Creating a Caring Community in the Classroom: Morning Meeting!
If I could only use one aspect fromResponsive Classroom, I would choose Morning Meeting. Morning Meeting has created an environment in my classroom that I love not only witnessing, but being a part of. We use responsive Classroom in our district, however, this is not an infomercial for Responsive Classroom. :) I just love what it has done for my classroom community.
There are four components to Responsive Classroom's Morning Meeting. The greeting, sharing, activity, and the message. With the time constraints placed on us, it is difficult to get to all sections every day. The sections I make sure I get to are the greeting and sharing.
Most days my students treat their peers with respect and kindness. The majority of them are very mindful of the way they treat each other. I believe a lot of that comes from the way we start our day. Every morning the students greet each other in a variety of ways and share something from their lives. Morning Meeting helps us start each day on a positive note.
The other day I decided to try the "Compliment" greeting. Students greeted each other, and offered a compliment. I told my students I didn't want them to use bland terms such as, "I like your dress", but to really think about something they liked about the person they were complimenting. I was blown away by the sincerity in their statements. It allowed me to see that Morning Meeting wasn't just something to get through, that it actually affected the way my