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The Power of the Morning Meeting: 5 Steps Toward Changing Your Classroom and School Culture

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Edutopia blogger Lisa Dabbs shares her own transformative experience with the Morning Meeting model and suggests five steps for integrating this practice into the classroom.

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In the transition back to school this fall, we have an opportunity to take a healing-centered approach to engaging students and to recapture a sense of community in our classrooms.

As we search for practices to help build safe and inclusive environments, we know that making time to rebuild connections and allow students to check-in with each other is key.

Hosting morning meetings-a structured daily ritual that provides a supportive transition for students as they enter into the classroom-is an engaging way to start the school day while fostering collaboration and kindness.

Continue reading to learn more about morning meetings and explore ways to implement this practice within your classroom community.

[Free Download] Small-Group SEL Facilitation Guides + 6 Activities

What is a Morning Meeting?

Morning meetings are a school-wide classroom management practice used to address students' social-emotional learning needs on a daily basis.

Every morning, teachers gather their students in a circle (for 15 to 30 minutes) to interact with one another and kick-off the day. While these daily warm-ups will look different in different classrooms as educators adapt them to meet the unique needs of their students, the most widely used model of a morning meeting (developed by Responsive Classroom) includes four main elements:

1. Greeting (e.g., students and teachers greet one another by name, oftentimes at the door as they enter the classroom)

2. Sharing (e.g., students share information about events in their personal lives)

3. Activity (e.g., the class participates in a brief activity that cultivates connection and provides opportunities to practice SEL or academic skills)

4. Morning Message (e.g., students read a short message authored by their teacher to prime them for the work they'll engage in during the day)

Goals of Morning Meeting

Morning meetings are most commonly implemented in elementary schools as a class meeting at the beginning of each school day. Many elementary teachers use morning meetings for the entire year as a way to build community while ensuring that each student feels heard, valued, and respected. Morning meetings can be adapted for use with middle school and high school students, too-in fact, one of CASEL's three signature practices for supporting systemic SEL is to open each class period or meeting with a welcoming activity, ritual, or routine.

The overall goals of any morning meeting are to:

Provide students with opportunities to check-in with their emotional state by labeling or naming feelings

Establish psychological safety and trust among students and caring adults

Support social-emotional needs as the foundation for academic learning and engagement

Build a strong sense of connection and community

Set the tone for the day (and the overall classroom climate)

Encourage teamwork, a growth mindset, and collaboration

Sample Morning Meeting Greetings

Intentionally greeting students as they enter the classroom is an important aspect of any morning meeting. Review this list of sample morning meeting greetings and brainstorm ways to adapt them for your students.

The "Good Morning" Greeting: Greet each student at the door by making eye contact, saying, "good morning," and following up with a handshake or high five. Students can emulate this to greet each other.

Compliments: Each student greets a classmate and shares a compliment with them. Educators can model what this looks like and set parameters for how to express gratitude and appreciation.

Ball Toss Greetings:After students have entered the classroom and are seated (or standing) in a circle, roll or bounce a ball to one student. Ask them to greet a classmate (verbally) and gently roll or bounce the ball to them. That child can then choose someone new to greet and pass the ball to.

Morning Meeting Activity Ideas

In the Responsive Classroom morning meeting model, a core component is a brief (but interactive) activity that centers on a specific theme or social-emotional skill and that the entire class can participate in.

Consider these three morning meeting ideas to use with early and upper elementary students. These activities can be easily adapted for virtual delivery.

Superstar Ice Breaker Game: This simple, quick game (developed by PanoramaPlaybookpartnerPlayworks) helps students explore and deepen relationships. Icebreaker games promote respect, encourage playfulness, promote inclusion, and build community. Participation in these ice breakers also helps students feel more comfortable engaging in further games and activities, and are a great tool for new groups of students at the start of the year. Superstar Ice Breaker is a perfect fit as a first day of school get-to-know-you activity and can be adapted for use during a virtual morning meeting if your school is operating in a distance learning model at any point during the 2021-22 academic year.

The Warm Wind Blows: Before students enter the classroom, write the following statement on the whiteboard:"The warm wind blows for everyone who likes to ______."Then, instruct students stand in a circle in front of a clearly marked spot, such as their chair or desk. One child is selected to start in the middle of the circle and complete the statement on the board (e.g., "The warm wind blows for everyone who likes to watch movies.") Everyone who agrees with their statement needs to find a new spot in the circle, including the student standing in the middle. Whoever is left without a spot in the outer circle is then the next one to move into the middle and complete the statement.

Follow The Leader: This team building activity encourages students to practice active listening and build their observation skills. One student volunteers to be "it" and stand out in the hallway for a few minutes. Another student is selected to be the leader, whose role is to perform random physical movements (such as nodding their head or clapping their hands). The students need to watch closely and imitate his or her actions as they happen spontaneously. When the "it" person comes back into the classroom, they watch a few sets of movements and have three guesses to try and identify the leader.

