Morning & Closing Meeting.

I begin and end each day with a "classroom meeting." I got the idea from The Responsive Classroom. They invented the Morning Meeting, so all rights go to them. All the basics of the meeting can be found in their book. I urge all of you to purchase the book, even if you're just considering implementing a meeting. It's a great book with good ideas. It really helps to build a team within your classroom. 

Now to the good stuff... The kids all come to carpet and we hold a discussion. At first, I really emphasize the "meeting" thing. We discuss the meetings are important, formal and professional. We talk about honoring the person who is speaking, whether that be myself or another student. The kids like to be "grown ups" and attend meetings. It's a lot of fun. 

A lot of people have asked me about how to begin a Morning/Closing Meeting in their own rooms. Here are the guidelines that I've come up with and use in my own room. Please feel free to steal them and change them to fit your students.

Morning Meeting

1.  Greeting:

Leader picks greeting and says it to one person and they say it to the next, and so on. Sometimes we incorporate a handshake or high five. It’s up to the leader (I call them “Student Teachers”) to pick the greeting for the day. Sit on the floor with your kids. It is so important for you to be “apart” of the team. I really do believe this helps with their behavior when you are sitting amongst them as opposed to above them.

2.  Lunch Menu:

The Student Teacher reads the lunch menu aloud. This is a good time to do lunch count if you have to find out who brought their own lunch.

3.  Share Time:

One of the most important parts of Morning Meeting comes during share time. I pick 2-4 (sometimes more, depending on time) to share a story. As painful as it can be when you have some crazy fibbers in your class, always allow them time. They give you hours during the day, so you can give them a few minutes in the limelight. We have really had to practice “meeting etiquette” and honoring others when it’s their turn to speak. After the student shares, the other students have a turn to ask questions. I usually pick 2 students to ask a question, if they are raising their hand.

I try and keep a mental note of who shares, just to make sure everyone gets “share time.” It’s difficult with some of my chatty kids that always have something to share.  Throughout the day when kids come up and want to tell me stories, I say “Oh! Save that for Share Time in the morning! Remind me.” It usually works, and saves me from having to listen to 100 random stories all day long of how a kid in the bathroom grew wings and flew to China. Believe me. My kids’ imaginations are incredible.

4.  Group Activity:

This could be anything from singing the state song to doing the Hokey Pokey. I have a list of things they can choose from. As long as they are getting up and exerting some morning energy, the activity is a good choice. Simon Says is always popular. Okay… I get really into this… I’m not going to lie. You can change this up however you want. Some other options are the YMCA, the Marcarena, ChaCha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Zumba, Square Dancing, and Follow the Leader. Basically, any song that is popular at cheer camp. HA!

5.  Morning Message:

I have made 5 Prezi’s.. one for each day of the week. I keep the template the same and just switch out the picture(s) and message. My students love seeing pictures of me doing things. They love pictures of my cats, pictures of me traveling, pictures of me being a cheerleader in high school, and even pictures from when I was a little girl. I show them one or two pictures a day via Prezi. Before I show the picture, I allow the kids to make predictions based on what they think they will see. “What will Ms. Boyd be doing?” “Where will Ms. Boyd be?” They like to predict random things. They really get into it. Then I show the picture and we talk about it. After the picture, I go to the message. It’s a personalized message to the class written in “friendly letter” format. We point out the “Dear ____,” and the “Sincerely,” and the indention. We discuss what makes a good paragraph, and complete sentences. Then we read the letter. Sometimes I read it; sometimes the kids take turns reading it. It’s good reading practice. I really try and make it personal. I try and point out positive things they did yesterday, and also give them a preview of what we are going to learn today. If there are any reminders, I include them in this message.

6.  Morning Work:

This is the transition between Morning Meeting and the start of the day. I have the kids return to their desks and take out their morning work. Most of them have it finished, but some of the late arrivals do not. We do it together. I usually put up 2 sentences that have to be corrected and 2 math problems from yesterday’s independent practice. Lately, I’ve also written a writing prompt for my speed demons to begin whenever they finish so quickly. It keeps them busy, and it is usually something fun or silly. For those that don’t get to it, no worries. I don’t grade it.

Morning Meeting is a great way to begin the day and incorporate everyone in the room. I really think a class that works as a team is a class that can accomplish much. Building relationships with your students is so important, and Morning Meeting gives you time every single day to do that.

Here are my Morning Meeting rules: 

1.     Come to the meeting with a positive attitude. 

2.     Come to the meeting with empty hands. 

3.     Look at and honor the person who is talking. 

4.     Make your dear Teacher happy!

Sweet and simple. I really emphasize the whole “Meeting” thing. I talk about how meetings are important and it is a very professional thing to do. I treat my kids like they are adults and I expect big things out of them, which is why I’ve chosen to begin each day with a Meeting instead of Calendar time.

Closing Meeting

1.  Ready to leave:

Get your backpack. Pick up trash. Put any notes and graded work in your bag. Take a seat at the carpet.

Face it… The end of the day is always chaos. The kids are maniacs and the room looks like a small tornado went through. Closing Meeting keeps them busy/fairly quiet until the final dismissal.

2.  Likes/Dislikes:

I tell everyone to close his or her eyes and think about the day. With eyes shut, I ask them to thing of one thing they liked and one thing they didn’t. They open their eyes and I begin to ask them. I point to them, they quickly respond. If they aren’t quick, I move on and come back. Every single student shares one thing they liked about the day. Then every single student shares one thing they didn’t like. This gives me a lot of insight about the day. I can see what kids enjoyed and what kids really didn’t like. It’s fun to see their brains really meditating on the day. I don’t allow vague answers. “Recess” is not valid, neither is “everything.” I’m really trying to get them to answer in complete sentences. I have to prompt them occasionally with “I really liked…” and they can fill in the blank. It’s a work in progress, but they are getting the hang of it.

3.  Read Aloud:

I read. The only time my kids are quiet is when I’m reading a book. I rotate picture books and chapter books, depending on what we are studying. I read until it is about one minute to dismissal. The longer I read, the less time I have to control the crazy bus riders or the anxious kids that walk home.

4.  Break Out:

Just like any team, we break out in a huddle. I shut my book and stand up, placing my hand in the center of the circle. The class follows. The leader picks the cheer we break out on, within reason. It’s funny and weird to see what they choose. After we “1-2-3 Cheer!” the students know to line up at the door, ready to hit the road. Surprisingly, it really is a fairly smooth transition.

Closing Meeting ends the day, once again, as a team. It wraps up the day, and allows the kids to prepare an answer for when their parents ask the question “What did you do at school today?” I like it, and the kids seem to like it, too.

Now I will warn you, Closing Meeting is not as quiet as Morning Meeting. In the morning, they aren’t wound up. By the afternoon, they are crazy critters. I just had to get used to the higher noise level and the occasional floor rolling. We are all anxious to get home. It happens.

Here are my Closing Meeting rules: 

1.     Come to the meeting with a positive attitude. 

2.     Come to the meeting with empty hand. 

3.     Look at and honor the person who is talking. 

4.     Make your dear teacher happy.

Okay. They are the same, but the kids need to know them. I have both sets of rules posted on the board for all the students to see. They kindly point them out to one another when someone isn’t “honoring” someone else. It’s great.

Once again, I did not invent the Morning Meeting. It is a brilliant approach the Responsive Classroom has given us. You can find their plan of action here: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/morning-meeting-components

I simply borrowed and tweaked it. It works for me, and I love it. I hope it can be borrowed and tweaked by anyone!

Make it yours. Make it fun.