https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu Collaborate with our rock star MASD staff to share your strategies, activities, and experiences with Zoom Morning Meeting. en-us 2020-07-17 15:28:48 UTC 2025-11-12 21:52:06 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/665440048 Starting each Zoom session by reviewing Zoom expectations went really well. We did this in a variety of ways to keep it fresh: sometimes I simply read them, other times words would be missing and students would figure out what word completed the sentence, sometimes whole expectations would be missing and students would add it back in. Setting the expectations each day really set students up for success.]]> 2020-07-30 00:56:40 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/665440048 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/666555905 Before beginning our morning meetings I would have my students help me review our Zoom expectations. After reviewing our morning meeting expectations I would usually begin with giving my students time to share. Some days this would be open ended and other days there would be a sharing prompt. After allowing each student time to share with their peers the rest of our morning meeting usually included a read-aloud, activity, and then we would end by all doing a GoNoodle together. I would post my morning message on Seesaw in the morning before our meeting so that students could listen to it prior to coming to our Zoom. Having a consistent routine for morning meeting worked really well with my students and made for a more relaxed Zoom. The biggest challenge I had was finding ways that students could be as active in helping lead in our virtual morning meeting as they had been in the classroom. ]]> 2020-07-31 12:55:25 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/666555905 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/666964431 We started each morning meeting with a joke time. This would then lead into a game, sharing time, or activity. I always ended by pulling a student's name out of an envelope and having the students shower this individual with compliments. A challenge I faced was giving each child a voice in such a large group. 

]]> 2020-08-01 03:03:21 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/666964431 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/666966824 We would start each day with a greeting and the date. I would try to always tell the students how happy I was that we were all together. Then, everyone had time to share. Usually, this was pretty open ended. As time went on, we would split into breakout sessions so that each student would have more individual time to share. We came back together and did a read aloud. We would finish by talking about what was coming up the next day and/or what kind of Seesaw activities they would be doing that week. ]]> 2020-08-01 03:12:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/666966824 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/667145662 We started each virtual meeting with sharing time. This would lead to a game and then a read aloud. We always ended with a Go-Noodle. My favorite part of these meetings was when other family members would join in. This seemed to add excitement and really add that sense of family community. My favorite Zoom was when entire families were doing the Hokey Pokey with us.]]> 2020-08-01 17:24:55 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/667145662 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/668054293
Before we started each Zoom morning meeting we would review the expectations of behaviors during the zoom sessions. Then we would begin with a greeting song, sharing, an activity(usually a review of a skill previously taught) and last a morning message. This is the same format I used in classroom, so the students were familiar with the routine. I added a read aloud then finished with a movement activity. At times, the struggle was for all students got to participate. ]]> 2020-08-03 14:27:56 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/668054293 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/668970264 I was able to see morning meetings looking so many ways as I joined each of the classrooms. Most teachers had a consistent schedule they followed for morning meeting (intro, sharing, story, etc.), and that seemed to work really well. I noticed some challenges with holding kindergarten students' attention. Being able to "mute" students could be viewed as a positive or a negative. Having clear behavior expectations was definitely helpful.]]> 2020-08-04 12:37:20 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/668970264 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/669219002 I would start my zoom morning meetings the same way that I started them in the classroom and that is with a morning message. I end my morning message with a question for my students. This is a great way to give students the opportunity to share out on zoom. They loved sharing out on zoom.]]> 2020-08-04 16:25:02 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/669219002 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/669628606 As we transitioned to Zoom morning meetings, I tried to keep our format and routine as similar possible.  We spent the beginning of our morning meeting with me sharing a silly story or joke.  We talked about a success from the week or the day before and then shared a story.  I did a short mini-lesson or social story that matched the book and then allowed students to share in break out sessions or using our name sticks their connections to the story.  