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Belonging by Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®

What is the importance of belonging?

We all want to feel like we belong in our groups. This includes our community, our school, our teams, and even our family. A strong sense of belonging can help us feel protected and respected. It increases our confidence. It strengthens our relationships.

It's critical that students develop a sense of belonging in their schools. It's important they learn how to be accepting of others. When students feel they belong they can focus on learning and growing.

To start, students learn what welcoming environments look, sound, and feel like. They analyze photos and identify how people feel in various situations. They come up with ideas on how to improve unwelcoming scenarios. Next, students learn to create welcoming environments and how those environments help everyone in the group. Students end with the knowledge and a desire to make their groups more respectful, accepting, and inviting.

Belonging OneNote Notebook

Graphic of the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools logo.

Teacher resources