Who loves a Monday Morning Meeting?I am not talking about a staff meeting or another round of PD. This meeting is completely kid-centered and exciting for everyone involved. My team and I arrange for bi-monthy team meetings. Twice a month our grade level - 3 classes - reserves our auditorium for the meeting that kids constantly ask for.
It does take some planning and teamwork between the teachers. But as each month (and year) has gone by we have gotten faster at planning and better at execution each time. We have happily reached a point where we can throw a Monday Morning Meeting together quickly. Here is how we do it...
What You Need to Host a Monday Morning Meeting:
- Meeting Space (large enough for your group)
- Posted Agenda (I use a set of Google Slides that I edit each month and they are projected onto a large screen in our auditorium)
- Materials for Planned Activities
You can hold Monday Morning Meetings with just your class, but these meetings become even more powerful when you have multiple classrooms participating. Students get an opportunity to work with other students they may not see except for a few minutes during lunch, recess, or on the bus.
If you don't have any grade level teachers willing to participate, grab a class from above or below your grade level. There must be someone willing to spend quality time with you and your students! An added bonus of multi-grade levels is the connections being made at a building level; that's pretty special.
When planning and organizing your first few team meetings, think of a structure that you will use over and over again. It helps the students understand the expectations and keeps the meeting organized and focused.
This is the structure my team and I use:
- Students get off the buses and walk straight to the auditorium (We love to see all of their faces light up as they start their day in the auditorium!)
- Sit by homeroom in your assigned section
- Opening (announcements, pledge)
- Team Chant (sung to "We Will Rock You")
- Go over the agenda
- Complete an activity/team-builder
- Close with an inspirational message
Team Activity Ideas
When planning for team activities, we like to really mix up. We never do the same activity twice. That keeps it fresh and exciting for the students. It also helps them develop following directions (we project the directions so students can reference their task as needed). We also like to plan for seasonal fun whenever possible. And, we love it when the team activity relects back on content learned in the classroom. Here are some team activities we have done in the past:
Who's In Your Circles?: Students get a response sheet with concentric circles labeled with things such as "food", "subject", "hobby" on the inner most circle. The circles moving outward are labled with "I love this.", "I like this.", "I don't like this." They complete the response by filling in their favorites. We then break students into small groups (3-4). They get together and take turns talking about their response. Students jot down the names of students who love, like, or don't like their given response.
This activity is great for establishing norms of group work and giving the students a chance to get to know one another. This activity is done in the opening month of school. More than likely, students will be grouped with students they do not know. It's a perfect ice breaker for upper elementary and middle school.
Index Card Favorites: Each student gets an index card. In the center of the card they write their name. In each corner they write 3 answers to given topics. For instance: 3 Hobbies, 3 Favorite Foods, 3 Favorite Movies, 3 Adjectives to Describe You, 3 Placed You Would Like to Visit, 3 Favorite Animals.
Once the index card is filled in, students mix and mingle sharing their answers with different students. This is another great team-builder where students are practicing their speaking and listening skills.
Candy Corn Bottle Flipping: The loudest (and most fun!) STEM project we bring to morning meeting is our candy corn bottle flipping. The teams predict which of their 4 bottles is easiest to flip based on the amount of candy corn in them. Students take turns one at a time flipping and record results. Preparing the bottles took time, but once they were done they are easy to store until the following year. We use the candy corn section in October STEM Activities from Lisa Taylor Teaching the Stars.
Pumpkin Glyphs: This one is SO MUCH FUN! We took the directions designed for an individual glyph and had the students create a team glyph. The results were outstanding and made for an eye-catching holiday hallway display!
Read all about them here: Best Collaborative Actvities for Hallway Displays
Human Christmas Lights: In groups of 7-8, students link hands with a person not next to them and untangle themselves without letting go of each other’s hands. They should hold the hands of two different people. It can be tricky and some students release their partner's hand in desperation to untangle. But that's ok, just have them start again! Students like to do this activity over and over again because, once they understand the strategies used to untangle, they like to explore them repeatedly with different entanglements.
Holiday Book Exchange: We like to have a Morning Meeting before the break where students do a book exchange. We send home communication to families asking them to send their child to school with a new book (no more than $5) wrapped and labeled with a to/from tag indicating if it's for a "boy", "girl" or "either" and their child's name.
The teachers collect books all week long before the meeting. We do keep some extras on hand and wrap them if a student is unable to bring a book in for the exchange. You can also add a few extra in so the last handful of students that pick have more than 1-2 options.
The entire grade level sits in a large circle on the stage. We sort the books in the middle of the circle into 3 piles by category (boy, girl, either). We then randomly draw names to determine the order that students go into the middle to pick their book. Students are instructed to sit with their book and wait until every student has chosen a book. Once everyone has their books, we open! We remind students to read the label (so they know who to thank).
Once books are opened, we spend a few minutes cleaning up the space and remind students to find the student who gifted the book the received and thank them personally.
Digital Fun: We have had our students bring their Chromebooks to the auditorium. Once there we will have them complete (or compete) using digital platforms. One thing to consider is if your space can connect to a decent signal and handle the bandwidth. It's discouraging when some of the Chromebooks are functioning smoothly and others are unable to keep up.
Some platforms lend themselves to working in pairs or small groups on one device. Kahoot and Quizlet Live are a couple of our favorites.
Plickers is also fun. It's an excellent way to get students engaged while running a quick formative assessment! I have noticed that running the app does drain my phone battery a bit, but I think it is well worth it.
Other Activity Ideas
Positivity Project: Representing Positivity Project in our meetings is also a great way to start their week. The feel good quotes and videos provide opportunities to reflect on ways we are making a difference in our relationships with others. We have focus words and concepts that we infuse into our week, but this is a great place to discuss it as a grade level.
Invite an Expert: Guest speakers are an amazing way to create a community/school connection. We had a local military foundation come in and speak to the students. Her discussion on therapy dogs for veterans ignited a community project that went school wide. All of our students donated dog treats and supplies that we later donated to the military foundation.
One time we has an expert in Tourette Syndrome come in and present to the grade level. Because we routinely met as a grade level, it was an easy to determine a date for her present. Another time we had a person give a lecture/slide show/demonstration about the battle of Bunker Hill during our Revolutionary War Unit. Again, it was easy to schedule because we already had the dates and space arranged.
Reward System
To build excitement at our meetings and to connect with what goes on in the classroom, we started a ticket system. The students love the ticket system! When our students get caught during the week doing something great academically or socially we reward them with a ticket. These tickets are placed in a grade level bin that grows throughout the month.
At the end of the last meeting of the month, we randomly choose winners. Students choose from small prizes and rewards. The favorite prize is a lunch bunch date in the classroom for them and 3 friends. You can stop at the dollar store and grab seasonally fun items. For instance, during Halloween time we bought small fidgets for prizes as well. We try and make these prizes easy and exciting for the kids.
Who would have thought such a simple addition to our schedule would make such an impact! The students know that the meetings are fun, but they have no idea how powerful they really are! Try and have a meeting with just your class to start off small. It really is an amazing way to connect to your kids!
Other Blog Posts You May Be Interested In:
Ways to Use Picture Books in an Upper Elementary Classroom
Easy Back to School with Picture Books
Best Collaborative Activities for Hallway Displays
Easy Lesson Plans
Questioning Techniques in an Elementary Classroom