We also used our "sharing" cards.. students could choose a free share or follow the sharing prompt we picked from our pack.  Keeping our routine similar to our class routine allowed students to feel a sense of connectedness and normalcy.  Parents said morning meeting continued to be the favorite part of their child's day. ]]> 2020-08-05 00:34:38 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/669628606 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670227089 Google slides became my favorite tool for using during virtual Zoom meetings, especially during morning meeting.  I could purposely plan activities with a specific order of how I wanted the meeting to progress, work ahead, swap out slides, and even include resources that I found online into my slides.  I always displayed an intro slide several minutes before the meeting actually started.  This might include trivia questions, word searches, and funny gifs.  I enjoyed using breakout groups to do "sharing" type activities and games.  Students loved doing scavenger hunts and playing I Spy. My students also enjoyed watching videos with screen share and discussing them. We did a few "How to Draw" videos from youtube that got everyone excited.   I also couldn't go wrong with reading a book.  The biggest challenge for me was just keeping things fresh and finding ideas that could work in a virtual setting. ]]> 2020-08-05 15:06:31 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670227089 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670383612 I kept the structure and format of my Zoom morning meetings as similar to what they were in the physical classroom as possible to provide students with familiarity.  We always began with a fun greeting (and tried some new fun, virtual ones) followed by a sharing.  The group activity varied due to time constraints and the virtual setting.  We would often combine our sharing and activity with a game of "I Spy..." or a read aloud and connected directed drawing.  Finally, we always ended with the morning message.  The mark-up tools on the screen share feature of Zoom were great for interacting with our morning messages.  I would say the most challenging aspects of the virtual morning meetings were not being able to physically sit in a circle together and ensuring everyone's voice was heard.  We were at the point where students like to lead portions of morning meetings which was a little more challenging online.]]> 2020-08-05 17:09:07 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670383612 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670384875 I tried to format my morning meetings just like we were in the classroom. I had a morning message that we read together. The only difference was that with ZOOM I needed to start off with the expected behaviors during our morning meeting- muting the microphone and waiting your turn to talk. I would assign days when each student could share either a joke, toy or read a page or two of a book. Songs and Go-Noodle kept the group engaged My students loved listening to a story or a poem early in the morning. ]]> 2020-08-05 17:10:07 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670384875 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670649712 Each of our class zoom meetings would begin with our morning message and review of our schedule for the session. Then, we would say our daily affirmations together. Next, we would answer a sharing question and end with an activity. This was similar to our morning meetings in the classroom, but I found it hard to maintain kids' attention as others were sharing.]]> 2020-08-05 21:23:30 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/670649712 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/671776265 I loved having time with the students on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a whole group session! The students enjoyed seeing each other and interacting with one another. I tried to keep these similar to what we were doing in the classroom prior to COVID. We began each meeting with a quick review of our Zoom expectations. I used the expectations created by our grade level team. This year if we are doing morning meetings remotely, I will create the list with the students. Afterwards we always did a greeting, sharing time and a story. I enjoyed having other staff join us during this time to keep those connections strong as well. Breaking into the smaller groups was super helpful for students to have time to interact with each other easier. My favorite part about the whole group time over Zoom was that students were able to give a glimpse of their home life. We shared our rooms one day (with prior notification of course!), pets, family members, etc. Students loved that. ]]> 2020-08-06 20:34:38 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/671776265 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/672729034 I tried to keep class meetings very consistent. Class meetings happened at the same time, the format was very similar to what happens in the classroom. The students loved seeing each other, and we always talked about classmates who were online. We started with the date, and Pledge of Allegiance. From there, we did a joke, read-aloud, math problem, topic movement song or activity, and always had some type of life skill activity. The majority of my students enjoyed the Zoom meetings, and did adapt. ]]> 2020-08-07 19:10:29 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/672729034 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/672775979 I kept the structure of online morning meetings the same (Greeting, Share, Class Activity, Message). I