80 Morning Meeting Ideas

Eighty easy-to-do, classroom-tested ideas to help you plan engaging, purposeful Morning Meetings for third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students. The book includes: 20 friendly greetings, 20 empowering sharings, 20 engaged activities, and 20 inspiring messages. This handy reference also includes: an introduction with tips and reminders to help you plan and lead successful meetings; an at-a-glance chart listing content area and skills reinforced, to help you quickly find just the right idea; an appendix with sample combinations of ideas, reproducible Morning Meeting planning sheets, tips on teacher language, and resources for learning more about Morning Meeting.

Enrich students' social studies learning in Morning Meeting! This book is ideal for getting K-6 students excited about - and deepening their understanding of - the world around them. The activities cover a wide range of topics, concepts, and skills, in geography, civics, economics, and more - all without adding to your already packed schedule. · Features clear, step-by-step directions · Can be used with any curriculum · Includes key vocabulary words · Provides variations and extensions for further learning · Activities are sorted by grade, but can be adapted for any grade

Bring joy and energy to math learning without adding to your already-packed schedule! Here are 150 fun and engaging math activities suitable for kindergartners to 5th graders, with math-themed ideas for all four Morning Meeting components: greeting, group activity, sharing, and morning message. Use these games, songs, chants, hands-on experiments, and more to inspire students' interest in math and help them practice skills. Each activity includes easy how-to steps; relevant NCTM content and process standards; specific math skills addressed; materials needed (all require few or no materials); tips on preparing students for success; math vocabulary to emphasize; and variations and extensions.

Boost students' language arts skills and meet standards—without adding to your schedule! Do you start the day with Morning Meeting? If so, you can use some of that time to reinforce students' language arts learning. These fun, lively activities enable you to seamlessly integrate language arts into a daily Morning Meeting. You'll find language arts activities for each component of Morning Meeting—greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message. From reading poetry with sound effects to pantomiming idioms to guessing which character someone's describing, these activities are varied, challenging, and confidence-building. Features that make them easy to use: Clear, step-by-step directionsCan be used with any curriculumFew or no materials requiredVariations and extensions for language arts lessonsActivities sorted by grade, but can be adapted for any grade This book helps you inspire students' interest in language arts and give them practice in key skills—all while enriching and enlivening your Morning Meetings.

Easy-to-implement activities that will support your science curriculum and deepen students' science learning while enriching and enlivening your Morning Meeting and classroom community. Includes correlation to the Next Generation Science Standards.

Transform the way you start and end the school day with the fun, interactive, and adaptable lessons, exercises, and activities in this easy-to-use classroom management resource designed with busy teachers in mind. Daily classroom routines are proven to engage students, build trust, and support learning on all levels. But finding fun and interesting ideas for every day is difficult, not to mention figuring out how to incorporate them into an already jam-packed schedule. Morning Meetings and Closing Circles is here to help. From establishing rules and expectations to time management techniques and helpful meeting props, this book will impart the ins and outs of starting and ending each day with an effective meeting. With 100 classroom-ready ideas, connecting with your students throughout the school day has never been easier. Plus, with suggestions for tailoring activities to your own unique classroom, you will be able to create more meaningful experiences for your students. Build a safe community that fosters positive attitudes and academic growth by bookending the day with a morning meeting and a closing circle.

Promote a climate of trust, academic growth, and positive behavior by launching each school day with a whole class gathering. This comprehensive, user-friendly book shows you how to hold Responsive ClassroomMorning Meetings, a powerful teaching tool used by hundreds of thousands of teachers in K-8 schools. In the new edition of this essential text, you'll find: Step-by-step, practical guidelines for planning and holding Responsive Classroom Morning Meetings in K-8 classroomsDescriptions of Morning Meeting in action in real classrooms100 ideas for greetings, sharing, activities, and messages: some tried-and-true and some newUpdated information on sharingGuidance on adapting meeting components for different ages and abilities, including upper grades and English Language Learners.Explanations of how Morning Meeting supports mastery of Common Core State Standards, 21st century skills, and core competencies enumerated by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

Stop bullying before it starts. Use the practical strategies described in this book to prevent bullying and create a safe, inclusive elementary classroom where kindness and learning flourish. Veteran educator Caltha Crowe offers a proactive approach to bullying prevention that shows you how to create a positive classroom environment and how to respond to mean behavior before it escalates into bullying. Learn to: Recognize and stop gateway behaviors as soon as they start Build a caring classroom community Create rules with children that help prevent bullying Talk candidly with children about bullying Work with parents in your anti-bullying efforts

