Morning Meetings
For Elementary Students
- Brief
(10-30 minutes) format
- Set
positive transition for students into school
- Build
common experience and relationship with students
- Include
grade appropriate content --daily weather, news,
announcements
- Fresh
activity, role-play, guided discovery
- Introduce
a topic that will be covered that day
Guidelines
for Class Meetings
- Meet
once/week at regular time
- Honest/open
dialog, focus on solutions, limited time (30 min
3-5 grade, 45 min 6-8 grade)
- Students
don't accuse, put-down, or show disrespect to
others
- No
one solicits others to point out wrong doers
Active listening (eyes, polite, hearing other
side) and do not interrupt
- Group
punishments are not sanctioned
- Use
of I voice, "I feel this way when...[don't
accuse] classmates tease me." not
"Johnny is teasing on the playground."
- Students
arranged in a circle
- Students
lead (when skilled) to set up agenda
- Teacher
final agenda arbitrator, but students could
alternately facilitate meeting
Adapted from William Glasser and Rudolf Dreikurs
Collection
of "hands for character", presented to
Morgan, an elementary student in Westbrook, CT to
acknowledge her positive attributes. These hands
made up one corner of a bulletin board
highlighting good student character which
resulted from a class activity. This activity is
suggested as an excellent classroom community
builder during morning meetings for the start of
the school year.
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Morning
meetings are modeled during selected SEE workshops.
The purpose of these transition meetings in to school is
emphasized for the building and maintenance of caring
classroom communities. Time 45-60 minutes
View 20 Kinds of Class Meetings for ideas.
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