Child & Adolescent Development
Classroom Management & Discipline
Middle School
First Weeks of School
Morning Meeting
Engaging Academics
Families
Positive Community
Teacher Language

Group Activities That Reinforce Academic Skills

February 01, 2003 Categories: Activity Ideas / Morning Meeting
Question: I'm concerned that the group activity portion of our Morning Meeting mostly has become a time to play games. I know it’s important for the students to have fun together, but how can I use group activities to reinforce academic skills, too?A: "Group activity is a great way to start the day," a fifth grader recently informed me. I couldn’t agree more, but I know something about group activity that the students probably don’t know: it’s also a great way to learn. And the fact that the children and I are having fun together increases the learning.
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NOV
01
2002

Displaying Student Work

A classroom filled with the work of children is a delight to be in and sends a message to students that their work and their learning are important. Although early in the…
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NOV
01
2002

Singing with Children

I remember singing along with friends in my elementary school days. Teachers and students together began each day with singing. We learned about music from our music teacher, but we sang everywhere,…
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NOV
01
2002

Winter Holidays

Question:The children in my classroom come from many different traditions and cultures. I know the winter holidays could be a great opportunity for children to learn about each other’s cultures but I’m…
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AUG
01
2002

Powerful Words

In 1993, after teaching for twenty years, I still loved my chosen profession, but I often felt frustrated. It seemed as though I spent an inordinate amount of time on classroom management…
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AUG
01
2002

Signals for Quiet

Question: I’ve read about using a signal to get children’s attention and let them know it’s time to be quiet. I’ve tried raising my hand but most of the time, children keep…
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APR
01
2002

Teaching Children to Care

Editor’s note: Teaching Children to Care by Ruth Sidney Charney, first published in 1991, has transformed many teachers’ practices. This well-loved book has sold over 70,000 copies and is widely used as…
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MAR
31
2002

The Bus Bully Project

Adapted excerpts from Northeast Foundation for Children's new book, Kids Taking Action: Community Service Learning Projects, K-8
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MAR
31
2002

Community Service Learning

Question:I’ve heard a lot about community service learning (CSL) and love the idea of combining service to the community with academic learning. I’d like to get a project going in my classroom,…
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MAR
31
2002

Refusing to Go to Time-Out

April 2002Question:I’ve had pretty good success using time-out with most children. I have children go to time-out to regain their self-control as they start to lose it. But what about the child…
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FEB
01
2002

Games Kids Love to Play

Do you remember the playground on a bright spring day, flinging off your coat in a mad dash for the monkey bars or choosing up teams for a fast game of dodgeball?…
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FEB
01
2002

Celebrating Valentine’s Day

Question:Holidays can sometimes be a mixed blessing in schools. For example, students love to exchange cards on Valentine’s Day but every year there are problems. Sometimes the exchange seems too competitive and…
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FEB
01
2002

Using Computers to Build Community

Imagine this: It’s academic choice time in your classroom and groups of three and four students are clustered around computer workstations. Two groups are planning an Internet-based inquiry project. Another group is…
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JAN
31
2002

Restless in Morning Meeting

February 2002Question:I teach first grade. I find that by the end of Morning Meeting, my students tend to be fidgety and restless, so I’ve been taking them out for recess after meeting…
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NOV
01
2001

“Like Being at the Breakfast Table”

Adapted, with permission, from an article in Childhood Education, Spring 2001
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NOV
01
2001

Working with Families

Question:In my classroom this year, I am implementing two teaching strategies, Morning Meeting and Rules and Logical Consequences, but I’m concerned about parents’ reactions. I can imagine that they will worry that…
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NOV
01
2001

Choosing Choice

Several years ago, the school at which I was teaching adopted a new series of teacher’s manuals for reading and spelling and asked that teachers use them to guide their instruction. The…
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SEP
30
2001

A Comfortable Routine in Uncomfortable Times

In the days and weeks following the events of September 11th, many teachers and children around the country gathered each morning in the comforting routine of Morning Meeting, a daily ritual that…
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AUG
01
2001

Welcoming Second Language Learners

Question:The number of students speaking English as a second language (ESL) is steadily increasing. These children come to the classroom with diverse cultural backgrounds and varying degrees of proficiency with English. We…
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AUG
01
2001

Hopes and Dreams in a Primary Classroom

I love the beginning of each school year with the coming of fresh new faces to excited to learn. Most of my students have been to kindergarten and come to first grade…
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APR
01
2001

Classroom Spaces That Work

Imagine spending every day in a physical space designed for people much bigger than you. To wash your hands or get a drink of water, you’d have to drag a chair over…
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MAR
31
2001

Looking Back, Looking Forward

Question:The end of the school year offers a unique opportunity for students and teachers to reflect on their year of learning together. It’s a time to recognize efforts, celebrate achievements, acknowledge challenges,…
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MAR
11
2001

A Conflict Resolution Protocol for Elementary Classrooms

April 2000A basic belief underlying The Responsive Classroom approach to teaching is that how children learn to treat one another is as important as what they learn in reading, writing, and arithmetic.…
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FEB
01
2001

The Middle of the Day

It's a cool, crisp, autumn morning as 100 second and third graders burst onto the playground for a much-needed break from the academic demands of the day. Some make a beeline to…
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FEB
01
2001

Ending the Day Right

Question:Many teachers spend a lot of time creating good beginnings to the school day through carefully planned morning meetings. But what about the end of the day? In this newsletter's Teacher to…
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FEB
01
2001

Closing Meeting

It's 3:23 and my class has just finished a science experiment. I look at the clock and realize we have seven minutes to clean up from science and do everything else we…
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OCT
31
2000

Homework!

Ask any teacher, parent, student, or administrator about homework and you're likely to get a different opinion about the quality and quantity at their school: there should be more, there should be…
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