also utilized the same PowerPoint slides that I used in the classroom so there was some visual familiarity. The overall flow and structure worked well for me. I also found particular Greetings ("Ball Toss, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," "Choose Two" (air high five, wave, wink, air fist bump), other chants) and Class Activities (Spot it, What changed?) transferred well to the online platform. On the other hand, so many Greetings and Class Activities that were favorites in the classroom couldn't be replicated in the online setting. What was most difficult was including variety in the Greetings and the Class Activities. ]]> 2020-08-07 20:08:12 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/672775979 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/673290796 One thing to remember is that a morning meeting does not need to always happen in the morning. Sometimes students can't make it to a morning session due to family schedules. Having a morning meeting/afternoon meeting allowed my students to select what worked for them. Our meetings were fun and usually incorporated a hello/share time, followed by a quick review of the lessons from the previous day, and a time for questions to be answered. I often ended the meeting with a chance for any students to stay who wanted to have some additional time just to talk and share with others. We would sometimes play a game, and sometimes we would just talk. The meetings were beneficial in helping to build our virtual classroom community-but also in helping to maintain relationships during a very chaotic time period. A bonus? I think I toured every one my first grader's houses, met all their pets AND siblings, and joined a few family events aside from our lessons. It was odd to have that kind of outside of school connection-but worth it!]]> 2020-08-08 23:26:34 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/673290796 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/674680664 When conducting a morning meeting via Zoom, I tried to keep it as consistent as possible. I wanted it to feel similar to how we would conduct morning meeting in the classroom. We would do a greeting, sharing, message, and activity. Our class loves GoNoodle, so we would always make time for it as a way to get up a move our bodies! They loved the opportunity to share their "news" with the rest of the class to keep everyone up to date on what they have been up to at home. ]]> 2020-08-10 18:36:06 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/674680664 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/675013698 Last spring, I met with my students each day over Zoom for 30-45 minutes. I took this time to catch up with my students, allow my students time to socialize and collaborate with each other, and to teach material that needed additional attention for the week. I would always try to start the meeting with an interactive story time, then we would play a game. Sometimes the game would be a scavenger hunt, a virtual board game, or a Kahoot! I let my students select books to read to the class and a small discussion would be held immediately following. My students loved to join the meeting because they knew they would get to share their plans for the rest of the day with their peers. The rest of the meeting was spent providing additional academic help to the students who needed assistance with the weeks assignments.  ]]> 2020-08-11 00:23:58 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/675013698 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/675571577 Zoom meetings last spring changed throughout the months.  At first, our meetings were all social.  They were voluntary meetings set up so that we could check in with each other and have some fun.  This was a great way to begin because the we both started to become familiar with Zoom as a tool, we provided expectations and norms for talking/sharing and I was able to read to them a book "just for fun!"  I tried incorporating parts of the Morning Meeting like a greeting, morning message, and an activity.  As we moved into the Learning at Home Plan, the level of expectations increased.  I felt that too much time was being spent on these things and I didn't have student's attention for the academic part.  So, I adjusted by having one consistent song for our greeting, sharing time was moved to the end of the zoom meeting so those that did not want to participate or if they felt like they could no longer attend could leave.  Our morning message was quickly phased out too.  By the end, I tried to keep the meeting moving by keeping the academics short, varied in types of activities and including a read aloud every day!  In order to honor students' time, I would set a timer to keep me on track so that I could wrap up our zoom session in 45 min.  

]]> 2020-08-11 13:14:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/675571577 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/676443492 Our class meetings always started by greeting each other and I gave the students time to just talk with each other before we got started. I enjoyed being an observer to these interactions. I often would then start with one question and each child would respond to the question. It was always something that they could answer personally. We often played a class game. Spot It was one of our favorites. We did GoNoodles sometimes. We also left time for students to ask questions about any of the activities from the week. A lot of these questions were more about technology. Keeping the class meeting to 30-40 minutes seemed to be a good time frame for seven year olds. 

