Morning Meeting Builds Class Culture --- Guest Speaker Sylvia Allan

I had the privilege of hearing Sylvia Allan, principal at Vineyard Elementary, share her feelings on Morning Meeting. She is very passionate about Morning Meeting and was able to see the benefits of it first hand, in her own classroom.

"We have Morning Meeting because we want to know more about each other. We want to share each other's happiness and sorrow. It is easy to criticize something or someone we don't know and easier to empathize with, and understand something or someone we DO know. Our Morning Meeting creates a class community that CARES! Welcome to our class. We hope you feel at home here with us!"

~Sylvia Long

Sylvia Allan has found a routine that works for her and her classroom. Here is how she carries out her morning meetings...

1. Class Creed - Their class creed is like a moto. They say it daily and share experience they have had living it.
2. Greeting (Monday only) - They do some sort of activity where they say each others name and greet each other. 
3. Pledge
4. Memorization - She gives each student a poem to memorize. They are not graded on it. They read it once a day and there is no pressure. With repetition and practice they eventually memorize it. She feels there is a great benefit to exercising the part of your brain that involves memorization.
5. Class Business - They talk about expectations for upcoming activities (vegetables), she gives specific praise for things they are doing well (dessert), and talk about behaviors that weren't corrected even after getting warnings (medicine).
6. News - They discuss current events happening in the word.
7. Share - This is the part where you have the opportunity to really get to know your students. The teacher can offer a share prompt and students can share if they could like. No one has to share. 
8. Class Cheer

Some of the key points from her lecture are:

• Make connections for your kids all through morning meetings. This allows them to see they have things in common with people they might not have realized. It can start new friendships.
• Kids talking together is extremely valuable.
• It is the only 30 minutes of the day where every child is successful, and feels completely happy. 
• No one in morning meeting gets embarrassed - unless they choose to be. 
• You can teach them key concepts without students realizing it because they are having fun. No worksheets. : )
• The teacher should never sit at their desk during Morning Meeting. It is not a lesson planning time. 
• Don't let it become a therapy session for the teacher or the kids. The students should know you personally, but professionally. 

I loved this lecture! I could see how passionate she was about the concept. I loved her idea of having a class creed and the way she did class business. She made me so excited to try morning meeting in my own classroom. I want to be able to create this sense of community. I want my students to feel safe to talk and interact in the classroom. I want them to be able to build lasting friendships, and I think this can be done during Morning Meeting. 

Morning Meeting Magic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQ_n-N-eUM

Morning Meeting is a wonderful way to build a sense of community in the classroom. It it the only place where every single child in your classroom will feel 100% successful. 

There are four components to Morning Meeting:

      1.  Greeting

      2.  Sharing

      3.  Group Activity

      4.  News & Announcements

There are many resources, articles, and books that teach how to carry about a Morning Meeting. One of the best ones to use when planning and carrying out a Morning Meeting is the book The Morning Meeting Book by: Roxann Kriete. It is full of themes, sharing topics, engaging group activities, and more! It is easy to read and comprehend and it offers great examples.

There are numerous benefits to having Morning Meetings in your classroom.

• opportunity to practice social skills
• teaching academics in a safe environment
• build community within your classroom
• fosters trust and respect
• positive ELL strategy
• helps students build self confidence 

I can see how Morning Meetings could greatly benefit students. It creates a safe environment where students are can new things and share their thoughts and experiences. As a student, I would be much more likely to raise my hand and want to participate in a group setting like this, than I would during others times of the day. I love the fact that it helps build friendships that otherwise may have never happened. It helps students step out of their comfort zone, try new things, and allow their classmates to really get to know them. As I teacher I hope to be able to successful implement Morning Meetings in my own classroom. 

Shared responsibility for the classroom is between the teacher and the students

Shared responsibility for the classroom is between the teacher and the students, in the goal of making it work for everyone

Hallmark for a Differentiated Classroom #3

There needs to be a shared responsibility between the teacher and the student. By having this unity they are able to form common goals and work together towards creating a classroom that words for everyone. This image represents the idea of the teacher and the student needing to meet in the middle.

I remember having teachers who had the motto "My way of the high way". I usually felt frustrated in those classroom. I felt like my needs weren't being met and that my teacher didn't care about me or my success.

I also remember having teachers who respected me and in return I had a greater respect for them. They were open minded and willing to hear our ideas and suggestions. They were never hesitant to implement one of those ideas as long as it was for the greater good of the classroom. I remember feeling valued and like I was in control of my learning and the teacher was there to guide and assist me in reaching MY academic goals. 

Hallmarks for a Differentiated Classroom

There are 9 Hallmarks for a differentiated classroom. These Hallmarks are...
1.  A strong link between assessment an instruction
2.  Absolute clarity about what the teacher wants the students to know, understand, and be able to do-about what is truly important to learn in this unit
3. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone
4. Individual growth is emphasized as central to classroom success
5. A "way up," usually through multiple and varied pathways, and never a "way out"
6. "Respectful" and engaging work for all students
7. Proactive thinking and planning for different pathways
8. Flexible grouping
9. Flexible uses of time, space, and materials.

When I look at all these Hallmarks I know they are all important, but I worry I wont know how to effectively implement them all. When I have feeling like this I try to remind myself that it will take time and practice. I think one of the most important things to remember while trying to figure out how to have a differentiated classroom is to be flexible and need my students needs in mind. I remember having teachers who were so worried about sticking to their lesson plan that they didn't care if students were falling behind, not interested in what/how they were giving instruction, etc. I hope that if I am in-tune with my students and their needs that all these Hallmarks will start falling into place.

"Differentiation in learning is a teacher's response to learner's needs guided by general principles of differentiation such as respectful tasks for all, on going assessment and adjustment, flexible grouping, etc. Teacher can differentiate the content, environment, process, or product according to students' affect, interest, learning profile, or readiness."
~Allison Eggett, 2008

There are many ways to differentiate in the classroom. The teacher needs to be aware of their student's learning needs and find the appropriate way to differentiate their lesson, teaching strategy, and environment.

Although differentiation is critical for a successful classroom we need to remember that differentiation is not always possible. It does not need to be done every second of every day. Teachers just need to be aware of their students needs and when differentiation would be appropriate.

I know differentiation is important and I hope I will be able to find ways to apply it in my classroom. I think it will benefit my students tremendously and help me not get "burned out". I'm looking forward to learning the skills to implement it.