Other Considerations for Designing Morning Meetings

Phase in morning meetings with scaffolding. In order to ensure that students feel safe and supported during morning meeting time throughout the school year, it's important to phase in the various structures of this group activity. At the beginning of the year, take a few days to introduce the idea to students and establish the time that morning meeting will happen in their classroom. Express your hopes for this ritual to students and gauge what their questions are. You can also consider seeking out colleagues at different grade-levels who are already implementing morning meetings in their classrooms and investigate the whats, hows, and whys of their ritual.

Include a check-in. Using a mood meter, feelings wheel, or another printable handout, provide students with an opportunity to label their emotions and share-out why they're feeling that way. This can give educators a daily opportunity to model self-regulation and help set the tone for the day with a safe and supportive discussion. The goal is to validate students' feelings, help them understand that their feelings are justified, and talk through how they might cope with their emotions.

Partner with families. Share details about your morning meetings with families and provide outlets for authentic two-way communication with caregivers. Explain the purpose of this group activity and outline ways in which morning meetings will help to build children's social-emotional skills. Consider inviting caregivers to join a morning meeting (in-person or virtually) to observe or participate.

Adapt your morning meetings to meet the unique needs of your students. While there is a specific structure and order to the components of a morning meeting, it is critical that educators feel empowered to adapt the practice to fit what's best for their students. For instance: if you notice that students are particularly energized as they enter the classroom, you might choose a more relaxing and calming activity to use during morning meeting.

Scale activities by grade-level. As a school-wide practice, morning meetings should be scaled across grade levels to ensure that students in higher grades are building upon the social-emotional skills they've acquired at each previous grade-level. Incorporate new skills each year and give older students opportunities to exercise their agency by leading or planning morning meetings. Furthermore, within a given academic year, educators can scale activities or greetings to be more advanced once students are comfortably and successfully participating in morning meetings.

Additional Morning Meeting Resources

Looking for additional resources? Download 6 small-group SEL facilitation guides-and share with your school teams!

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Morning Meetings: Cultivating a Culture of Care and Safety

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Morning meetings are a school-wide classroom management practice used to address students' social-emotional learning needs on a daily basis.

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Morning Meetings: Creating a Safe Space for Learning

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Use a Gallery Walk format for students to get feedback on their work. Hang student products, such as drawings, visual representations, poster projects, etc. Students, individually or in groups, rotate around the room and provide feedback to the creator of the work.

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Start your presentation and students will join your Session from any device with a web browser. As you advance your slides, students will be prompted to answer your questions! Students' answers can be displayed anonymously on the classroom projector, so instead of worrying about getting the right answer and feeling silly in front of peers, your students are putting ideas out there in a safe, anonymous way, discussing, and learning from each other.

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As an instructor, you can quickly see what each individual thinks on the Teacher Dashboard. Noticing a lot of wrong answers? Adapt! Take a pause, back up, re-explain. But don't forget to help the learners help each other: Why did some people choose this while others chose that? How can we find out the right answer? What else do we need to know?

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Pear Deck for Google Slides is the #1 Slides Add-on, making it effortless for educators to add interactive questions and formative assessments to their presentations.

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Exit slips are written student responses to questions teachers pose at the end of a class or lesson. These quick, informal assessments enable teachers to quickly assess students' understanding of the material.

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Exit tickets. A wonderful tool for formative assessment, but a real pain to keep track of!! Exit tickets and I have had a love/hate relationship for wayyy too long now! I tried multiple different ways of using exit tickets in my classroom last year, but couldn't find one I was happy with . I could never keep track of 15 or more little pieces of paper, and it was just too time consuming to collect a sheet, check it, and pass it back to use again. After scouring Pinterest for a solution to this problem, I combined several ideas and created something I LOVE using!!!

What Stuck With You Today:

Each kiddo was assigned a number on the chart and given a pad of sticky notes. When it was time for the exit ticket, I posted the question on the board. Students wrote their response on a sticky note and stuck it in their square on the poster.

It was SO EASY to go through and check each note! It kept all of the papers nice and the best part was that it didn't matter whether the kids wrote their name on it or not, as long as it was in the correct square!

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What Stuck With You Today? - Exit Tickets

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Exit tickets. A wonderful tool for formative assessment, but a real pain to keep track of!! Exit tickets and I have had a love/hate relationship for wayyy too long now! I tried multiple different ways of using exit tickets in my classroom last year, but couldn't find one I was happy with .

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Think back to that special teacher from your childhood. What made them so special? It likely wasn't what they were teaching, it was how and why they were teaching. It was that bond, that connection, that feeling you had walking into the classroom that allowed you to learn and grow.