]]> 2020-08-11 23:28:28 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/676443492 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/677449437 Our morning meetings would be between 30-45 minutes in length. When the quarantine first started, we spent more time with expectations before moving on with our time together. As our Zoom meetings became more frequent, we could spend less time reviewing expectations and more time with our daily topic. My teaching partner and I tried to have a topic or question for class discussion at most of our meetings. We also would have group or class games occasionally. At times, we would "switch" homerooms, so I would have morning meeting with her class, and she would be with mine. I loved being able to interact with both classes and continue to build our relationships together over a virtual setting. ]]> 2020-08-12 16:55:03 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/677449437 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/679339051 At the primary level, we held Zoom Morning Meetings twice a week. We always started our time with sharing; I could tell my students really missed interacting with each other and they always enjoyed introducing pets and siblings and showing off art projects and LEGO creations. This sharing time was more unstructured and open-ended; I just posed the question, "Does anyone have anything they would like to share?" Because my second graders spent so much time in front of a screen, I incorporated a lot of activities that had them up and moving around their house. We went on Rhyming Scavenger Hunts, we played "At the Queen's Request" (I have a list of items and they have to try and predict what I want!), we played Spot It! digitally, we went on virtual field trips... We also completed several directed drawings and I invited guests to our Zooms like our principal and specials teachers. I also used this Morning Meeting time for our class read aloud. While our Morning Meeting Zooms didn't have the same structure as our in-person Morning Meeting Zooms, they definitely kept us connected during a strange time :) ]]> 2020-08-13 19:09:37 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/679339051 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/680441910 My morning meetings illuminated our face-to-face morning meetings as much as possible. I held a morning meeting each day with my class. We began each meeting with a virtual greeting- a high five, fist bump, etc. Students would take turns greeting their peers and making motions toward the camera. All students would greet back. Next, we played some sort of game. Some days, the game related to an academic concept that we were learning, and other days we simply did something quick, fun, and engaging that allowed for more socialization. Next, I dedicated time for students to share and discuss their thoughts and feelings. Then, we would use our minds and bodies to work with Heggerty to continue our growth and development. Finally, we left time for students to ask any questions or further connect with their peers and myself. Although our Zoom meetings were not the same as our normal routine, it offered a sense of normalcy to all!]]> 2020-08-14 15:24:48 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/680441910 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/680810486 I found that holding morning meetings together after being sent home in March was the best decision that I could make. I immediately took the opportunity to get onto Zoom before the district provided guidelines and used it to build online virtual relationships with my students. I invited all students and many attended. We did a lot of informal morning meeting activities similar to what we did in the classroom. I allowed students to share their "news" and comment/ask questions based on what they heard from the peers. Then we would do a read aloud. During the read aloud, I took the opportunity to build vocabulary and ask meaningful questions. We had great dialogue and listened to "fun" stories. To end our morning meeting, we completed a GoNoodle. When guidelines were given, I kept my morning meeting pretty consistent on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I felt like I did not have time for my students to share as much as they were sharing during our in-school morning meetings and original Zoom meetings that I held. I was so focused on getting in concepts. I did however use random name picker that I found on abcya.com. I would input student names prior to my morning meeting and selected 3-4 students each day to share their news for the day. This time around, I would like to be sure to provide a true morning meeting and not be hyperfocused on curriculum, but that social and emotional piece. As much as a hybrid and smaller class sizes will be beneficial, I believe it will be difficult to find ways to have our A/B students get to know each other. I hope to provide a true morning meeting and an opportunity for A/B kids to build relationships in case we were to pivot to a full in-school model. ]]> 2020-08-14 18:31:33 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/680810486 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/681880771 A typical meeting would start with us chatting a bit as I would always have a few minutes between the early birds and