Making Mornings Magic: Creating Community in a Virtual World

    I remember a time, not so long ago, when I could give a student a high five as they entered my classroom.  A time when the rug was a central area in the room where we would gather for lessons and converse about our learning.  When I could group student's desks together and encourage collaboration amongst peers.  The community of learners buzzing like a hive full of bees.  

   Now they get a squirt of hand sanitizer as they enter the room.  The rug has been rolled up and stored away and the conversations silenced.   The desks spaced as far apart as possible, because 6 feet apart is not realistic.  Collaboration and partner work is no longer "safe."  Yet, the community still buzzes.  

   And in between that time, our world as we know it both socially and academically, shut down.  No entering the same room, no rug, little conversations between peers in the early days.  But, the community hive kept working and, in some respects, got sweeter.  

   How does the classroom community stay intact as the physical environment surrounding it look so drastically different?  It is called morning meeting.  According to responsiveclassroom.org, "Morning meeting is an engaging way to start each day, and set children up for success socially and academically."  It is a time when students needs are seen, heard, and supported.  A time when the children who make up a classroom come together in a safe and welcoming place where they learn the skills needed to become empathetic, independent, and collaborative students among other things.  It can be done with students sitting around the perimeter of the rug, sitting at their desks, or sitting at home.  Like any other aspect of education that has evolved over this past year, morning meeting has been given a new life through the use of technology.

I loosely base my morning meetings around the principles of Responsive Classroom which include a:

• Greeting
• Share
• Activity
• Message

I always include a Greeting and either a Share or an Activity and use the Message to review the schedule of the day with any reminders.  Pre-Covid, students would come together on the rug and the Student of the Day would choose a Greeting from a class generated list.  Each child and teacher in the classroom was acknowledged to begin our day.  The Share or Activity was chosen based on the goal for that day.  This is an example of how I set it up:

• Mindful Monday
• Thinking Tuesday
• Would You Rather Wednesday
• Think Outside the Box Thursday
• Feelings Friday

By the end of the first month of school students are able to run much of the morning meeting on their own prompting a student independent structure that carried them throughout their day. 

When our classroom shifted to remote learning our morning meeting was forced to adjust to our new arrangement as well.  Here are some ways I utilized technology to keep the community buzzing.

1) Google Slides - I made a presentation with the components of our morning meeting that was shared with students from my shared screen.  The Student of the Day was still able to choose a greeting and we continued to acknowledge everyone to begin our day.  The schedule of the day was presented to provide a structure for students to follow.

2) Jamboard - I used this in a variety of ways. One way I used this platform was to post a scenario on a post-it in the center of the page and students could respond by attaching their own post-it.  Another way I used it was to provide a visual for Would You Rather...questions where we would make a tally chart of our responses and explain our thinking.  We would make pictographs from our Share responses as a way to integrate math as well.  

An example of a pictograph made from on Jamboard

3) Number Spinner - My students have classroom numbers based on our class list so when we would take turns responding or sharing information during our Share or Activity I would use the spinner to randomly select the student who would go next.  They loved it!  

4) Hangman - I used this as an Activity we could all play together.  Students called on each other and worked together to solve the puzzle.  

5) Virtual Field Trips - Sometimes Friday became Field Trip Friday and we would go on an adventure to somewhere most of us had never been!  Many of these field trips turned into great writing pieces, too.  

Here are some additional resources that have given me inspiration:

Responsive Classroom Book

Scholastic Printable Morning Meeting Questions

Whether my classroom is in person, hybrid, or remote learning I know that we will continue to build a strong community together.  As Ziemke and Muhtaris said it in Read the World, "Good structures set the stage for greatness and then slide back into the shadows." (Page 11, Read the World)