Bright Ideas: The Importance of Morning Meetings

Do you start the day with a morning meeting? Do you have a class meeting once a week? Many elementary and middle school classrooms around the U.S. start each day with a morning meeting. It is a time where teachers and students gather in a circle, greet each other, and listen to each other share news and respond to each other. It is a time to practice social skills and build a community of caring and motivated students. When each day is started with everyone gathered face-to-face, welcoming each other while sharing news and listening to each other, it sends a powerful message that everyone matters. It creates an environment of respect and trust. It promotes positive behaviors and most of all improves academic learning.

There are different kinds of class meetings. The Morning Meeting has the following components:

• Greeting
• Sharing
• Group Activity
• Announcements

Morning Meetings are everyday at a set time. If you work in a Title I school or have lots of behavior issues in your class, you may want to consider having a morning meetings. The 20 or so minutes spent each day will be well worth it to help make your whole day and year run smoothly. Less behavior problems equals more teaching and learning time! Morning meetings are for all grade levels. Here is just one example of a morning meeting that I wanted to share.

I recently came across "Dialogue Circles" which is another type of morning meeting. Dialogue Circles promote a safe and supportive space where sensitive topics can be talked about, differences can be worked out, and consensus can be reached. Having worked in a Title I school, I know that many of my students lived in gang infested neighborhoods and their home environment was far from ideal. They knew that the one place they could count on was school and the teachers and staff to be there for them. I hope you will take a few minutes to watch this video.

Establishing positive behavior and getting your class management under control during the first 2 weeks is critical for setting the tone for the rest of the year. I hope you will consider some type of morning meeting to get your year started on the right foot. Hope it's a great school year!

Hope I've given you some Bright Ideas. If you have enjoyed these Bright Ideas I hope you will consider joining me on Pinterest, Facebook, or Bloglovin to see more Bright Ideas.

For more Bright Ideas from over 100 bloggers, please browse through the link-up below and choose a topic or grade level that interests you. Thanks so much for visiting and thanks so much for making a difference for you students.

An InLinkz Link-up