept at the beginning of each school year. This is a vehicle through which students can explore a concept by identifying how it looks, feels and sounds when the concept is practiced by everyone in the class. "If we were all working on helping each other Belong, what would it look like?" "What would it sound like?" "What would it feel like?"

The Y-chart is a great graphic organizer for helping students generate many positive examples of the concept they are working on! Since each class does their own chart, it is also developmentally appropriate. A kindergarten Y-Chart will look very different from a chart from an 8th grade class. During a recent visit to Hinesburg Community School, I heard a kindergartener say that 'Belonging felt like being at home". I think she gets it!

The chart pictured above was created by a 6th grade class at Swanton Central School.