Community Building: Morning Meeting

One way that I like to continue building classroom community all throughout the school year is my daily Morning Meeting.  Morning Meeting is one of my students’ favorite parts of the day.  

Greeting

Each day, we form a circle on the rug and students take turns choosing someone to say “Good Morning” to.  We use a variety of greetings throughout the year.  Some are very simple such as “Happy Friday” or “Happy Half Day” and some are more complex such as greeting each other in number order, reverse number order, or another language.

Share

Each day, my students have the opportunity to share if they have any exciting news they would like to tell their classmates.  Every Monday, we do a “Weekend Update” and students get to share a weekend highlight.  If a student participates in sports outside of school, sometimes parents will send me pictures or videos to share with the class.  I have also had students bring in sketchbooks to share if they are really interested in drawing or have demonstrated hobbies that they like to do such as knee hockey or ballet.  Students really enjoy being able to make connections with their classmates who have similar interests to them.

Activity

My students’ favorite part of Morning Meeting is when we play a game or do an activity to wrap up our Morning Meeting.  These activities or games are designed to take about 10 minutes.

At the beginning of the year, one of my favorite activities is creating a Bitmoji class picture.  I use the website Pixton to design the class photo.  I give each of my students a username generated by the website and then, they are able to create their own Bitmoji character.  After they are finished creating, all of the Bitmojis are compiled into a class photo.  This is one of my favorite activities that I do with my students all year and I give them the framed photo as a gift on the last day of school. I also use it as my Google Classroom banner.

Games

Some of my students favorite games are:

-Seven Up - This is a classic game where seven students stand at the front of the room and everyone else puts their head down and thumb up.  The seven students each put down someone’s thumb and then, students have to guess who picked them.

-Four Corners - Each corner of our classroom is labeled with a sign that says North, East, West, or South.  One student stands in the middle of the room with their eyes closed while other students move around the room.  Students have about one minute to move around the room and when the time is up, if the person in the middle says "North" for example, everyone in the North corner has to sit down.  The object of the game is to be the last person standing.

-21 - Students stand in a circle and go around the circle counting to 21.  Students can either say one, two, or three numbers when it is their turn.  If you say the number 21, you have to sit down. My students are very strategic during this game.

-Coseeki - Students sit in a circle.  One person sits in the middle of the circle with their eyes closed.  One student is chosen to be the “motion person” and everyone else copies this person’s motions.  When the student in the middle opens their eyes, they have to guess who the “motion person” is.

-Hot and Cold - One student stands in the hall and another student hides an object somewhere in the classroom.  I like to use Squishmallows for this game.  Once the object is hidden, the student in the hall comes back into the classroom and the class says “hot or cold” depending on how close they are getting to the object. Once the object is found, another round begins.

-Heads or Tails - Students stand in a circle.  I have a coin and they have to choose heads or tails.  If they choose heads, they put their hands on their head and if they choose tails, they put their hands on their hips.  When I flip the coin, if "heads" is called for example, everyone that said "tails" has to sit down.  The goal is to be the last person standing.

Please visit “We are Teachers: Morning Meeting Activities” to read about some more ways to make your Morning Meeting fun and engaging for students. Which of these activities would you like to try with your students next year?

Inspirational Posters

At the beginning of the school year, I like to build classroom community by giving my students opportunities to make the classroom their own space.  One of my favorite projects that I like to do within the first couple weeks of school is designing inspirational posters.  I first discovered this project on Joanne Miller’s Head Over Heels for Teaching blog.  This is a simple project but one that students really enjoy.  It encourages growth mindset and creativity, and the final products are great classroom decorations to have all year long.  

Materials

-Inspirational quotes on copy paper

-Coloring supplies

-Laminator and laminating sheets

The Activity

Begin the activity by showing your students a completed model. I like to take pictures of my students' posters each year and use these as models for the following year.  Explain to students that each person is going to receive an inspirational quote and all of the quotes are different.  Students are going to use the quote to design a colorful illustration that they think represents the quote well.  Some examples of quotes are “The best view comes after the hardest climb”, “No two flowers bloom in the same way”, and “Some days you have to create your own sunshine.”  Explain to students that the goal is to create a beautiful illustration that matches the quote and to fill in as much of the white space on the paper as possible.

When students finish their quotes, they share their quote and illustration with the class.  These inspirational posters can be laminated and displayed in the classroom for the school year.  They are a great source of encouragement and inspiration when students are having a challenging day.

