As schools quickly transition back from the pandemic to back-to-school, how students adjust to the classroom environment has become more important than ever. The beginning of the school day is an important time for students to reinforce social and communication skills. It is an essential time to prepare them to not only learn academically, but learn more about themselves as well as their peers. Holding morning classroom conversations not only gives students a sense of community but also empowers students with a sense of agency as they grow and develop their social and emotional skills.
Coming out in September, Morning Classroom Conversations by By Maurice Elias, Nina Murphy, and Kellie McClain was written to help build students’ social-emotional, communication, and character skills in their transition back to school. The authors encourage teachers and educators to intwine daily conversations with students in order to create a safe space and to make time for practicing social-emotional skills. Some of these skills include practicing critical and creative thinking, building active listening skills, learning to respectfully disagree with others, and strengthening relationships among students. All of these skills are not only essential in becoming a well-rounded and developed person, but are also necessary to improve the overall classroom environment and to foster better relationships between peers.
Morning Classroom Conversations includes hundreds of prompts and themes, sample scripts for teachers to follow, and an overview of the structure and end goals of these conversations. These discussions are essential to strengthen the learning environment and to allow students to feel not only heard but understood by both teachers and peers.
Morning messages and meetings are already a big part of many teacher’s routines in the classroom.
These conversations before starting the school day encourages dynamic discussions and the development of students’ social, emotional, and character development. Morning meetings improve communication skills and grow opportunities for children to evolve into mature and well-rounded adults.