Sample Morning Meetings - Responsive Classroom

1 V I E W I N G G U I D EResponsive Classroom N O R T H E A S T F O U N D A T I O N F O R C H I L D R E N800-360-6332 O R T H E A S T F O U N D A T I O N F O R C H I L D R E NSampleMorning Meetings in a Responsive Classroom Sample Morning Meetings in a Responsive Classroom 2009, Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the 2009 by Northeast Foundation for Children, rights photograph Tim Wessel, all rights Classroom Northeast Foundation for Children, Avenue A, Suite 204, Box 718, Turners Falls, MA This viewing guide accompanies the Sample Morning Meetings in a Responsive ClassroomDVD.

2 Printed on recycled paperTable of Contents1 Introduction2 About Morning Meeting5 Using the DVD For Professional Development12 Sample Morning Meetings18 Sample Viewing Discussion Guides21 Directions for Greetings and Activities Seen on the DVD25 About the Responsive ClassroomApproach 26 Morning Meeting ResourcesSample Morning Meetings in a Responsive Classroom 2009, Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the a Morning Meeting in action and reflecting on what youhave seen is one of the best ways to learn about this powerfulteaching tool.

3 In this DVD, viewers will see Morning Meetings in action infour classrooms urban, suburban, and rural at different grade levelsand different times of year. Included are a Morning Meeting done in athird grade Classroom in September, a Morning Meeting done in a differ-ent third grade Classroom in November, a Morning Meeting done in a firstgrade Classroom in February, and a Morning Meeting in a kindergartenclassroom in April. This DVD could be used in a variety of ways: For individuals:To learn about Morning Meeting or improveMorning Meeting practice For new staff:To orient them to Morning Meeting practice For staff groups:To introduce Morning Meeting or to stimulatedeeper exploration of Morning Meeting for those already imple-menting itThe information in this viewing guide will help you get the most out ofyour viewing.

4 You will find general information about Morning Meeting,guidance on using the DVD as a professional development tool, and back-ground information about each Morning Meeting featured in this DVD. Sample Morning Meetings in a Responsive Classroom 2009, Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the open-choice topic, and the rest of the children listen and respondwith questions and comments. Having sharing occur near the begin-ning of the meeting helps ensure that children will have the focusneeded to do this complex and sophisticated Group the thoughtful focus of sharing, children areready for the energy of whole-group participation in a short, livelyactivity.

5 These might include active games, math activities, choraland poetry readings, memorization, singing, and chanting. 4. Morning practice academic skills and buildcommunity by reading and discussing a daily message from theteacher. Content of the message connects to both the social and academic life of the Classroom . Teachers often embed practice with literacy skills. Morning message helps children settle down after thelively activity and serves as a transition to the rest of the school day. PREPARING CHILDREN FOR Morning Meetings uccessful Morning Meetings don t just happen. Early in the year,teachers spend time establishing rules and teaching routines and behav-iors that will help Morning Meeting go smoothly.

6 Then, they consistentlyrevisit those routines and behaviors throughout the year. Following are some of the routines and behaviors that students need to learn and practice: How to come to Morning Meeting in a quiet and orderly way How to find a place to sit (many teachers encourage children to sit next to someone other than their best friends) How to sit during the meeting How to respond to a signal for quiet attention (for example, a raised hand or ring of a chime)2 About Morning MeetingDuring Morning Meeting, the Classroom community adults and children gathers in a circle at the beginning of each day to greeteach other, share information from their daily lives, engage in an activitytogether, and read a daily message from the teacher.

7 Morning Meetinggenerally lasts twenty to thirty minutes and offers valuable opportunitiesfor children to practice social-emotional and academic skills that carryover to the rest of the day. GOALS OF Morning MEETING To build community in the Classroom and fulfill children s need to belong, feel significant, and have fun To build trust and set a positive tone for learning To merge social and academic learning To practice or reinforce key academic skillsSTRUCTURE OF Morning MEETINGM orning Meeting has four components done in the following order: 1. greet each other by name in brief, structuredgreeting activities. Greeting welcomes everyone into the circle, estab-lishes a friendly tone for the meeting and the day, and helps createan atmosphere of trust that is important for the second component,sharing.

8 2. share ideas and information in a structured for-mat. In around-the-circle sharing, everyone in the circle has anopportunity to respond briefly to a teacher-chosen topic. In partnersharing, students pair up to share about a teacher-chosen topic. Indialogue sharing, one student shares about either a teacher-chosenSample Morning Meetings in a Responsive Classroom 2009, Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the the DVD for ProfessionalDevelopmentAlthough it can be useful to simply watch a Morning Meeting to get the flavor of a full Morning Meeting, viewers will have an even richerexperience if they watch with a focus in mind and then reflect on whatthey ve seen.

9 In the following section you will find guidance for structuring groupviewing of Sample Morning Meetings . FACILITATED DVD VIEWINGF ollowing are steps for setting up and running a facilitated DVD viewinggroup. (Individual viewers can choose a focus question from the list onpage 8 to guide their viewing and then use journal writing as a way toreflect.) In this model, you will divide the large group into smaller groups,each of which will have a focus for viewing. By working in small groupsand viewing with a specific focus in mind, participants will be able to digmore deeply into what they see and then learn from each other duringthe large group Think about how much time you have available and choose a segment will want to allow time for viewing theclip at least once (possibly twice) and then small group discussion ofwhat was seen followed by large group discussion.

10 A viewing sessionmight happen in a staff meeting, where there would be time to viewone or two components of a Morning Meeting and discuss observa-tions, or as part of a professional development day or half-day, wherethere would be time to watch an entire Morning Meeting and discuss. 4 How to make the transition from a lively greeting or activity to aquieter sharing or Morning message discussion How to read the message chart before meeting and do any inde-pendent work asked for on the chart How to greet each other in a safe and friendly way How to share and how to decide what is appropriate to share How to ask respectful questions and make empathic comments during sharing How to move safely around the circle during activity How to take turns when discussing the message chart, responding to a peer s sharing, or engaging in an activity Sample Morning Meetings in a Responsive Classroom 2009.