the later ones. I would allow them to have their mics on until there were about 7 or 8 students out of my class of 20. At about 2 minutes after the designated Zoom meeting time I would begin. All students learned to mute themselves as they learned this was best for discussion. We continued our M.M. in the same format as we did face 2 face. A greeting, a group activity (based on day of the week), sharing (assigned student of the day) and a brief message. They enjoyed the routing and normalcy this brought to them. ]]> 2020-08-16 17:45:45 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/681880771 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/686184443 2020-08-18 23:12:08 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/686184443 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/686184789 2020-08-18 23:12:31 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/686184789 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/687571231 I am a specialist, so I didn't host Zoom sessions in the spring, but I was often a guest.  Something that worked well was for the teacher to change my name in Zoom to "Mystery Guest" and then I'd turn my video off.  Students could ask yes or no questions to try to figure out who I am and if they were having difficulty I might say "hello" or give a couple of clues so they could hear my voice. Once they figured out who I was we'd do a very dramatic reveal and I'd turn my camera on so students could see me. I then participated in the rest of the meeting and sometimes had a part I'd take the lead on (such as reading a book or leading a game).  I'd encourage classroom teachers to reach out to other people to have them join your meetings occasionally.  The variety is nice for the students and the specialists love the chance to connect!]]> 2020-08-19 16:33:03 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/687571231 jyoung175 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/688203440 I held morning meetings at lease twice a week with amazing attendance - virtually 100% throughout quarantine.  Students craved that interaction and connection!  Even when meeting with small groups, I implemented elements of a morning meeting becuase it was so needed! We started each each meeting with a greeting - usually students could choose from a menu of virtual greetings but sometimes I let the class decide how to say hello that day - it always brought a smile to even the sleepiest face.  From there, we reviewed our class developed (in the earliest days) norms and talked about any changes/additions we might need to make.  We always played some sort of a game - there are so many online that work remotely as well as in the classroom and kiddos were highly engaged  by this time.  Often, a guest reader or opportunity to share would follow - we held theme days:  meet your pet, meet a sibling, introduce your caretaker, hobbies, favorite toy, stuffies, etc giving each learner a chance to welcome us into their world.  We held a cardboard arcade challenge, several STEM challenges, presented Genius Hour projects, even watched a movie together that was the film version of a book we shared.  Read alouds were common, and occassionally students were able to just chat - without direction at all from me - use the whiteboard feature to write notes or feelings (How are YOU today), and direct our activities for that day.  My office hours were after MMs so our time was flexible unless I had a specific appointment, but generally we spent about an hour together.  Each meeting ended with time for students to share something that was on thier mind - or heart - with the class if they desired, or to message me if they needed to talk privately.  BEST time of the week was this time!

]]> 2020-08-19 20:24:15 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/688203440 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/689307668 In the spring I had a weekly morning meeting with everyone involved. I used the same morning meeting slides that I did in school to help with the transition from home to school. I wrote a morning message as I did before and we read it together as a class. I included trick words to circle and grammar mistakes to fix and our goals for the week. I think it was helpful to have students read the goals along together. One thing that was difficult was a greeting each time. It was hard to have people unmuted at the same time for the greetings to go smoothly. We shared at our meetings and we did activities together such as a scavenger hunt (finding home items) and we took virtual field trips together. I also included a discussion question that each child got to respond to during the meeting as the sharing portion of our meeting.

]]> 2020-08-20 14:17:56 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/689307668 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/689414723 During virtual Morning Meetings, it became clear that students needed a pressure-free time to simply connect with me as the teacher as well as with their peers. We always started off with a series of joke slides before transitioning into an activity that required their focus to be on the screen (for extra practice). Typically, we ended with a game that required some sort of movement and allowed students to remain "active" to keep their level of engagement high.

