If so, you're not alone! I've been hearing from teachers who feel they could do more to make this part of Morning Meeting as purposeful, fun, and engaging as greeting, sharing and group activity.
A well-crafted message can do many things: inspire students to think about the day ahead, intrigue them with an interesting task or question, encourage them to think of themselves as a community, give them a chance to tackle academics in a safe but challenging way. . . . The list goes on and on!
Here is an example of a math-themed message I saw recently in a third grade classroom:
In a school with over 500 students and more than eighty staff, it can be difficult to get to know one another. At K.T. Murphy Elementary School in Stamford, Connecticut, the staff and administrators addressed this by creating an all-school meeting format that uses the structure of Morning Meeting.
Welcome to Morning Meeting in my full inclusion classroom. Twenty-one first graders sit in a large circle on a brightly colored rug. I'm in a small rocking chair, my hand lightly touching one child's back. Another adult sits behind a child, supporting him as he sits with his legs, encased in blue braces, stretched out. Wiggling beside him, another child sits on a sissel seat that encourages balance and provides tactile input. A small girl, still outside the circle, cries inaudibly at her desk.
What happens in your classroom during arrival time? Those first minutes are so crucial for setting the tone and the pace for the day! The routines you put in place for arrival time help children reconnect to the classroom and their place in it, as learners and as classmates.
Because I want families to be important members of their child’s educational team, I make opportunities throughout the school year for in-person conversations with each student’s parents or guardians. These “meetings” range from one-on-one conferences to quick exchanges with family members joining us for Morning Meeting, lunch, or a classroom event. I’ve found that a sense of warm informality encourages parents to visit and to comfortably share information about their children.
School Spotlight: Dame School, Concord, New Hampshire