Wrap-Up

This year, I was on a Deep Learning committee at my school and my class and I introduced this project to the entire school.  Each classroom received 4-5 canvases and students worked together in small groups to decorate the canvases to hang in our school hallways.  The project worked well with all grade levels as the quotes can be differentiated so younger students can illustrate simpler quotes while older students can illustrate quotes that require more critical thinking.  It was so nice to see this project that my class loved so much inspire the entire school community!

So far on my blog, I have shared a variety of activities for the beginning of the school year.  Some of the activities are the “Helping Harry” STEM challenge, Name Tag Design STEM challenge, Open House Mini-Mes and the Inspirational Posters.  What grade level do you teach and which of these activities do you think your students might enjoy?

Open House "Mini-Me" Project

Open House is always one of my favorite nights of the year.  During my first two years of teaching, Open House was only for parents and guardians due to the pandemic.  It was so nice this past September to go back to a more traditional format where students come with their family members and have the opportunity to show their classroom to their families.  For Open House this year, I had each of my students design a “mini-me.”  This was such a fun activity that I look forward to using again next year.  I discovered this activity on “The Teacher’s Brain” website.  This website has a ton of different resources to make learning exciting and fun for students of all ages.

Materials

• Templates for the head, shirts, pants, skirts, shoes, arms, legs, and accessories

• Scissors

• Glue or glue sticks

• Craft glue

• Tape

• Coloring supplies

• Variety of colored yarns for hair colors

The Activity

Explain to students that they are going to be using a variety of templates to design a “mini-me” of themselves to display at their desks for Open House.  Show students the different templates that they can choose from and let them know that they can also design their own clothing or accessories if none of the templates have what they need.  

After all of the materials are set up on a table, students can come up and gather the materials that they will need.  Students will color and design all of the pieces for their “mini-mes” first and then, they will cut and glue them together.  Lastly, students will use yarn to add hair to their “mini-mes.”  I like to use craft glue which is a little bit stronger to hold the hair in place.

Open House

Before students leave on the day of Open House, they cover their name tags with paper and set up their “mini-mes” so they are sitting in their chairs.  Students can use tape to make them sit up.

When students and their families arrive, they complete a scavenger hunt to give their family members a tour of the classroom. One of the activities on the scavenger hunt is "Mini-Me Guess Who." They walk around the classroom with their families and their family members have to guess which “mini-me” is them.  It is like a giant game of “Guess Who” and the students and families really enjoy it.  It is also such a nice way to create a welcoming, inviting classroom atmosphere when meeting families for the first time.

I really enjoyed this project as a way to build classroom community this year and I am looking forward to doing it again in the Fall.

Name Tag Design STEM Challenge

I believe that forming relationships with your students is one of the most important parts ofteaching.  Using the first six weeks of school to really get to know your students and tohelp them make connections with each other is vital to having a successful school year. I enjoy doing a variety of activities the first week of school to get to know my students. By the end of the day on the First Day of School, students have had a long day of learningthe expectations and routines of a new classroom and they are ready for some hands-onlearning where they can experiment and be creative.

At the end of the day on the First Day of School, I like to do a Name Tag Design STEM challenge.  I discovered this challenge on the blog, For the Love of Teachers, and it has been a favorite in my classroom for the past three years.  The goal of this STEM challenge is for students to design a name tag that meets certain criteria and helps their teacher and peers get to know them a little better.

Materials

You can use a variety of materials to complete this project. 

I like to pull out my STEM bins and let students use whatever materials they would

like to create their designs.

Suggested Materials:

-Construction paper or cardstock

-Pipe cleaners

-Pom-poms

-Popsicle sticks

-Tape

-Glue or glue sticks

-Scissors

-Coloring supplies

-Rulers

-Pencils 

The Challenge

Begin the activity by telling students what materials they have available to use and

what the goal of the challenge is.  You can choose what criteria students have to

include to meet the challenge.  Some of the possible criteria are:

-The student’s name must be clearly displayed.

-The name tag must be at least 6 inches in length.

-The name tag must show at least 3 things that the student is interested in.  This could be a hobby, an animal, a food, a book etc.

-To add an extra challenge, students could design a name tag that stands up

on its own or one that can hold a pencil.  

After students have finished making their name tags, you can take the time to

read each one to get to know your students a little better. This is a great opportunity

to walk around the room and ask your students questions.  Then, each student can

tape their name tag to the side of their desk and students can walk around and read

each other’s name tags and make connections.