Creating that same feeling you had as a child is intentional and takes effort, albeit one that is well worth the investment as quality teacher-pupil relationships have been consistently linked to students' academic and social-emotional outcomes (Hamre & Pianta, 2001).

Welcoming rituals are an ideal first step in creating a positive culture within the classroom, one that sets the stage for social and emotional learning. Initiating routines for respectful communication while allowing people to connect and giving students a voice goes a long way in creating an inclusive classroom community.

Ideally, welcoming rituals are well planned, appropriately facilitated and connected to the learning objectives of the day. They also offer an opportunity for a reflection of thoughts, feelings and emotions to reinforce positive behavioral norms.

A welcoming routine is not necessarily something that is used every day by every teacher. Rather, it is one of many tools to promote a positive classroom climate. While there are obvious times when one is needed (e.g. start of the year, return from winter break or welcoming a new student), its best to gauge the physical, emotional and intellectual needs of students before deciding when to implement a welcoming ritual.

According to , there are several things to consider when thinking through a welcoming ritual. If the group seems lethargic and needs a pick me up, perhaps select a routine that involves movement. If emotions are running high, an activity that maximizes opportunities for individual and group discussion to "talk things out" may be appropriate. If the group requires intellectual stimulation, an activity that includes difficult questions might be in order.

Below are a few examples to get you started. You may also want to explore the work of the Cleveland (OH) Metropolitan School District, the Springfield (IL) Public Schools and the Oakland (CA) Unified School District who engaged in many best SEL practices.

1. Give a brief explanation of nonverbal behavior. Include examples of nonverbal

Behavior such as hand gestures (pointing, waving), facial gestures (raised

eyebrows; indicating yes, no; frowning; smiling).

2. Then explain that you will place a colored dot (or whatever shape or color you

Have available) on each person's forehead. The different colors of the dots

represent the different groups that they are going to join. Also tell them they

cannot look at their own dot or tell someone else what color dot they have.

The rules of the game are:

Students must use only non-verbal behavior to discover the color of their dot and to form a group with those who have dots of the same color.

3. The teacher begins the "no talking" time and goes around the room placing the

different colored dots on the foreheads. Do not let them see their own dots as

you place it on their foreheads. The teacher selects one student (try to avoid

choosing someone who is often excluded by others) to get the yellow dot.

10 students get a GREEN sticker

6 students get a BLUE sticker

2 students get a RED sticker

1 student gets a YELLOW sticker

4. The teacher then instructs the class to form groups using nonverbal behavior by

joining those with the same color dot. It will soon become apparent that the

student with the yellow dot is not a part of any group.

5. Once everyone has found the correct group, ask the student who has the yellow

sticker to explain his or her feelings about being left out of the groups. Then

involve the other students in the discussion on "how it feels to be excluded."

"What can we do to include others?" "Do new students feel this way?" Discuss

the non-verbal behavior that students used to let others know that they were

included or excluded in their group.

1. Place a question on the board for students to answer. Instructor can decide if

students will write their names on the paper or not. After all students have

responded to the question, students will crumple their paper and throw it across

the room. Allow students to throw as long as you like. After throwing, students

should grab any paper they find on the ground and read it. Class discusses what

commonalities and differences between the answers.

1. Have students come to the meeting area 2. Begin with meditation, deep breathing, or another mindfulness strategy

3. Check in with students by asking them to rate their feelings on a scale of 1-5

using their fingers (5 being the most positive)

4. Give students an opportunity to share why they feel that way and also take note

of who may be in need of an individual check in/more support

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Cheer! (5 minutes)

1. Students should each find a beginning partner to play the game rock, paper,

2. The student who wins the round moves on to find another player while the

did not win becomes the student cheer section.

3. Each time a partnership plays rock, paper, scissors the winning partner moves on

and the rest of the team continues to cheer on the winner.

4. Play should continue until half of the room is cheering behind one student and

half is cheering behind the other.

Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2001). Early teacher-child relationships and the trajectory of children's school outcomes through eighth grade. Child Development, 72(2), 625-638.

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Think back to that special teacher from your childhood. What made them so special? It likely wasn't what they were teaching, it was how and why they were teaching. It was that bond, that connection, that feeling you had walking into the classroom that allowed you to learn and grow.

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22 Best Icebreaker Games for Kids in ANY Situation

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Icebreakers are a great way for kids to get to know each other. Kids can play an icebreaker game as a group, in pairs, or as individuals.

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4th Grade Teacher In Georgia Starts Day With Positive Affirmations

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Starting the day out right! 🤩#LoveWhatMattersCredit: __levay__ (Instagram)

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Every Monday, we do Roses and Thorns. Each student gets to tell the class something positive that happened over the weekend and something that may not have been too good. Most of my students only have Roses, but for the times they have Thorns, we try to make them feel better. It leads to a great discussion among the students.

