Morning Meeting

Article A

This is an activity taken from Morning

Meeting Greetings, by Sarah Gardner.
It is a great whole group activity for K-
2.

Article B

A hanging organizer is helpful for for

morning meetings to highlight: daily
schedule changes, important vocabulary
words, or math facts.
 Article C

Displaying writing prompts and allowing

students to reflect during a portion of
the Morning Meeting time is a great way
to build a positive classroom community.
while practicing writing skills.
Rule Creation

Article D

Creating a “Classroom Constitution” is a

great way to incorporate Social Studies
curriculum into your classroom. It is a
good strategy to write the Classroom
Constitution collaboratively with your
students.

Article E

These classroom rules are focused on

kindness and inclusiveness, which can help
create a bully-free environment.
 Article F

This set of classroom rules reinforces

the need for students to make
mistakes in order to learn.
Interactive Modeling

Article G

I have purchased the Responsive

Classroom Morning Meeting book
for my future classroom. Another
potential Responsive Classroom
resource is Interactive Modeling.
 Article H

This is a simple 5 step plan for Interactive

Modeling that any educator could use to support
their instruction.
 Article I

This model is especially beneficial to new

teachers, as they begin to understand the
dynamics of “Gradual Release of
Responsibility”. This is an important aspect
to Interactive Modeling.
Positive Teacher Language

Article J

These are all examples of language that

helps to reinforce and gain understanding,
which is a key aspect of Positive Teacher
Language.
Article K
Article L
 Article M

These are great examples of

Affirmation Cards that you can make
for your students to help instill a
Growth Mindset.
Logical Consequences

Article N

This is a sequence of steps to take

to stay consistent in how you help
students understand
consequences in your classroom.
 Article O

This slide is a reminder to take

motivation and goals into
consideration when creating a plan for
moving forward (formally or
informally).
 Article P

This sheet is a resource that allows

for students to reflect on their own
behavior and think about ways to
change the behavior going forward.
Guided Discovery

Article Q

The quote above is essential to

student understanding, which points
to Guided Discovery as a great means
of learning.
 Article R

The First Six Weeks of School is an

excellent resource for ways to incorporate
Guided Discovery into your classroom.
Article S
 Academic Choice

Article T

A fun way to introduce Academic

Choice is to create stations with
various colored clothespins on them.
There can be anywhere from 3-5 clips
in each color station, and students can
choose which station they would like
to visit based off of the availability of a
clip.
Article U
 Article V

Creating a BINGO work board is a

creative way to engage students by
giving them a choice in how they
demonstrate mastery of a new skill.
Classroom Organization

Article W

Finding or creating a shelving unit

for your classroom is a great way
to utilize space.
 Article X

Having tubs for each week day helps to

organize your lessons in a simple way.
 Article Y

Separating your whiteboard into

sections is a great way to organize or
highlight information that you want
your students to make note of.
Working with Families

Article Z

Creating a “Kid Quiz” for parents or

guardians is a fun way to begin a
conference or family event and build
conversation.
Article Aa
 Article Ab

Parent and Guardian Questionnaires are

a good way to gain better insight into
your students before the year begins.
Collaborative Problem Solving

Article Ac

This is the Problem Solving Wheel. It can

be used as a visual around the classroom
to reference when modeling problem
solving for students.
 Article Ad

These 9 Problem Solving Strategies are

great for students to reference,
especially for math problems.
 Article Ae

One aspect of problem solving

that is often overlooked is to
incorporate goal setting.
 Setting Climate
Room Arrangement

Over the course of my Six Weeks Student Teaching experience I have seen effective
classroom setups, and setups that were lacking in creativity and functionality. I believe that a
truly successful classroom is set up with these (creativity, functionality) in mind. Depending on
the grade level, there are many different ways one could go about this. For many Kindergarten
rooms, I have found that it is a good practice to designate a large part of the room near the
front of the classroom for a place to gather as a whole group and do morning meeting or other
related activities. In upper level classrooms I have seen more flexible seating offered. Things
like bean bag chairs, yoga balls, couches, and swivel chairs are all examples of alternative
seating provided for children, and when used appropriately, can be a fun way to incorporate
student choice.

I prefer large tables in the classroom to individual desks, because this allows for more
socialization while students are learning, which I think is so important. New teachers do not
always have a choice however, and they typically have to make do with whatever tables or
desks a school will provide. Another thing I will consider when arranging my future classroom is
to create an area specifically for students to go when they need to “take a break”. This will be in
a more secluded corner of the room where a student can go to regain control of themselves or
to reflect on behavior. I have seen this firsthand a number of times and it seems to be a good
use of space.

Article Af
Managing Student Work

One effective way to manage student work is to have a bin or “mailbox” for each
student in the class to put all completed work in. In addition to this it is a good idea to create a
Take Home Folder for each student to bring home work from the week, important notes or
newsletters, or a Daily Reading Log. When students fall into a daily routine within your
classroom you can have them meet with you briefly in the morning to check their Take Home
Folder for parent communication (notes), and to see that their folder has been emptied of the
previous day’s work. As far as other subjects, student work is often stored electronically so I will
be doing the same for simplicity’s sake. For instance, if a school uses the IRLA Curriculum for
Language Arts/Reading I would use the corresponding website to manage students’ color levels
and data. It will be useful to acclimate myself with the curriculum of my future school as well as
the electronic tools provided.

