When I met with my CT about an observation, I mentioned doing a morning meeting and she informed me that she has not done one in a long time with the class. She was instantly excited and gave me great ideas. I was not able to observe my CT do a morning meeting, so it was very important for me to get her feedback and guidance prior. Because my CT teaches Reading and Writing, I wanted to do a morning meeting that would challenge their knowledge. Every morning, my CT projects bell-work for the class to begin when they walk into the classroom. Once the morning announcements come on, that indicates to put all bell-work away. After the morning announcements, my CT begins the class lesson.
After my pre-conference, I decided to do an antonym morning meeting. My CT brought it to my attention that they have difficulty with antonyms. For the activity, I chose 11 words from the class’s word wall and their antonyms. This created 22 words so that each student and myself could participate. Based on my lesson plan, I thought of giving students discussion topics with their partner. However, I did not find this to be educational and informative for a fourth-grade class, so I decided to change it the day before the morning meeting after discussing with my CT. Instead, each student would have to find the person with their antonym and come up with a sentence for each word. Once each student completed their sentence, they shared it with the class.
For my morning meeting observation, I handed my phone to my CT for recording purposes. I tried to sneak it to her so students were not distracted and would make the activity difficult to manage. Before I began, my CT told me that the students enjoy using their whiteboards and I could allow them to use it for their sentences. I agreed with this idea to make it entertaining for the class. Using FEAPs 2e, models clear, acceptable oral and written communications skills, I projected directions for the class in case they were unsure what they needed to do after I told them. In the two minute mark of my video, I did not aware the students of the directions and I will do that differently. After the morning announcements, my CT told the class that I will be doing an activity with them. Then, I began by telling the class that we will be doing an antonyms activity and I also asked if we all knew what an antonym was. I followed that question by asking if anyone wants to share what an antonym is for those who might not remember. I found this to be effective because many students were engaged in this and wanted to participate. It was then that I realized that this activity will go well. I explained to the class that I will be handing out a sheet of paper faced down and they cannot look at it until I give the OK. While I was passing out papers, I repeatedly reminded them to not flip their papers and to also take their whiteboards out from their seats. In the three-minute mark, I used FEAP 2c, conveys high expectations to all students. I reminded the class to keep their voices low to not disturb the other classes while we do this activity. Once every student had a paper, I allowed them to stand up and find the person with their antonym. I also informed them that some words are harder than others, so they can ask classmates for help. After they find their partner, I told the class to touch elbows and say good morning! After seeing the video, some students were able to find their partners faster than others. So, those who had their partner sooner, were sitting and waiting around asking me what more to do. Next time, I will give discussions for those who are waiting. Using FEAPs 2a, organizes, allocates and manages the resources of time, space and attention, I used the ‘give me five’ attention grabber to get the class’s attention and see who does not have a partner yet. Those who raised their hand, including myself, were gathered in a circle so that we were closer and not confused by those who already had a partner. I found this to be a good idea because those who did not have a partner were in a circle and very quickly found their antonym partner. Once everyone was with their partner, I allowed them to begin working on their sentences on their individual whiteboards. I was also paired up with a partner and we came up with a few sentences. Using FEAP 2b, manages individual and class behaviors through a well-planned management system, I looked around the classroom to ensure that all of the students were participating and on task. I used the “give me five” attention grabber numerous times to see who needed more time and who was already done. Those who were done were assigned to make another sentence. Once everyone was done with their sentences, I used FEAP 2f, maintains a climate of openness, inquiry, fairness and support. I asked students who would like to volunteer to begin sharing sentences. I realized that other students were talking over students sharing their sentences and I reminded students to allow their classmates to share. Students who had more than one sentence could share their second one after everyone got the chance to share their first sentence. This made things fair and gave everyone and opportunity. Once everyone was done sharing, I collected the antonym papers and told students to put their whiteboards away to begin class.
Based on my video and feedback from my CT, I found that this activity went well considering it was my first time ever conducting an activity with a class and I am happy with the overall result. I feel that it went well because of the impact of using words from the word wall and allowing students to use their whiteboards made them engaged and easier to work with. They were familiar with the words to a certain extent and they love using their whiteboards. After seeing the whole video, I could tell that I began nervously and eventually, I was comfortable. This activity challenged their knowledge and developmental needs. I found that although they were familiar with the words, they still had difficulty with antonyms. They felt confident because they knew the words but to find the antonym, was a challenge. The knowledge I have from morning meetings was a key essential to this observation because it allowed me to keep students on task and engaged with each other. Next time, I would definitely try a new attention grabber and different words to help with their knowledge of antonyms. Because the class switches in the middle of the day, my CT agreed that the morning meeting went well and wanted to see how the next class’s results would be. It was also an educational success!
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