Welcoming New People to Our Community

Active learning helps students connect empathy to real actions when welcoming others. Role-plays and games let them practice kindness in safe, structured ways before trying these skills in their school or neighborhood.

• 3rd Year
• Active Citizenship and Democratic Action
• 4 activities
• 30 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Identify specific actions that contribute to making newcomers feel welcome in a school setting.
2. Explain the importance of kindness and helpfulness towards individuals new to a community.
3. Propose concrete strategies for including all students in games and activities, regardless of their familiarity with the group.
4. Analyze the impact of welcoming behaviors on an individual's sense of safety and belonging.
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of different welcoming strategies in fostering an inclusive environment.

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Role-Play: Newcomer Scenarios

Divide class into pairs: one acts as newcomer, the other as host. Pairs practice greetings, tours of the classroom, and invitations to join games. Switch roles after 5 minutes and debrief as a class on what felt welcoming.

Prepare & details

How can we make new people feel welcome in our school?

Facilitation Tip: During Role-Play: Newcomer Scenarios, assign clear roles so every student has a chance to be both the newcomer and the helper.

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Welcome Committee Workshop

Form small groups to brainstorm and create welcome packs with drawings, notes, and class rules. Groups present ideas to the class, vote on favorites, and assemble sample packs. Display packs in the hallway.

Prepare & details

Why is it important to be kind and helpful to newcomers?

Facilitation Tip: For the Welcome Committee Workshop, provide props like name tags and maps to make role-plays feel authentic.

⏱ 35 min·Small Groups

Inclusion Games Circuit

Set up three stations with games like tag, building blocks, and drawing. Rotate groups, ensuring every student invites one newcomer each round. Chart who felt included after each game.

Prepare & details

What are some ways we can include everyone in our games and activities?

Facilitation Tip: In the Inclusion Games Circuit, rotate partners so students practice welcoming different peers each round.

⏱ 40 min·Pairs

Buddy System Simulation

Pair students randomly as 'buddies' for a mock school day. Buddies guide each other through routines like lining up or snack time. Reflect in circle on helpful actions.

Prepare & details

How can we make new people feel welcome in our school?

Facilitation Tip: For the Buddy System Simulation, pair students with varied strengths to highlight how everyone has something to offer.

Teaching This Topic

Start with student experiences to ground the lesson in what they already know about feeling new. Avoid generic lectures about kindness; instead, guide them to connect emotions to concrete actions like sharing materials or inviting others to join. Research shows that students learn respect best when they practice it in context, not when they hear rules about it.

What to Expect

Students will show they understand inclusion by suggesting specific welcome actions and demonstrating them during activities. Observations and reflections will reveal whether they grasp why sustained kindness matters.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Role-Play: Newcomer Scenarios, students may assume the newcomer should handle everything alone.

What to Teach Instead

Use the role-play cards to guide helpers to offer specific support, such as asking, 'Would you like to sit with us?' or 'Can I show you where the bathroom is?' After each round, ask the newcomer to describe what felt helpful.

Common Misconception

During the Welcome Committee Workshop, students might believe that only certain actions count as welcoming.

What to Teach Instead

Have groups brainstorm a list of at least ten possible welcome actions, then narrow it to five. Challenge them to include actions that go beyond words, like sharing a snack or saving a seat.

Common Misconception

During the Buddy System Simulation, students may think one introduction is enough to make someone feel welcome.

What to Teach Instead

After the simulation, ask buddies to reflect on how they would continue the connection. Provide a checklist of follow-up actions, like inviting the new student to sit together at lunch the next day.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Role-Play: Newcomer Scenarios, pose the question, 'How did the helpers make the newcomer feel valued?' Use student responses to create a class anchor chart of welcome actions.

Exit Ticket

After the Welcome Committee Workshop, give each student a slip to write one welcome action they will try this week. Collect slips to track individual commitments and revisit them in a follow-up discussion.

Quick Check

During the Inclusion Games Circuit, ask targeted questions like, 'What did you do to include someone who looked left out?' Listen for references to eye contact, shared materials, or verbal invitations.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask early finishers to design a welcome poster for a new student that includes a map, a schedule, and three specific offers of help.
• Scaffolding: Provide sentence stems like, 'Hi, I’m ____. Do you want to join us?' to support reluctant speakers during role-plays.
• Deeper: Invite a guest speaker from a community organization to share how they welcome newcomers, then have students compare their classroom strategies to real-world examples.

Key Vocabulary

Inclusion	The practice of ensuring that everyone feels they belong and are valued, regardless of their background or how long they have been part of a group.
Empathy	The ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, especially someone who is new or different.
Community	A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common, such as a school or a neighborhood.
Belonging	A feeling of security and acceptance that comes from being part of a group or community.