David: A Protégé of Classroom Community Building in a Fifth Grade Classroom

Establishing an effective classroom community requires much work, dedication, and commitment from all involved parties. This article describes one teacher’s experiences of creating a classroom community in her fifth grade classroom. Some of the underpinnings of building a classroom community are addressed and the article offers suggestions on how other teachers may develop community based classrooms. Establishing an effective classroom community requires much work, dedication, and commitment from all involved parties. As a new fifth grade classroom teacher, I learned early that in order to have a smooth running classroom environment, I had to solicit the help of my students. In this article, I describe the experiences of one student, David (pseudonym), whose initial behaviors clearly indicated that we had to establish an effective classroom community. I first discuss some of the underpinnings of building a classroom community in my fifth grade classroom and then share David’s story. I conclude by offering suggestions on how other teachers may accommodate students like David in their classrooms.