Wrap-Up

This activity not only helps me get to know my students, but it is also an opportunity

for students to get to know each other and to identify common interests.  This activity

also helps give my students ownership in the classroom as it is one of the first

pieces of student work that is displayed.  Students enjoy being creative and using a

variety of materials to make beautifully designed name tags to share with their peers

and to decorate their new classroom.

These are some examples of the finished projects with the names blacked out.

"Helping Harry" STEM Challenge

One of my favorite ways to build classroom community at the beginning of the school year is the "Helping Harry" STEM Challenge.  I first learned about this STEM challenge from Meg on The Teacher Studio blog. Her idea was inspiring and I made some modifications to meet the needs of my students.  My students have completed this challenge the first week of school for the past two years and they really enjoy working together to create the tallest possible tower for their new friend “Harry.”

“Harry” is a character made out of a large pom-pom and googly eyes.  The mission of this STEM challenge is for students to work with a partner or a small group to create a tall, safe, and sturdy perch for Harry to sit on and watch them learn.

Materials

I put out a variety of materials for my students to use to make their towers.  You can really use any type of materials that you would like but some of my favorites are foil, pipe cleaners, muffin cups, paper towel rolls, and a variety of popsicle sticks.  Of course, I also provide large pom-poms and googly eyes for students to create their “Harry” characters.  I choose pom-poms to represent our school colors.  

Challenge Introduction

I introduce the project by telling students that Harry loves learning and enjoys watching students work hard and expand their knowledge.  I tell them that Harry is excited to see everything that they are going to work on in fourth grade but in order to see, he needs a perch to sit on that is tall enough to see the entire classroom and sturdy enough that he will not fall.  I show them some of the materials that they are going to be able to use and explain that they have until the end of the Science block to be creative and to make perches for Harry.  I ask students to find a partner or a small group to work with and help students form groups as necessary.

Challenge Completion

Before students start building, they work with their partner or small group to draw a design of their tower and make a list of the materials that they would like to use.  Once students complete their drawings, they explain their designs to me.  I have all of the materials on a table and they gather materials they would like to use along with scissors, glue, and tape.  Students have about twenty minutes to build their towers.

Wrap-Up

At the end of the block, students bring their models to the rug and each group presents their design and explains why their tower is going to be helpful for Harry.  Students enjoy having the opportunity to see their classmates’ creations.

I really like to complete this activity during the first week of school because it gives students the opportunity to work in a collaborative group to meet a shared goal.  It also gives me an opportunity to get to know my students as I walk around and ask each group questions about their thinking process during the activity.  I enjoy getting to see students’ creativity and have seen some amazing ideas over the years.  One of my favorites was a student who used multiple large and small pom-poms to make a whole family of “Harrys” to observe our classroom. 

This activity helps students get to know each other and is an exciting start to fourth grade.  Plus, students enjoy showing their projects to their families during Open House.  This is a project that students still talk about as one of the highlights of the year at the end of fourth grade and sets a very positive tone in the classroom to begin the year. 

Welcome to the Community!

Hello world!

My name is Megan Marquit and welcome to the "Classroom Community Tips and Tricks" blog.  I am currently in my third year of teaching fourth grade and I am here to share some ways that you can build a strong community in your classroom.  Throughout my first three years of teaching, I have developed some routines and activities that have helped me create a classroom community where each child feels a sense of belonging.  I am looking forward to sharing these ideas with you!

I graduated from Bridgewater State University in 2014 with a Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education and Mathematics and I am currently working on my Masters in Elementary Education.  Before beginning my teaching career, I had the opportunity to work as an educational assistant with special needs students and got to work with and learn from some amazing teachers.  The sense of community I always felt in their classrooms inspired me to find ways to make my own classroom have the same sense of collaboration and mutual respect.

On this blog, I am going to share some of the tips and tricks that I have found helpful in building a positive classroom community including morning meeting ideas, STEM challenges, classroom decor and organization, and collaborative projects.  These ideas can be modified to meet the needs of any grade level, but I will be speaking from my experiences in fourth grade.

I am looking forward to chatting with you all in the comments and hearing your feedback on these ideas and how they worked in your classroom.  I am also excited to use this blog to learn from other teachers how they prioritize classroom community so I can implement some new ideas into my classroom.  What are some of your tips for building classroom community?