Confession: Morning Meetings were my least favorite part of the day to plan for. When I was in school, I felt like there were so many other things that would fill that time “better”. Students could work on finishing up an assignment, they could continue their morning work, and I could take attendance, collect assignments etc. The time filled up so fast!
This year, well, it is a bit different (like everything else). In my virtual schedule, there is a time set apart for morning meeting. At the start of the year, I was in panic mode. How will I fill the time? I don’t have a bank of resources that I used to use because I never really did morning meeting on a regular basis!
Here is what I learned:
- Now that I do morning meetings every day, I can see their importance and would not want to give them up!
- Making connections with the students IS the most important thing you can do for the class community.
- Students crave the opportunity to talk to one another – especially in a virtual environment!
- Fostering conversations is an important role of a teacher.
- Having fun IS important.
With all that I have learned, I have started to create a bank of resources that I can use for morning meetings starting with these discussion starters!
I use these to get my students warmed up and chatting in the morning! Some are funny would you rather questions and some can involve a deeper reflection on the past, personal behavior, and what is important to each student. It is amazing what you can learn about your students from a quick discussion starter!
What is your favorite way to spark discussion in your morning meetings? The monthly discussion starters are linked HERE.