Mornings are hectic in my classroom. Despite all my advance preparation in the weeks before, despite my preparation the night before, despite my early-morning arrivals and plans and piles and charts ...
it's always a whirlwind in the 30 minutes before class starts.
Every morning fourth graders run through the doors of my classroom starting at 7:30 am. Yes, they run. I'm so happy the want to get to my classroom quickly! But, that's when the transformation begins. My desk becomes a deli counter with a line of 9-year-olds tapping their feet, looking at their watches, waiting in line to be heard.
Regardless of my daily directions to sit down and begin "Wake Up Work" immediately, a line begins at my desk as soon as the first student arrives. Regardless of my many efforts at offering alternative ways for students to share their morning news with me about their dinner the night before, or the results of last night's soccer game, or the fight they had with their sister that morning, they still want to talk one-one-one. They will wait patiently until they have their turn or the bell rings and they have no choice but to sit down in their desks. I value this time to connect with my students, but it creates chaos and hurt feelings when I don't get to talk with everyone in line. It also robs me of a few precious minutes before the official start of the day in which I like to organize my own thoughts.
After reading the article at the link below, I tried something new. I transformed from Deli Counter employee to Walmart greeter. I stationed myself at the entrance to my classroom door, and greeted each and every student with a smile as they entered. This offered each student a brief moment to share a piece of news with me, and it offered me a brief moment to interact one-on-one with all of them. But, the social conventions of simply needing to let classmates enter the classroom forced students to move along in a quicker manner as opposed to forcing me to have to manage the process. After I had interacted with each and every student, their needs were met, and they sat down and got to work before the bell rang leaving me a few minutes to collect my thoughts, check my emails one last time, and prepare to officially start our day. It's amazing how one little change in the classroom can make such a huge difference!
Edutopia article: Greeting Students with a Smile at the Door
Hey Mrs. MacFarlane,
ReplyDeleteI would've thought the opposite of students in the morning, I thought they'd be tired instead. A suggestion I have for early morning warm ups are, maybe having the students get in a group and solve a puzzle or crossword with material from the previous lessons or the new material to be taught that day. That way they must work together before coming to you for help. That way someone would want to become the leader and step up and get the right answer for the group.
I thought students would be tired and not running rampant in the morning. I love the idea of being a greeter and not treating the students like a number. I believe connecting and forming a stronger community will benefit the classroom more than anything else. Do you feel that the students are enjoying this tactic? Has it changed the mood of the students?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my post Fortier Fitness! Yes, I do feel students are enjoying this new tactic. It helps facilitate an opportunity for everyone to be heard. I'm lucky as I have a terrific group of kids in my class who are pretty happy to begin with -- giving them an equal chance to be heard seems to only have made them happier. :)
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