Morning+Meeting

//"The time one commits to Morning Meeting is an investment which is repaid many times over. The sense of belonging and the skills of attention, listening, expression and cooperative interaction developed in Morning Meeting are a foundation for every lesson, every transition time, every lining-up, every upset and conflict, all day and all year long. Morning Meeting is a microcosm of the way we wish our schools to be--communities full of learning, safe and respectful and challenging for all." // (The Morning Meeting Book, Kriete 2002)

Morning Meeting is an important part of the Responsive Classroom program. Each morning, the classroom community comes together to start their day through a structured, shared experience.

The Goals of Morning Meeting 1. To help create the positive power of community in the classroom by fulfilling students' need to belong, to feel significant and to have fun. 2. To teach the skills of friendliness and social interest through sharing, listening, inclusion, participation and dialogue. 3. To model and practice, through daily routine, the social skills children need to use everyday: Cooperation, Assertion, Responsibility, Empathy and Self-control. (CARES) 4. To merge social, emotional and intellectual learning.

The Morning Meeting has four specific components that help students and teachers build a sense of community. The four parts of morning meeting are:

1. **Greeting**: During this time, children greet each other by name. The greetings are structured and often include contact like a handshake or high-five.

2. **Sharing**: Some or all of the students share some news of interest and respond to each other, sharing thoughts, feelings and questions in a positive manner.

3. **Activity**: The entire class participates in a brief activity to build class cohesion through active participation.

4. **Morning Message**: Students practice multiple skills, both academic and social, by reading and discussing a daily message written by the teacher. This shared reading also helps to build a sense of community.

**Please note: A Morning Meeting is different than a class meeting. Cynwyd teachers will continue to hold class meetings along with Second Step lessons in addition to the daily Morning Meeting.

**Information for this wiki was gathered from various sources including the Responsive Classroom Level 1 Resource Book, 2007