]]> 2020-08-20 14:52:18 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/689414723 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/689905862 During our virtual Morning Meetings, I looked for ways to keep the students active while having them interact with each other. So many of the activities we had them do online required them to sit and focus on the screen -- which, as psychologists tell us, requires a greater deal of concentration than focusing in the classroom. I wanted Morning Meetings to be different. We did a variety of scavenger hunts (like finding items that started with certain sounds), played games, watched and discussed science videos, and answered Would You Rather Questions.]]> 2020-08-20 17:24:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/689905862 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/692370978 Morning meeting was a special time, designated to have FUN and see my kids!  I kept the same format that I used in my classroom since it was familiar to students.  We always began with a greeting (sometimes they were silly) and then moved into a question/discussion on a topic. Sometimes these related to a specific behavior, other times I did an interactive read aloud and we discussed important concepts. At the end, we always played a fun game or activity. I think this is one of the most important parts of MM because it really built relationships and trust between the students (and me)!]]> 2020-08-21 20:16:40 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/692370978 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/692908077 I was student teaching this past spring in a 4th grade classroom. My cooperating teacher conducted weekly Google Meet sessions with her classes twice a week. She did not include a structured Morning Meeting in these virtual classes. Still, she incorporated some of the elements of a Morning Meeting into her classes in a more informal way. As students logged on, she greeted and checked in with each student. She asked them lots of questions, gave them the chance to share stories, and shared important announcements. I would like to transfer some of the things that she did informally into a structured Morning Meeting time with my students!]]> 2020-08-22 15:42:42 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/692908077 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/693442426 Our Zoom Class Meetings this spring looked a bit different from the typical Morning Meetings that occurred in our classroom.  Not all of my students were able to attend due to various reasons so I made the focus a new read aloud (i.e. #classroombookaday) each Tues/Thurs.  This was to hopefully create excitement and interest in joining consistently as well as connect to one of my students' favorite parts of our day.  In addition to the read aloud we also played games (i.e. Spot It) and responded to Would You Rather questions.]]> 2020-08-23 17:19:46 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/693442426 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/693801979 Though I was on leave during the Spring, I was able to schedule a time to check in with my students via Zoom - just to say hello! I found that I was SO excited to see the faces of my students and could imagine the way our students might feel when logging in to see their friends. I know that these zoom meetings will play a huge role in building community in our classrooms - and even allowing A/B groups to check in and meet one another! I love the idea of continuing the morning meeting routines on Zoom meetings and creating a safe place of consistency no matter where are students are learning. ]]> 2020-08-24 02:15:13 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/693801979 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/694887010
Greetings:
- Saying hello with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," but each others names
- Faux Ball toss
- Silly face, air/jellyfish high fives or fist bumps, strike a pose, peace sign, etc.

Activities:
- Interactive class read alouds (where the kids sing or dance to a specific repetitive line, get to play the role of a character using screensharing of the book, get to share their ideas to specific questions, etc.)
- Scavenger Hunts (take 3 minutes to bring back 3 things that... are your favorite color; you like to play with; you want to share with us; start with the sound _; have a long _ sound; etc). 
- Would you rathers (students do movements for the different choices; or beforehand have them find two colored objects, e.g. one red and one green, then hold them up to show their preferences)
- Puzzle of the day (Post a daily riddle, Sudoku, mini crossword, rebus puzzles, etc. on your learning platform e.g. google classroom, seesaw, etc. as a just for fun activity -- then go over it and share ideas during the next group meeting. At the end of the meeting introduce the next meeting's puzzle, then post it for them to try before the next day)
- Use breakout rooms to have students discuss ideas in partners; play rock/paper/scissors or cowbody/ninja/bear (Epic! Book); etc.
- Class brain break/dance party
- Review skills connect 4, jeopardy, or game boards by splitting the kids up into teams or using break out rooms to allow discussion time
- Which one is not like the other? (provide multiple options that could not to allow students to discuss clear alternatives)

Special Events Ideas:
-Class breakfast, lunch, snack, etc.