Article Ag

Article Ah
Procedures and Routines

My plan for this aspect of my instruction will be to begin with establishing the new daily
routine for my students from the very first day. I will have high expectations for my students
from the beginning, because I think it is more effective to begin that way for better classroom
management. The day’s schedule will be posted near the front of the room to help the students
transition into various subjects more smoothly. In addition to this I will demonstrate the
expectations for each area of the school (library, lunchroom, playground, bathroom). Modeling
appropriate behavior for each of these areas is something that I would specifically teach within
the first 1-1.5 weeks of school. These would be spread out over the course of multiple days,
especially for Kindergarten and First Grade students because the amount of new content that
they must absorb is great. Students will be encouraged and supported through goal-setting,
and will learn about personal responsibility through accountability and logical consequences in
the classroom.

Article Aj
Rules and Consequences

My rules and expectations (and therefore consequences) will be dependent on the

grade level that I teach. I think it is important to consider appropriate expectations for children
of that age group. For instance, Kindergarteners do not have the capacity to stay seated for
extended periods of time. To have a child experience negative consequences for being unable
to stay seated for more than a few minutes would be unfair. This can also be said for verbal
interruptions when doing a whole group lesson for Kindergarteners, whereas Fifth Graders
should be held more accountable for disruptive behaviors (within reason) during class time. My
goal first and foremost is to build a positive relationship with each of my students, and in order
to do so I have to enforce rules and logical consequences so that my classroom runs smoothly.
Another thing to consider is the use of positive reinforcement for desired behaviors. During my
student teaching experience, I observed that my cooperating teacher used a jar of pebbles that
(when filled) by doing kind, helpful, or on-task things (one for each behavior observed) the
students were then able to earn extra outside recess or play time. This is just one example, but I
will certainly be incorporating the use of positive reinforcements in my class.

(Refer to Article N)
 Read Aloud List

1. Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, by Eric Litwin

2. The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn
3. Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon, by Patty Lovell
4. I’m Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem, by Jamie Lee
Curtis
5. Each Kindness, by Jacqueline Woodson
 Resources:

Article A- Morning Meetings Greetings, by Sarah Gardner

Article B-Jennifer DeFrang, Bamber Valley Elementary School

Article C-
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1440&bih=708&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=COb9WcOZDuifjwTtj4a4Bg&
q=morning+meeting+ideas+Fridays&oq=morning+meeting+ideas+Fridays&gs_l=psy-
ab.3...58519.59743.0.59890.8.8.0.0.0.0.79.450.7.7.0....0...1.1.64.psy-
ab..1.2.146...0j0i30k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.0.NM4j6lAumTc#imgrc=2Mr5Ye4DrJ1iNM:

Article D- Jennifer DeFrang, BV

Article E- https://dannyteebullyfree.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/lets-get-along-positive-advice-for-a-
bully-free-classroom/

Article F- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/classroom-rules-poster/?lp=true

Article G- Interactive Modeling, by Margaret Berry Wilson

Article H- https://www.haikudeck.com/the-power-of-our-words-education-presentation-2JlI9IavSE

Article I- “I do, We do, You do” https://unyearofreading.weebly.com/gradual-release-of-responsibility-

model.html

Article J- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/responsive-classroom/?lp=true

Article K- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/153122456055712206/?lp=true

Article L- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/60306082488253525/

Article M- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/423056958730607773/

Article N- https://s-media-cache-
ak0.pinimg.com/originals/61/e9/32/61e93240be67665ce43e796046a3c5be.jpg

Article O- http://slideplayer.com/slide/6402392/

Article P- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/17944098491973161/

Article Q- https://www.slideshare.net/vickys16/guided-discovery-12177163

Article R- First Six Weeks of School, by Paula Denton

Article S- https://www.secondstorywindow.net/back-to-school-guided-discovery/
Article T- Jennifer DeFrang, BV

Article U- https://www.pinterest.com/rhaverstick/academic-choice/?lp=true

Article V- http://www.ninjaplans.com/resources/482/Daily-5-Word-Work-Bingo

Article W- Jennifer DeFrang, BV

Article X- https://kindercraze.com/a-freebie-for-classroom-organization/

Article Y- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/middle-school-classroom/?lp=true

Article Z- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/parent-involvement-activities/?lp=true

Article Aa- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/231091024608421491/

Article Ab- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/parent-questionnaire/?lp=true

Article Ac- https://www.pinterest.com/pin/231583605810966070/?lp=true

Article Ad- http://bulldogmath.weebly.com/daily-work/problem-solving-strategies

Article Ae- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/problem-solving/?lp=true

Article Af- http://whoswhoandnew.blogspot.com/2015/09/flexible-seating-in-classroom.html

Article Ag- http://www.extrapackaging.com/parentteacher/

Article Ah- http://www.thecolorfulapple.com/2015/05/mailboxes-not-just-for-mail.html

Article Ai- https://www.pinterest.com/explore/classroom-procedures/?lp=true