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Soft start activity bags in the morning. Students can work alone, with a partner, or small group. Uno, Magnatiles, cars, Hashtag blocks, stacking blocks, tic-tac-toe, etc.

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Brain Breaks are great! We usually do one with movement to help get us going in the morning.

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I use a "Things I Wish My Teacher Knew" box in my classroom. My students can write anything personal and place it in the locked box. I check it every day after school, and write back to my kids.

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Ask a question of the day or a would you rather question.

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Ask a question of the day or a would you rather question.

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Would You Rather for Kids - 100 Questions

Would you rather lick a dirty trash can or the bathroom floor?

Would you rather have a magic carpet that flies or your own personal robot?

Would you rather be the worst player on a team that always wins or the best player on a team that always loses?

Jul 9, 2022 · Are you ready to play today's would you rather game? Ready to make some difficult ...
Duration: 9:29
Posted: Jul 9, 2022

Washington DC (Hagerstown MD), Virginia

From your IP address - Learn more

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would you rather questions for kids - Google Search

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Would You Rather for Kids - 100 Questions Would you rather lick a dirty trash can or the bathroom floor? Would you rather have a magic carpet that flies or your own personal robot?

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A technique for proactively building the skills and relationships students will need when challenges arise.

Our students come to school with many issues on their minds and in their hearts. As educators, we can help them process their thoughts and feelings so they can better handle their situations and be more present in class.

Restorative circles are a useful practice to do just that. While frequently used to replace punitive forms of discipline, restorative circles are equally important in proactively building the relationships and skills students need to support one another and collectively address the challenges they face.

Restorative circles are most effective when they're an integral part of school culture. After all, you can't "restore" a community that you haven't built or sustained.

7 Steps for Facilitating Meaningful Circles

1. Cocreate a safe, supportive space: Circles work best if teachers invest time up front to build relationships, skills, and practices to draw on throughout the school year-especially if the going gets tough.

Early in the process, teachers and students together explore values-like empathy, patience, kindness, courage, and open-mindedness-that need to be respected for people to be willing to share openly and honestly in circle. They also determine best ways of working together (circle practices). These include honoring the talking piece, which goes around the circle as an invitation to share while everyone else listens (participants may pass if they don't wish to talk). People are encouraged to speak and listen from the heart. And what is shared in circle, stays in circle, though educators should let students know at the outset that we are mandated by law to report when a student threatens to harm themselves or others, or when students divulge abuse.

2. Be prepared: Make sure that you, the facilitator, are well rested, calm, and focused.

To hold the circle space effectively, it's important to be fully present and able to sit with other people's stories and feelings as well as your own. Center yourself. If you're exploring sensitive issues that may require follow up, consider alerting support staff.

3. Plan ahead: Decide together on a topic or theme that sustains students' interest.

Find a relevant opening ceremony to open the circle space, such as a poem, quote, or piece of music. A mindfulness activity can also be used to bring students into the space after a particularly stressful class or noisy hallway experience.

Look for information to ground the conversation, and develop questions and prompts to invite student perspectives into the circle.

Keep in mind that the bigger the circle, the more time you'll need for the talking piece to go around. Think about how things might unfold and be ready to adapt to what comes up.

Make sure to leave time for a closing ceremony, giving students a chance to transition into spaces that may be less conducive to being vulnerable. A closing ceremony can be a commitment to safeguarding the stories shared in circle, or a breathing exercise in which we provide students with prompts and time to put themselves back together again.

4. Invite student experiences into the space: Encourage students to connect with the circle content by sharing stories from their own lives.

Include storytelling rounds by asking students to talk about "a person in your life who..." or "a time when...." Share authentically of yourself. This gives others permission to do the same. Model good listening as the talking piece goes around the circle. Be fully present as others speak. Remind everyone that listening is the key ingredient in circles. True listening can create the kind of welcoming space that encourages even the quietest voices to speak.

5. Acknowledge, paraphrase, summarize, and practice empathy: Listen closely to what students share so that you can build on their experiences.

When the talking piece comes back to you, touch on what you felt, noticed, or heard. If you sense that there's more than surfaced in the first round, send the talking piece around a second or third time, asking students for their connections, reflections, or additions.

If challenging or painful issues come up, model agreed-upon circle practices for students to follow. Listening mindfully and being present with other people's ordeals and hardships can create supportive, healing experiences that strengthen community connections and build empathy.

If needed, let students know you're available to check in with them later in the day or week. You might also have them consider speaking with other supportive adults or students to find solace if they're troubled.

6. Explore what it means to be an effective ally: Beyond creating a supportive listening environment, ask what else, if anything, students need from you and from each other.