-PJ bedtime story hour
-Build a fort then attend the zoom in your campsite
-Take virtual roller-coaster rides together
-Virtual talent show
-Virtual field trips to zoos or other places]]> 2020-08-24 15:33:54 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/694887010 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/695946242 In the spring, I kept the structure of our class meetings similar to the way they were in person. We would often begin with a Would You Rather question or greeting to get students engaged, then we would do an activity together. Sometimes it was a directed drawing, virtual field trip, a visit from a specials teacher, etc. Then, we had a share schedule and certain students would share out verbally and others could use the chat feature to share. One thing that I found difficult was getting all students to actively participate throughout the entire meeting. It was easier with smaller numbers, but this is something I will take into careful consideration this fall for our Wednesday time. Paige Snyder]]> 2020-08-24 20:50:45 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/695946242 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/697718774 Zoom meetings were a great way for us to connect, check in, and enjoy spending time together. Some of our favorite parts of our class meetings were having time to share stories of current life events with each other, answering silly questions, playing both academic and nonacademic games, virtual field trips, and sharing jokes. Morning meetings were also a great time to gauge students social/emotional wellness by being able to see them and hear their voices. ]]> 2020-08-25 16:21:36 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/697718774 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/698414253 I tried to keep my class meetings similar to the ones we had in the physical classroom. We would start with our good morning poem, a song/dance, a greeting, share time, a morning message, and then an activity. I tried to embed a review activity of a math or ELA topic previously taught. I tried to keep to the same theme like I would in the classroom with Tranquil Tuesdays and Mind Up Thursdays. During Tuesdays morning meeting, I tried to incorporate a read aloud and then do some yoga stretching and mindful breathing. During Thursdays morning meeting, I would incorporate a Mystery Doug, or a working memory activity, a growth mindset activity, or a virtual field trip. I loved seeing the kids smiling faces and they loved seeing each other. It was challenging to get everyone actively involved/engaged and it was more challenging to see everyone on Zoom with more students. It was just nice to see each other. ]]> 2020-08-25 19:25:27 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/698414253 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/701354425 In the classroom, Morning Meeting was consistent every day! We did the same activities in the same order, and I always had a leader to help lead the meeting. The kids loved participating and always knew what to expect. When we had to have Morning Meetings from home, I tried to stick with a similar format to the one I used in school but it was tricky! The kids mostly just wanted to share with each other and talk about what was going on in their lives. As a grade level, we decided to make Morning Meeting less structured and make it an opportunity for the kids to just be friends and socialize. We began with sharing and that usually took most of our 30 minutes. I always included a read aloud and if there was time I would either introduce or practice a Phonemic Awareness skill with them. I am anxious to learn more about how I can make Morning Meeting more meaningful and engaging with such young learners should we have to meet from home again. ]]> 2020-08-26 22:31:43 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/701354425 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/922664700 The zooms from the spring made me look at the morning meeting structure very differently and I think that I learned a few new ideas in our meetings. Changing up the activities helped keep kids engaged and going over norms helped as well. An engaging game directed toward something in curriculum always seemed to be a hit.

]]> 2020-11-14 12:31:03 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/922664700 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/938382042 I really enjoyed the space to interact with my students in morning meeting. I liked the low-stakes meeting with students and the ability to continue to build relationships virtually. I found myself unsure how to conduct these virtually, though. I struggled with formatting the meeting and with giving students the space to all have a voice at the meeting. I'm hoping to grow here this year!]]> 2020-11-18 19:06:43 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/938382042 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1025211907 My students come to me after they have already been with their classroom teachers and have completed a morning meeting. I feel it is still important to have our own meeting when they all arrive to our room. This is consistent weather we are in the classroom or a zoom., it still 'looks' the same. Their time to share what they have been doing or anything the deem important makes them feel vested. I also ask how they are feeling and why. It is no surprise how truthful our young students can be, which is great. I can then meet with them after our group zoom if needed for further discussion. We talk about the day and weather and then about what our day looks like. We also set a goal for the day. I love this part of the day and they do too.]]> 2020-12-16 18:32:51 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1025211907 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1025638383 In Kindergarten, it was so nice to be able to meet and have the students be able to see each other and share about themselves even though we were no longer allowed to be at school in person. It was fun to learn more about the students with different sharing prompts, but we did a lot of "Whats in the News" just so students could share whatever they wanted. They loved saying hi to their friends and just continuing their relationships. Sometimes it was a bit much to have them all there and doing a true morning meeting virtually when everyone was still learning about all of the different technology. We loved to incorporate read alouds, go noodles, and our Friday dance parties.

]]> 2020-12-16 20:21:17 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1025638383 hharper11 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1049100779 2021-01-02 20:27:31 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1049100779 https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1049200092 For my morning meetings SEL activities are a must, learning how my students are feeling at the start of the day is vital to how I will respond or treat them throughout the day. If my students show little to no emotion, I will find times throughout the day to engage in a mini conversations using an interest of my student to see what ways I can engage my student in showing their feelings. ]]> 2021-01-02 23:53:23 UTC https://padlet.com/gadams22/lfne0dokzn25ivtu/wish/1049200092