"Ruth Charney gives teachers help on things that really matter. She wants children to learn how to care for themselves, their fellow students, their environment, and their work. Her book is loaded with practical wisdom. Using Charney's positive approach to classroom management will make the whole school day go better." - Nel Noddings, Professor Emeritus, Stanford University, and author of Caring This definitive work about classroom management will show teachers how to turn their vision of respectful, friendly, academically rigorous classrooms into reality. The new edition includes: More information on teaching middle-school students Additional strategies for helping children with challenging behavior Updated stories and examples from real classrooms. "Teaching Children to Care offers educators a practical guide to one of the most effective social and emotional learning programs I know of. The Responsive Classroom approach creates an ideal environment for learning—a pioneering program every teacher should know about." - Daniel Goleman, Author of Emotional Intelligence "I spent one whole summer reading Teaching Children to Care. It was like a rebirth for me. This book helped direct my professional development. After reading it, I had a path to follow. I now look forward to rereading this book each August to refresh and reinforce my ability to effectively manage a social curriculum in my classroom." - Gail Zimmerman, second-grade teacher, Jackson Mann Elementary School, Boston, MA

To learn well, children need to move! A few minutes of playful moving, laughing, chanting, or singing promote more—and more productive—learning. The energizers in this book are easy to teach and learn. You can use them: Anywhere: Inside or outside the classroom, with children circled up, at their desks or tables, or waiting in line energizers work everywhere! Anytime: Between long instructional blocks, as Morning Meeting activities, when children need to calm down, and when they need to perk up energizers work throughout the school day! With any grade level, K-6: For quick selection, the energizers in this book are labeled by grade level but we've included variations and suggestions to help you adapt them to fit your group.

You're teaching fourth grade this year. What do you need to know? Mike Anderson gives you practical information about daily routines, furniture, and much more. After a concise review of fourth graders' common developmental characteristics, Mike explains how to adjust your classroom and your teaching to fit these common characteristics. The result: students can learn, and you can teach, with minimum frustration and maximum ease and joy. In clear, plain writing peppered with classroom stories and examples, Mike shares practical know-how on topics like these: Arranging a circle, desks, and tables; Choosing and storing supplies; Scheduling a child-centered day and teaching daily routines; Planning special projects and field trips that maximize learning and build community; Understanding the special concerns of fourth graders' parents and finding the best ways to communicate with them.

Responsive Classroom practices have helped thousands of special area teachers for more than 30 years. Here you'll find practical suggestions, charts, planners, and examples from experienced special area teachers who use Responsive Classroom practices every day. You'll learn how to: Open and close each period in calm, orderly waysSet students up for success by modeling and practicing skills and routinesUse positive teacher languageEngage students more deeplyRefocus and recharge students with quick, fun, movement breaksRespond to misbehavior to get students back to learning

This practical guide by veteran teacher Margaret Berry Wilson first reviews why children misbehave, then offers positive, effective strategies to stop 10 common classroom behaviors quickly and respectfully--and get students back on track for learning.

Students learn more—and with more joy—when lessons connect with their lives and interests while challenging them to stretch and grow. In this book, you'll find practical, ready-to-use strategies for creating active and exciting lessons. You'll learn about: Partnering and grouping students for optimum learning Using interactive learning structures such as Maître d' and Swap Meets to support active learning Incorporating acting, drawing, debating, and more into daily lessons while still meeting rigorous learning goals Infusing lessons with choices in what or how to learn to increase students ownership of their learning Incorporating student self-assessment tools to help children monitor and evaluate their own work and identify ways to improve their learning Filled with lesson plans, precise directions for interactive learning structures, planning guides, and more!

Simple changes in a teacher's language can bring about profound changes in students and classrooms. By paying attention to your words and tone of voice, you will: Increase students' engagement with academicsBuild positive communityMore effectively manage your classroom That is the message of The Power of Our Words, a book that has changed the teaching lives of tens of thousands of educators since it was first published in 2007. In this updated second edition you will find practical information to help you: Lead students in envisioning themselves achieving successUse questions that encourage deep and creative thinkingListen to students in ways that support their growthReinforce students efforts and remind or redirect them when they go off track. Throughout, you will find an increased emphasis on using teacher language to support academic engagement and critical thinking skills as called for in the Common Core State Standards. And an updated, livelier format makes this second edition even easier to read.

Give students more time for learning by quickly and efficiently teaching skills, routines, transitions, and use of materials with this unique approach. Includes sample lessons, a planning guide, and a summary of research on the principles behind Interactive Modeling.

This book presents the most effective instructional strategies for promoting vocabulary growth in the early grades, when the interdependence of word learning and oral language development is especially strong. The authors guide teachers in choosing the best materials and in fostering home-school connections, and share six key principles for building vocabulary. Included are guiding questions; text boxes connecting vocabulary to the Common Core State Standards; examples from real teachers; reproducible checklists, rubrics, and other tools; and an appendix of additional vocabulary resources. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

A complete guide for improving the focus and engagement of your special education students by starting the day off right Use a morning meeting to jump-start your students’ day! This simple but effective classroom technique has been proven to help students learn better, build friendships, improve behavior and gain confidence. Offering fun games, great songs and other engaging activities, this book’s 101 ready-to-use ideas are sure to help your students experience remarkable progress in: • Math and reading • Team-building • Planning and communication • Science and technology • Goal-setting • Organization • Problem-solving • Role-playing • Fulfilling a classroom job • Creative arts

Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure if his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style. In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.