Explore how to be better allies in circle so that students know they don't need to face their challenges alone. Invite them to talk about a person in their lives who is a good friend or ally, or a person they'd like to be a better friend or ally. Discuss the qualities these people have (or lack) and how they make us feel. Invite students to talk about a time they've been a good friend or ally themselves, and what gets in the way of being our best selves with one another.

7. Zoom out to promote understanding on the systems level: Explore whether there are larger systemic forces that underlie the challenges students have touched on (such as racism, sexism, or lack of access to resources). Introduce information, stories, and voices that might shed light on how these systems operate. Look for examples of people who took action to interrupt these and other oppressive systems.

Invite students to connect to this information by sharing their thoughts, feelings, and related experiences.

Studying larger, systemic forces in society can help students better understand their situation, and can be a useful starting point for students to become more active themselves. Action and activism can inspire hope, connection, and healing.

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Building Community With Restorative Circles

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A technique for proactively building the skills and relationships students will need when challenges arise.

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allowing students to start the day in "play" and community talk while teachers can have one on one meetings as needed, check in homework and do attendance. 

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Morning ritual:

Every morning, we all say "good morning" to one another, and ask how we're feeling each morning. Then we choose cards from our SEL box to discuss as group. Students and classroom staff share experiences on how we've dealt with different scenarios and how we can improve.

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When students come in, they put their things away and then move their name from home to school.

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Students can earn a mind reading magic trick

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Teacher Magic!! We can read your minds 🧠 #teachersoftiktok #teachertok #magictrick #teacherlife #lovemykiddos

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@emerillo_bymorning
Teacher Magic!! We can read your minds 🧠 #teachersoftiktok #teachertok #magictrick #teacherlife #lovemykiddos
♬ original sound - Emery Paul

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Students each get an opportunity to share a topic they would like to learn about, then I plan lessons around their interests, with a focus on interactive activities.

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Check in with kids to see how they are doing with their goals and with the class to see how we are doing with our harmony goals as a class.

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Check in with kids to see how they are doing with their goals and with the class to see how we are doing with our harmony goals as a class.

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Have students greet each other, share on a given topic, and do a fun activity that promotes collaboration and community building

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The decline of play | Peter Gray | TEDxNavesink

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Drawing rangoli and diyas in the quad for Diwali. 

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Learn about and share traditions that are celebrated by students that may not be the typical holidays/traditions known by the majority of kids. Give those students a voice to share what is important in their culture!

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These are great for morning discussions and gaining knowledge of your students.

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100 Pieces Morning Meeting Chips Questions Cards for Students Classroom Questions Ideas Cards Social Skill Cards Set Teacher Supplies for Classroom Elementary Improve Communication Conversation

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Amazon.com : 100 Pieces Morning Meeting Chips Questions Cards for Students Classroom Questions Ideas Cards Social Skill Cards Set Teacher Supplies for Classroom Elementary Improve Communication Conversation : Office Products

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Each week a different student gets to share photos, personal likes, their favorite book, and something special to them. At the end of the week we make the student a book. Each student writes and draws what they love the most about that student. The poster they share becomes the cover for their memory book at the end of the year.

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Asking how something went, students' understanding, or how they are feeling quickly with their hands.

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Have students "Check Out" at the end of the week with their favorite/ least favorite lessons and activities.

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Allow students to brainstorm within a group setting and share ideas/thoughts aloud

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After the writing process, I'll pick a paper to read aloud without telling the student's name. I let the students know that they can reveal that it is their paper at the end. When I finish reading the paper, I pick 3 students to say something they liked about the paper. The wish is one thing that they would have liked to have more of in the paper. Kids love doing this, and the person who wrote the paper feels awesome!

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Show and tell. Bring something from home to share with the classroom.

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Each week we pick a new VIP. They are in charge of starting the day for us. Each day they have a different thing to share. Monday=how was your weekend? Did you do anything fun? Tuesday=Share a joke or poem with the class. Does anyone else want to share? etc.

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Student Voice and Choice:  At Their Own Pace

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Each morning my students meet me at the door, we look each other in the eyes and say good morning then do a greeting of their choice whether it is a fist bump, hug, or elbow bump etc. Then they start the day with morning tubs where they can socialize with each other and I can do other check-ins as needed.

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Every week a new student starts the day for us and shares something about themselves. Friday they bring somethng from home that's special to them. They share it with the class.

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After greeting each student at the door, the class sits on the rug. After the flag salute, we use ASL to talk about the date, weather, and learn new vocabulary. Together, we discuss a topic (SEL, focus of month, etc), read a story, talk about our weekends. Then head outside for a few stretches and run a lap and engage with students. Everyone comes back in ready to start our day.

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Give students prompts (sentence frames) for how engage in academic discourse, supporting their voice in the classroom with peers and adults.

