How to Hold Class Meetings
Friday September 12, 2008
Class Meetings (also known as Community Circles) are an effective way to facilitate open communication in your classroom, as well as to teach your students how to be respectful members of a community. I like to hold Class Meetings once a week, ideally, and I find that the time commitment pays dividends in the ways that my students interact with each other throughout the week.
Do you hold Class Meetings? What are you favorite tips for Class Meeting success?
Comments
I have never thought about holding regularly scheduled class meetings before. This is such a great idea. Students would learn how to express themselves in an orderly fashion. Also these meetings would increase proper communication between the students and the teacher. This is an excellent idea, thanks for the suggestion!
Hold class meeting regularly is a great idea which helps student to improve them self in other areas
I hold class meetings every morning – our classroom is a responsive classroom. I have a message written on chart paper every day. We have a special greeting (changes) such as handshake, pink shake, etc. Then we play a group game such as No, No, No. I say: “My cat jumped on the bed.” The next child might say, “No, no, no! My mom jumped on the bed.” The next child might say, “No, no, no! My mom cooked dinner.” (You can mention these are subject/predicate changes or just have fun.) When it gets back to the teacher, everyone says, “OH! That’s what happened.”
I didn’t make this up. Read Morning Message – find it in any bookstore.
Class meetings is a great idea! It is a good way for students to interact with each other and the teacher and not feel pressured. This is a good opportunity to try new and effective things. This is a way that students can express themselves and ideas of their own. You can change things from week to week if something is not working as well as you would like for it to.