Mr. Saunders' class had been doing the sharing component of Morning Meeting since school started in the fall. After several months of daily practice, he knew he could count on sharers to speak clearly on a focused topic, and on their classmates to respond with on-topic questions or comments. Yet in spite of these successes, something seemed to be missing.
As each school year ends, I look for ways to highlight for my students all they’ve learned during our time together. Last year, I found a quick, fun way to do this during Morning Meeting, while also giving the children a bit more practice in observing and classifying—important skills in our science curriculum. It began with a basket of lemons.
I’m new to the Responsive Classroom approach, but even in my first year of having Morning Meetings, the children’s social growth exceeded what I had typically seen in my kindergarten classes. For example, during the Sharing part of Morning Meeting, the students learned appropriate ways to ask questions about each other’s news. When one child shared about a Friday night out for pizza with her family, other children were able to focus on the sharer, her news, and her feelings.
It's Morning Meeting time in Angie Morrison’s second grade classroom. As they do each morning, Angie and the children gather in a circle to greet each other and begin their day together. A comforting sense of routine settles over the group. But something’s different this morning, too: Seated quietly outside the circle are several teachers from other classrooms. The visiting teachers jot a note or two as they carefully observe Angie and the children moving through their meeting.
Morning Meeting is about to start. With eye contact and a head nod, Wyatt chooses a friend to ring the chime that signals our gathering. We come together in record time. There is a feeling of anticipation as we silently watch Wyatt get his wheelchair positioned so that he can take his turn leading Morning Meeting.
Megan’s Great Uncle John was dying of cancer, and she needed to share this distressing experience with her fourth grade classmates. During a Morning Meeting Sharing in October, Megan explained that her great uncle hoped to live until Christmas but was not doing well. She spoke concisely, and the children responded with soberly appropriate questions and comments.
After you’ve been teaching for even a little while, you’ll probably find yourself in this situation: You’ll be attending a reading workshop tomorrow. Today, you talk with your students about how they need to act and work so that they will have a successful day in your absence. You write up an extensive lesson plan. You even write the News and Announcements chart for Morning Meeting.
Our school celebrates and welcomes our new kindergartners with a special all-school Morning Meeting affectionately known as “Crowning Day.” Planning for Crowning Day begins before the kindergartners start school. The fifth graders look forward to their new responsibility as we match each of them with a K-buddy. The third and fourth graders create crowns for each kindergartner.
Morning Meeting is over and writing workshop is underway. The children are scattered around the room sketching and then writing about objects that “called out to them.” Erin's dad is leaning against the file cabinet, absorbed as he sketches a ceramic rooster. Lauren’s mom is quietly bouncing baby Amy on her knee as she writes down her thoughts.
It’s sharing time during Morning Meeting in Ms. Roberts’s first grade classroom. Jarrod is enthusiastically telling his classmates about the photos they will see when they look at his “family album.” The book contains a picture of Jarrod’s mom sitting on the front steps of their house. It also has a photo of a recent birthday party and one of a dripping Jarrod at swimming lessons. “But you’ll really like my picture of me sleeping in the back seat of the car with my dog,” he quips.
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 we’re "wasting time" with play or are too "soft" on discipline. I’d like parents to feel the same interest and investment in these changes as I do. How have you helped parents understand the value of these strategies?
