69´«Ã½

Student Well-Being Video

Teachers, Try This: Activities to Build Classroom Culture and Connection

By Kaylee Domzalski & Jaclyn Borowski — February 11, 2025 2:21
Student James Mason participates in an ice breaker during a film studies class at Weber High School taught by teacher, Mark Daniels, on Jan. 13, 2025 in Pleasant View, Utah. Daniels incorporates a lot of movement with students during all of his classes.
Email Copy URL

For Mark Daniels, the theatre teacher at Weber High School in Pleasant View, Utah, some movement happens organically in his classes. But Daniels also teaches the school’s cinema class where, he says, students hope to sit and watch a movie.

However, Daniels structures his classes so that students never sit for more than 20 minutes. Through games and different activities, he gets kids moving, and uses those same movement activities to build connections and create a positive classroom culture.

Here, he explains how he does it, and how any teacher, regardless of grade or subject, can implement something similar.

Kaylee Domzalski is a video producer for Education Week.
Jaclyn Borowski is the director of photography and videography for Education Week.

Video

Student Achievement Video What the Dismal Nation's Report Card Means for 69´«Ã½ and Math
The latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress show declines in students’ reading with some modest progress in math.
Point Roberts Elementary School teacher Jessie Hettinga works with a group of first, second and third graders on reading at the school in Point Roberts, Wa., on Sept. 28, 2017.
Point Roberts Elementary School teacher Jessie Hettinga works with a group of first, second and third graders on reading at the school in Point Roberts, Wa., on Sept. 28, 2017.
Philip A. Dwyer/The Bellingham Herald via AP
Student Well-Being Video This School Keeps Kids Moving All Day. See How It Works
Inside a school where movement is woven into academics throughout the day.
4:11
Assistant Principal Beth Bearor and kindergartener Rhys Gallup practice letters and letter sounds while walking through a rope ladder during P.E. teacher Robyn Newton’s action-based learning class at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Assistant Principal Beth Bearor and kindergartener Rhys Gallup practice letters and letter sounds while walking through a rope ladder during P.E. teacher Robyn Newton’s action-based learning class at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Teaching Video Teachers, Try This: Incorporate Routine Student 'Vibe Checks'
A teacher's tips for mastering the art of digital organization and using student feedback to guide the classroom.
3:35
Teaching Profession Video Will the New Law on Teacher Retirement Benefits Affect You? Here’s How to Know
The Social Security Fairness Act has significant implications for educators who live in these 15 states.
A teacher leads a lesson in an eighth-grade Spanish class.
A teacher leads a lesson in an eighth-grade Spanish class.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed