Weekly chat for excited 1st grade teachers who love to learn and share ideas. Participants are interested in a variety of topics including literacy, math, technology, play, inquiry, and being the best educators they can be!
Happy Sunday friends!! Welcome to #1stchat ready to chat about class meetings and relationship building? Traci here from KS, looking forward to moderating our chat tonight.
Hi everyone!! My name is Shanice Gaston from Longview, TX! I teach 3rd grade math/science but feel like we al benefit from tips that regard building relationships! Excited for this chat ❤️
#1stchat#EDUC5359
A1: I use them as a time to greet my students and to get everyone in a learning frame of mind. It is our calming point before we start the day. #1stchat
A1 Classroom meetings help to build community. It is where the class is normed. We get to know each other and we reflect on what we do well and what we need to work on. #1stchat
A1 Morning meeting is for gathering and greeting each other, learning about today's schedule, hearing what classmates want to share, and doing a little team building activities. Great way to set a positive mindset for the day. #1stchat
The meeting can be held for several different reasons, but they all have one thing in common: everyone is meeting in a mutual spot and a certain discussion will take place! It may be a procedural meeting or one to resolve issues. #1stchat#EDUC5359
The meeting can be held for several different reasons, but they all have one thing in common: everyone is meeting in a mutual spot and a certain discussion will take place! It may be a procedural meeting or one to resolve issues. #1stchat#EDUC5359
Q1: I love my classroom meetings. I do them on Mon. and Fri mornings. It starts off the week by letting us talk about our weekends. I will also do them for special events. Great for relationship building and setting off our day in a positive way. #1stchat
A2. Our classroom meetings are usually in a circle. We use a talking Stick for students to use when they would like to speak or share with the group. #1stchat
Q2: I follow responsive classroom format; greeting, activity, sharing, message #1stchat I love the sharing the most it's when I really learn about everyone.
Q2: We sit in a literal circle. I have a talking piece and they each start out by greeting the friend on either side of them so everyone is greeted. Then we sing a song - and then do an activity. Sometimes the activity is a soc. skill lesson. #1stchat
A2: Not what I wanted them to... I had a vision of what I wanted them to look like and then school policies took some of the time I wanted to use, so I and the student greeter greet at door, and I talk to them, collect things, and they sit on carpet for school announc.#1stchat
We sit in a circle and start with a greeting of some kind. Some days students share news. On others we might learn or discuss one of our mindset traits or problem solve something that's been happening. We also usually read over our poem for the week. #1stchat
A2 We use Responsive Classroom so we have a greeting, share, activity and message everyday. Ss sit on the perimeter of the rug and we work on turn taking and eyes on the speaker #1stchat
We do Responsive Classroom meeting as well. Love greeting & sharing! My students run the meeting every morning. Love watching how they build a learning community on their own. #1stchat
Q2: I follow responsive classroom format; greeting, activity, sharing, message #1stchat I love the sharing the most it's when I really learn about everyone.
I've been asking my kinders questions like, what's the most beautiful thing to you and why, what's the biggest problem in the world and why? They are getting good at the why part. #1stchat I love their answers
Our classroom meetings, when we have them, are nothing fancy! Just like you, we do a more formative type! Greeting, activity and sharing. #1stchat#EDUC5359
A2: Not what I wanted them to... I had a vision, but then our new admin. started a school wide announc., so student greeter and I greet at the door-I talk to each student and then we use calming breathing on the carpet until announc. #1stchat
A2- We always start with a greeting. On Fridays, we do a 'peace' greeting and Ss pass the balance bird from one finger to another. Takes patience and teamwork- they look forward to this each week #1stchat
A3: some have already answered this. I do mine daily. In the mornings for about 15 min unless we have schoolwide assembly, then we do them at the end of day. #1stchat
We do ours every day also. They last 15-25 minutes, but include the number corner part of our math time as well, so some days take longer than others. #1stchat
I wish. We have calendar journal and then our K-6 has literacy block at same time so spec. ed and title 1 can take kids. I team teach with spec.ed so I have 4th, 2nd, and 1st graders for lit. Pretty tight schedule. #1stchat
There is an activity where students are trading to get required products. One which compares school today with the past, those are only ones I can think of at the top of my head. #1stchat
A3: Not as often as I would like with being departmentalized. It's a struggle with two first grade classes. My afternoon class has shorter time than my morning class. We alternate days on which class gets the morning time slot so they get a longer math and science time. #1stchat
Don't miss this months #STEM4All chat this Tuesday 9pm! @inspectorplanet is joining us to push our thinking in "Discussing Controversial Topics w/Students"! We need to have these conversations "not because they are easy, but because they are hard"- JFK. #STEM#nbtchat#1stchat
Q3: I'd love to do them everyday - but our schedule is so jam packed. Our math block starts right at 8:20 and so I am just doing it twice a week for now. I'm hoping once we get better at stations I can increase the days. Ours last about 20 minutes. #1stchat
Q4: So many! They feel listened to and like having a chance to share. I have seen some hesitant - but starting to want to share as well. It is great for social skills as well. We talk about recess, tattling, etc and brainstorm ways to handle our "issues" together. #1stchat
A4: the benefits are numerous, but I especially love watching the Ss come out of their shells and increase their speaking and listening skills, learning empathy and kindness #1stchat
A4 Many students love knowing how their day would start. Routines are so important for many. I can see their speaking and listening improve tremendously. We get to learn about each other so much through daily sharing. #1stchat
At Closing Circle they determine what we will focus on the next day. We have had a tough time using the right sized voice. My Ss decided that we would focus on voice levels during stations. Another time they helped plan the greetings for the week.
