Is everyone in your classroom, including you, feeling ALL of the emotions? These are 15 practices I've embedded in my classroom to help students reflect on their emotions and better manage them. I know I personally have a LOT of feelings, and if you're a teacher, you're probably a bit of a mixed bag as well. Maybe this can help you and your class(es) process all those feelings. Stay well!
How do you make a morning meeting work at a distance? I know when I think of morning meetings I still think about circles of kids cozied up together on a carpet. That is definitely still not okay in my school, and I'm sure it's not okay in many others. We are still spending morning meetings at our desks in our own space, but we are trying to build community still! It may not even be okay next fall quite yet, or perhaps some teachers will just be more uncomfortable with physical closeness due to other personal factors. So what do we do? Here are some things that have been working for me mostly during the activity component of a morning meeting.
This year held some regrets for me over what I wish things had been. I had to change paths and reroute so many times, but I am proud of the way I responded to change. There are a lot of great things I did this year with students. They learned. I know what I did mattered to the kids in front of me. I have already done a lot this year. I bet you have, too. Give yourself some credit.
In this post I explain 18 games or activities that are educational AND appropriate for a socially distanced classroom. These are all intended to be used within content areas. These will get your students moving, interacting, and thinking when they might be stuck at their desks throughout the school day. I hope a couple get you brainstorming!
If you're teaching online/virtually or concurrently/hybrid, I hope at least one of these 15 ideas will inspire you! There are several free templates linked here to get you going. Have fun! Laughter is the best medicine. Spread some love to your students and build that classroom community no matter the circumstances.
As a camp counselor, lover of morning meeting games, and lover of improv games like from the TV show "Whose line is it anyway?" I've curated several fun but structured games to use with students that can be done with social distancing and zero materials other than people and imagination. Have fun!
I love games and activities in morning meeting! While I know that carpet time may be gone as we re-enter classrooms, there are so many possibilities for maintaining connection and community even with physical distance.
Below are songs/chants and activities that I think would work well while staying at a desk space. These could make for great energizers or brain breaks as well. While many of these require standing up and sitting down, they should be able to stay in their area.
If you teach elementary, you're likely familiar with the idea of a morning meeting or class meeting. This is typically a time for community building and connection. When we had to switch to online learning in Spring 2020, I knew I wanted to keep elements of morning meeting. Here are 5 ideas (picture prompts, collaborative google slides, partner games, whole class games, and Flipgrid) for building connections online.
Classroom jobs were helpful, but not consistent, and honestly - it felt like more work. I felt desperate trying to get random things done and change their popsicle stick jobs every week. I realized, though, that kids love jobs. There’s always someone who wants to do it or will make it happen. So I changed my structure. Here are the keys I found to successful jobs.
Charmed by Challenge 