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Give students prompts (sentence frames) for how engage in academic discourse, supporting their voice in the classroom with peers and adults.

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Special personal greeting for each student, each morning at the door.

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Greet students at the door making sure to say good morning to each one.

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As the students walk in, I do a visual/ motion welcome with each student.

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A great way to get to know your students and set actionable goals!

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"What are your hopes and dreams for the school year?"

Many teachers ask this question in the first weeks of school to help students get excited about learning and make a personal connection to what they will learn in school. Inviting students to name learning goals (hopes and dreams) right away shows them that school is a safe place, that they're important members of the classroom, and that they can look forward to an engaging, challenging, and fun year of learning. Establishing this classroom tone is one of the most important things to do at the beginning of the year.

The process of articulating hopes and dreams varies depending on the students' grade level and the teacher's style. Below are ideas for various grade ranges and special area teachers.

Grades K-2

Young students often need some school experience before they can start thinking about what they want to learn and do in school. Allow students to familiarize themselves with the new routine of school for the first couple days (or first week for kindergartners and first graders) before you help them establish learning goals.

After that initial settling-in period, invite the children to think about their hopes and dreams. Here's one approach to doing this with these young students:

Ask students, "Why do we come to school?" If they give a broad answer such as "to learn," help them stretch their thinking: "What can we learn in school?" Write down their ideas. They might say "To do things like write," "I think we will learn science stuff," or "To make friends."

The next day, ask students to reflect on their list of reasons for coming to school, and then help them think about specific learning goals. To guide them, say, "Today we're going to make another list. What are some of your hopes and dreams for the year?" Give examples of your own hopes and dreams, such as "This year, I hope our classroom will be a place where all of you find enjoyment and get to work at things that really matter to you." With this guidance, even students this young can turn a vague statement about why people come to school, such as "To do things like write," into a realistic learning goal: "I want to learn to write a story."

Over the next few days, continue to list students' ideas as they share. Keep each brainstorming session short, about five to ten minutes. Stretching this process over several days gives ideas a chance to percolate and sends the message that sorting out learning goals is important work, not something to rush.

If any goals seem unrealistic, coach students in rethinking. For example, if a student says "I want to read all the books in the library," you can respond with "Sounds like you want to do a lot of reading this year. Can I write that down as your goal?"

By the following week, everyone should be ready to choose one learning goal that's most important to them. Have students write down and illustrate that goal (with help from you and other adults in the room as needed).

By the end of that week, students can share their learning goal with the class. Post students' hopes and dreams on the classroom bulletin board for all to see.

Grades 3-4

To help students get enthusiastic about school right away, invite them to begin thinking about their hopes and dreams early in the first week of school. The challenge is to help them set learning goals that they truly care about and can realistically achieve in school this year. Here's one way to do this:

At the end of the first day, introduce students to learning goals in closing circle-a daily gathering before dismissal that helps students end the day on a positive note and feel energized about their learning. Going around the circle, ask students, "What's one thing you enjoyed about your first day of school?" and "What's something you're looking forward to tomorrow?" Then ask students to spend a few minutes that night thinking about what they want to learn and do in school this year.

Over the next couple days, help students brainstorm learning goals in short sessions, spreading this brainstorming over the course of the week to give them time to come up with lots of ideas. You might want to have students use a worksheet to help them come up with a goal that's achievable and meaningful. Start off the first session by sharing your own hopes and dreams. For example, you might say, "I hope our class grows into a safe and strong learning community."

Coach students who list goals that may be too broad or unrealistic for the school year. For example, if a student says "I want to be a professional musician," discuss the skills and habits needed to reach such a long-term goal and choose one that's realistic to focus on this year. For example, musicians need stick-to-itiveness, and an attainable school-year goal related to that might be "to keep trying even when something is difficult."

By the end of the first week, students should be ready to choose one goal to illustrate and share with the class. Display everyone's hopes and dreams on the classroom bulletin board for all to see.

Grades 5-6

Students in grades 5 and 6 are ready to set realistic, meaningful learning goals right from the start of school. Students this age are also ready for the additional challenge of stating one goal having to do with academic learning and one having to do with social relationships. Here's one way to help them do this:

On the second day of school, introduce students to learning goals in the Morning Meeting message, such as "This week we will think about our learning goals. What are some of your hopes and dreams for this school year? Try to think of both what you want to learn in different subjects and how you want to work with others." To guide students, state your own hopes and dreams. Be sure you also touch on both academic and social learning in your statement. For example, you might include in the message "I really hope everyone will feel safe, take care of each other, and be thinking workers."

Have a brief coaching conference with students who list goals that are too broad or unrealistic. For example, if a student says "I hope I get to play video games all day," you can help turn it into an attainable goal such as "to learn all that I can about computers this year."