I think it’d be a good idea for the kids to turn and talk to their partners and share ideas regarding the topic and after they’ve done so they can share aloud with the class and see how their ideas match others in the class! #1stchat#EDUC5359
A5 We love ball toss greeting, Howdy Neighbor and compliment greeting. Our favorite activity is 4 corners - Ss move to different corners to answer questions (fave sports, etc) I embed a lot of academics into activities-count around, human protractor, rhymes #1stchat
A5Bean bag greeting which eventually works to an activity where students keep 3 beanbags moving around the circle.Corner game, where students have to choose a corner by the time we count to 100 by 5s.I try to have one component each day be more academic than the others. #1stchat
Q5: We use the Good Morning song by Thomas Moore and it has some fun actions. They like that one! I also switch up the greeting. We started by introducing ourselves and now greet each other. It is good for those who still forget a classmates name. #1stchat
A5 We have a poem each week that we read every day and I try to sneak in some phonological awareness through that. We add it to our poetry journals on Friday. #1stchat
We are trying Poetry Picnics this year- the students eat their snacks on a picnic blanket while I read some poetry- it's been wonderful & eventually they can start reading their own #1stchat
My favoritegreeting is round the circle! They tap a partner on the shoulder then go opposite directions, meet up, shake hands , say have a great day then sit! #1stchat
I make sure that I’m available to my students at all times! I often times ask them how their day is going and I make a mental note to sit and talk with them while walking down the hall or while we’re outside on the playground! #1stchat#EDUC5359
A6: love teaching growth mindset, we have mastered the Power of Yet, and they love saying to me and each other. Now we have started perseverance, they show their muscles when I ask them what it means, they say "We can do it with hard work!" #1stchat
A6: We are learning growth mindset this year. My students are learning that they can and if not it's not yet. They will. Our motto is mistakes happen. It's how we learn. Through this, my students aren't scared to talk to me about things. #1stchat
Q6: I talk a lot with my students about behaviors, etc. They used to be upset if I caught them doing a negative behavior. I told them I want to remind them - and not to be upset if I remind them. I tell them I wouldn't want a note home the 1st time I make a mistake. #1stchat
A6 I use the Bucket Filler book. It has great visuals for Ss. There is also a great video on YouTube by some 5th graders that models bucket filling. We just keep reminding and reinforcing the expectations #1stchat
A6 Growth Mindset! We use the mindset stances from #MindsetforLearning. We also have a soft start when students come in each morning. They can build, read, write, work puzzles, etc. #1stchat
1st Grade Teachers! Did you see this awesome activity by Mrs. Gallegos that was just added to the library? Browse Seesaw's Activity Library today to find other new ideas ready to use in your classroom! https://t.co/eY4bsZNxfQ#1stchat#2ndchat
This. Is. Huge.
I try to make a phone call every so often with super positive comments regarding their child! You wouldn’t believe how much proud this makes them feel ❤️ #1stchat#educ5359
A7: I use @seesaw to connect the Ss work with their parents and I communicate that way, I've started making Telephone Tuesdays where a couple Ss call home about their good decisions and hard work, they love it #1stchat
A7: I have an open door policy. Parents are welcome in our room at any time. In addition, ClassDojo! I provide direct communication, class updates, student behavior, ect in live time. My parents are fans and think this is the greatest ever. #1stchat
A7 I use @Seesaw I have 75% of my families connected. They love seeing what their children are doing and Ss love the comments their families leave for them. #1stchat
A7 I use @Seesaw to give families a peek into our classroom. I also try to send out a weekly newsletter. The last part of my newsletter has questions to ask their child about things we did the previous week. I hope the questions spark some conversations. #1stchat
Class Dojo! I can message parents as a group or individually to ask about their child. I had a parent who had a baby yesterday and I got newborn baby pics this morning. I told her good luck on Friday when she mentioned she thought she might be in labor! #1stchat
A7- I have a closed FB group for parents and extended family members. I've tried many options over the years but this has given me the greatest buy-in and has been the most accessible for all families. #1stchat
