Introduction

Building connections with peers can be challenging for high school students, especially when they are unsure how to initiate conversations or find common ground. One effective way to help students overcome these challenges is by encouraging them to explore shared interests with their peers. This blog post will discuss the importance of shared interests in promoting social-emotional learning and provide educators with a no-prep activity, discussion questions, and related skills that can be implemented in the classroom.

No-Prep Activity

This no-prep activity is designed to help students identify shared interests with their peers and practice initiating conversations based on these interests. The activity is called “Interest Bingo.”

1. Ask students to brainstorm a list of their hobbies and interests. Encourage them to think about sports, movies, music, books, and other activities they enjoy.
2. Have students create a 5×5 bingo grid on a piece of paper, filling each square with one of their interests.
3. Ask students to mingle with their classmates and find someone who shares an interest listed on their bingo grid. When they find a match, they should have the other student sign the corresponding square.
4. The goal is for students to get five squares in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) and shout “Bingo!”
5. After the activity, hold a brief discussion about the shared interests students discovered and how they can use these interests to build connections with their peers.

Discussion Questions

• How did it feel to discover shared interests with your classmates?
• Why do you think shared interests are important for building connections with others?
• Can you think of a time when you bonded with someone over a shared interest? How did it affect your relationship with that person?
• How can you continue to explore shared interests with your peers outside of this activity?
• What are some strategies you can use to initiate conversations about shared interests with others?

Related Skills

In addition to identifying shared interests, there are several other skills that can help students improve their social-emotional learning and build connections with their peers. Some of these skills include:

• Active listening: Paying attention to what others are saying and responding thoughtfully.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others.
• Effective communication: Expressing thoughts and feelings clearly and respectfully.
• Conflict resolution: Addressing disagreements in a constructive and respectful manner.
• Collaboration: Working together with others to achieve a common goal.

Next Steps

Implementing activities like Interest Bingo and discussing related skills can help high school students develop valuable social-emotional learning skills and build connections with their peers. To further support your students’ growth, we encourage you to explore the free sample materials available at Everyday Speech. These resources can help you create engaging lessons and activities that promote social-emotional learning in your classroom.