Classroom Management for Your Best Morning Meeting Share Time

I know they say never say never.

BUT.... Morning Meeting is one component of our day in the classroom that I will never, ever skip.

Why? It truly is (one of the) ways to build a strong classroom community.

Beginning each day with a purposeful time to practice important listening & communication skills is so very important.

The four components of Morning Meeting I include are:

• Greeting
• Share
• Activity
• Morning Message

All of these parts cohesively work together in order to create a classroom environment that is inclusive, safe, and welcoming.

When we Greet one another, we practice eye contact and kind ways to say "good morning." When we have our Activity, our bodies are up and moving as we develop sportsmanship and teamwork. We conclude with a Morning Message that incorporates shared reading, fluency, and a sense of building classroom routines.

Smack dab in the middle is our Share.

With one topic to focus on, Share time is for exactly what it sounds like: Sharing ideas about the particular focus for that day. It's another fabulous opportunity to develop whole body listening skills, and for your students to get to know one another.

Here's the thing.

This is where if you're not too careful, things can get really long really fast.

I have 21 students in my class. Every student sharing every day, especially with a more involved question that requires attentive listening, like "what does being a good friend look like?" will start off GREAT, but then lend itself to moments like...

• "I'm hungry!"
• "Hey, there's a squirrel outside the window!"
• Along with a case of the wiggles SO severe that in a blink, the attention span of your students is officially over.

Has this ever happened to me?

YOU BET.

So, if you're anything like me, and looking for a way to make sure that your Morning Meeting Share time stays manageable, purposeful, and FUN, I've got a solution for you.

Use a Share Sign Up!

INTRODUCE THE TOPIC

Depending on how your week is going, you can end the week by introducing the share topic for the following week! Or, you can introduce the share topic for the current week at the very beginning of that same week. You can encourage your students to think about the question as it pertains to their lives!

SIGN UP FOR A DAY TO SHARE

You can do this however works best for your classroom! Perhaps you call students by tables, rows, or individual desks. To ensure that the same students to not always sign up for the very beginning of the week, switch up the order in which they sign up.

EVERYONE GETS A TURN

Reassure your students that no matter which day they sign up for, everyone will get a turn to share. Let them know how excited you are to hear your thoughts!

ULTIMATELY...

A Share Sign Up allows for your students to share their ideas while also doing their best active listening. Since you're sharing on the same topic all week, it'll cut down a bit on your Morning Meeting prep, too. It's a win-win!

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If a Share Sign Up is something you'd like to use in your classroom, you can download it HERE.

Oh! and, if you're looking for Morning Meeting 101, I highly recommend taking a look at Responsive Classroom and The Morning Meeting Book. It's one I pull out year after year.

                      

Wishing you joyful Morning Meetings and super share times to come!