By the end of the first week (or beginning of the second week), ask students to choose one social and one academic learning goal that is most important to them to write down and illustrate. Display everyone's hopes and dreams on the classroom bulletin board and give the class time to read what classmates have shared.

Special Area Teachers

Like other teachers, special area teachers can have students name learning goals for the year. This step establishes a sense of purpose and anticipation for the work students will do in the special area room.

Start by articulating your own hopes and dreams for this year. For example, you might say, "This year, I hope that we have the kind of [special area] classroom where students can be really creative, take some risks, and try new skills. I hope you all enjoy [special area] and look forward to coming each week."

Next, prompt students to think about their own learning goals by saying, "Now think about your hopes and dreams for this year in [special area]. What are some of your goals? What are some things you might like to learn?"

Special area teachers find many different ways for students to share their hopes and dreams. For example:

One physical education teacher has each student write their learning goal for PE on a paper basketball, which they then display on the "Hoops and Dreams" wall.

A music teacher fills his room with pictures of children playing an instrument, dancing, singing, or engaging in various other musical pursuits-students' illustrations of their musical hopes and dreams for the year.

Supporting a Key Goal of the First Weeks of School

One of our most important goals in the first weeks of school is to help students trust that school will be a place where their ideas matter and where the learning is meaningful. Guiding them in naming their learning goals for the year is a powerful way to meet this goal. Time spent on this activity is an investment that reaps benefits for months to come.

A Prelude to Rules

Besides setting a tone of purposeful learning, inviting students to articulate their learning goals for the year is also an important first step in co-creating classroom rules with students.

For example, after students share their goals with the class, you might say, "You've had a chance to read everyone's hopes and dreams. Let's start thinking of some rules that can help us work together really well and allow everyone to reach their goals." Next you would consolidate the ideas students name into a manageable list that will serve as the classroom rules for the year.

Even if you're planning to use existing rules-ones shared by your team, grade level, or whole school-you'll still want to ask students to articulate their hopes and dreams so you can talk with them about how these rules enable them to achieve their goals. When you connect students' goals to the rules like this, no matter where the rules come from, you help students see rules as positive guidelines that create a safe, supportive classroom in which they can do their best learning.

Learn More About the First Weeks of School

Creating learning goals is just one strategy for making the early weeks of school a highly fruitful time of year. To learn many others, see The First Six Weeks of School, 2nd edition. You'll find practical ideas that enable you to:

Create a climate of warmth, inclusion, and safety.

Teach classroom routines and behavior expectations.

Help students get to know and care for the classroom and school environment.

Establish expectations for academic work.

For more information on learning goals, how they connect to classroom rules, and other important strategies for a successful beginning to the school year, you can also check out Rules in School: Teaching Discipline in the Responsive Classroom.
(an adapted excerpt from The First Six Weeks of School, 2nd edition)
Tags: First Day of School, Hopes and Dreams/Learning Goals, Special Areas

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Inviting students to name learning goals (hopes and dreams) right away shows them that school is a safe place, that they're important members of the classroom, and that they can look forward to an engaging, challenging, and fun year of learning.

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Ask students a morning question such as "Do you like waffles or pancakes?" They are able to choose another answer if they'd like.

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Get to Know Your Students - Cypress Tk/K

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Get to Know Your Students - Cypress Tk/K

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Play "Would You Rather."
Morning Meeting Circles

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Every Friday we do hugs and high fives before leaving the classroom.

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Morning meetings - students share about their lives outside of school.

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Lead class dance breaks to share their "special dance move."

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After activities have students use a 1-5 scale about what they thought about the activity and what can we do to improve it.

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Plan for Voice and Choice - Cypress TK/K

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Plan for Voice and Choice - Cypress TK/K

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Wonder Walls - Allowing students to pursue the answers to their own "burning questions."
Choice in showing what they have learned by creating a rubric, yet allowing choice in creating how they would like to share their knowledge by using the rubric co-created.

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Journal communication, sticky notes with their thoughts on a particular project, self reflections assessments.

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We set goals each Trimester to reflect on. It is always interesting to see what students feel are their barriers to learning. 

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We set goals each Trimester to reflect on. It is always interesting to see what students feel are their barriers to learning. 

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Choices: Goal Setting online worksheet for 4. You can do the exercises online or download the worksheet as pdf.

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As part of my classroom reward system, students can cash in tickets to "sponsor a brain break song or short video" in class. After making sure it's school appropriate, I share it on the Promethean and we have a little dance party. The kids get a kick out of being a Class DJ.

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Student self-assessment and goal setting

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Student self-assessment and goal setting

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Students assess themselves and look at practical ways they can show effort. They can use this to set goals and let the teacher know how they can support them in achieving those goals.

