Morning Meeting

When I first came to class and heard the phrase Morning Meeting, I had NO idea what it was. I never had a teacher growing up who integrated this into their instruction. After a couple of classes, doing my own morning meeting in class, and especially after Sylvia Long came to speak to us I absolutely think this is something every teacher should do. If done right it truly creates an amazing classroom environment. When Sylvia told the story about the young boy who couldn't read and was worried about memorizing "Good Timber" I was astounded. When she told us that he did memorize it, before her "alphas", I started crying. The most amazing feeling came over me when I heard that. Morning meetings can truly make a difference in a child's' life. Using morning meeting in your classroom, EVERYDAY, can open up the door for your students to get to know each other better and support each other. It allows students to feel like they belong, they build friendships, and it can create an environment that feels safe where students respect one another.  It should be used as a way to promote a classroom community where you interact with the students and they interact with each other, not as a way for you to get planning done while students just do whatever. If you can use morning meetings the right way, your classroom will function so much better than it would without it. When you do a morning meeting you should incorporate a way for students to have fun and work together. I found a great site with TONS of fabulous morning meeting activity ideas. I will link it below :) I can't wait to use morning meetings in my own classroom!
Morning Meeting Activities