Articles

Where are you when students arrive in the morning? At your teacher desk looking at paperwork from the office? At the projector setting up a video you'll be showing later that morning? I like to station myself in my customary position at the door, ready to greet each student as…

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. Think…

Question: In many classrooms, the morning message chart is an important part of the beginning of each day and the first place that students go as they enter the classroom. On the chart, students find a greeting from their teacher, some news about what they’ll be learning that day, and…

Question: I often struggle to write the Morning Meeting message because my imagination runs dry. What suggestions can you offer that might help me come up with fresh and interesting messages? Answer: This is a common problem when teachers focus too much on being imaginative or entertaining when writing Morning…

Think of a place where you feel welcome as soon as you arrive. For some people, that place might be home; for others, someplace where they eat, play, work, or shop; for others, a favorite vacation spot. When you think of places that feel welcoming to you, does your school…

Here’s another children’s book that might come in handy early in the school year. Say Hello!, a picture book by Rachel Isadora, is a good one for when you are introducing Morning Meeting, especially greetings, to your class. In this book, Carmelita, her mother, and their dog Manny run errands…

During a recent school visit, I marveled at the myriad tasks and responsibilities that comprise the first few minutes of the school day.  Watching one teacher calmly direct all this activity reinforced for me the value of establishing and practicing routines. It’s 9:00 am on a Monday morning in November.…

This video is excerpted from The First Day of School in a Responsive Classroom, which was filmed on the actual first day of school in Caltha Crowe's third grade classroom in 2007. Caltha mentions using this activity at arrival time on the first day of school in "Knowing All Our…

Each morning at the University School of Nashville's lower school begins with a simple routine that welcomes students out of their cars and into the building. As children spill out of the vehicles, three adults—an administrator, an enrichment teacher, and the custodian—are there to greet them with a warm "Hello"…

When Steve Bahn became principal at Ideal Elementary School, a K–6 school with 245 students, he didn't like how the school day began. "It felt chaotic and fragmented," he recalls. Students entered the building from several directions, depending on whether they arrived by bus, by car, or on foot. There…

One March morning, children entering a fourth grade classroom take turns gathering at a chart on which their teacher has written a message just for them: March 7, 2005 Dear Invertebrate Investigators, Yesterday we continued our studies about invertebrates, and we put two types of food in our worm farm.…

School Spotlight: Dame School, Concord, New Hampshire When the morning bell rings, Linda Stephenson, the guidance counselor at Dame School, steps out of her office. A moment later, children start coming through the front door of the school. “Good morning, Parker,” Linda says to one first-grader. As children walk into…

Question: What’s one activity you’ve found effective for the interactive part of the Morning Meeting News and Announcements chart? A: I’ve found math challenges to be very effective. For example, I might write on the chart, “Write either a mixed fraction or an improper fraction and convert it to the…