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"Goodbye Circles" sharing their "Roses and Thorns" for the day.
Individual meetings, community circles, and personal reflection surveys on what worked for them individually.

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Hands On, Mind On

Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.~ Ancient Chinese Proverb

What are Total Participation Techniques?

Presida and William Himmele state, "A Total Participation Technique is a teaching technique that allows a teacher to get evidence of active participation and cognitive engagement from all students at the same time.

In my classroom, my students participate in a variety of activities that they can all participate in. When we review vocabulary, the students receive a set of cards with the words we are learning. Then I place the definitions on the Promethean Board. Students take time to read the meaning, when they are ready they hold up the word that matches the definition. Since instituting this strategy, my students vocabulary scores have improved from an average of B's and C's to almost all A's.

Another activity I use in my third grade classroom is sorts. For example, when learning about common and proper nouns, I will give students a set of cards with nouns written on them. In partnerships, the students will sort the cards into the two different categories. When they are finished sorting, they will write the words on a handout.

These techniques are important because they let you take advantage of the amount of learning that all students are involved instead of just three or four students. This works well for your learning support and ELL students.

Benefits of Total Participation Techniques

Total Participation Techniques are low budget and low maintenance.

You don't have to spend a lot of money for these learning activities. Many of the things I have made, can be reused year after year. Hold-ups are easy to make and use in the classroom. These include multiple choice cards and true/false cards. To save on wear and tear, I laminate the cards.

Total Participation Techniques engage students.

It gets all your students participating class. Your students won't have time to tune out the lesson because they will be focused on the learning task.

It provides teachers with immediate feedback.

Many of the strategies used provide teachers with on the spot evidence about which students understand and which ones don't. You can adjust your method or clarify concepts based on student responses.

These techniques provide students with opportunities to build a classroom community.

At times students are working in partnerships and small groups. They are building a rapport with one another, which helps them to become friends. Students learning to be respectful of one another's ideas.

The techniques help ensure equity in participation.

One or two students are not monopolizing the lesson. This also gets your reluctant learners involved in the lesson. Students feel successful because they can be part of the lesson.

Examples of Total Participation Techniques

Hold-ups

Think-Pair-Share

Think -Solve -Pair-Share

Quick Writes

Categorizing and Sorting

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Using Total Participation Techniques in the Classroom - Atlas

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Hands On, Mind On Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.~ Ancient Chinese Proverb What are Total Participation Techniques? Presida and William Himmele state, "A Total Participation Technique is a teaching technique that allows a teacher to get evidence of active participation and cognitive engagement from all students at the same time.

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Singing the "We Wish You Well" song after talking with the class about who is not there today creates a classroom community by boosting your school family connection.  Noticing that students in the class family are gone for the day gives students the feeling that they all matter and that they are in our hearts even when they are not even in the classroom!

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Students write shoutouts to other students and/or teacher at the end of the week. Students share in a community circle.

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Student start each day answering a writing prompt in their writing journal.

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Student start each day answering a writing prompt in their writing journal.

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Challenge students with a theme: Bring in a picture (photo or drawn); Bring in something you are proud of; Bring in something that reminds you of a place you have been; etc

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We have a morning ritual where we have a selected morning leader tht guides the class through the regular morning routine. This gives each child a chance to successfully use their voice to guide the class.

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Giving students the choice in what they want to do during centers allows them the chance to explore what interests them.

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https://www.polleverywhere.com/classroom-response-system

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Embed live activities directly into your slides and organize your lectures the way you want

Get started

Poll Everywhere engages students on their devices

2:43

Dr. Yan Tang, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, uses instant classroom polling to collect live feedback and drive retention in engineering courses.

"I've been looking for ways to engage students effectively and probe [their] understanding of a particular concept," said Tang. "The first time I saw Poll Everywhere, I loved it."

Tang embeds polls throughout her PowerPoint lectures. This gives her instant feedback on student comprehension.

The anonymity through Poll Everywhere gives students the ability to jump right in, even if they might not have answered a question otherwise. We need to have more time and space for classroom discussions.

Andrea E. Oliver

Doctoral candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center and Program Manager at Girls Inc. of New York City

Embrace smartphones

Transform students' phones into teaching aids. Students respond to your polls online or via SMS texting. No clickers required.

Promote communication

Use multiple activity types, including multiple-choice and word cloud, throughout your lecture to identify gaps in understanding.

Encourage openness

Anonymous polling creates a safe space for reluctant students to respond openly. Hear from the entire class simultaneously.

Want better student engagement department wide?

Our classroom response system can scale to fit your needs. Find out how.

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Embed live activities directly into your slides and organize your lectures the way you want Get started Poll Everywhere engages students on their devices 2:43 Dr. Yan Tang, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, uses instant classroom polling to collect live feedback and drive retention in engineering courses.