sylvia long and jentri youd

Two teachers.
Two very different methods of implementing morning meeting.
Both inspiring.

Sylvia Long. Wow is she amazing! She came and spoke to our class at the beginning of the semester. Her morning meeting looks like this:
Class creed
Greeting (Monday only)
Pledge
Memorization
Class business (vegetables, dessert, and medicine)
News
Share
Class Cheer

Jentri Youd. He came to our class about a week ago. He is full of energy that is absolutely contagious  His morning meeting looks a little something like this:
Class game
Share
Class cheer (which involves a goal for that day)

I LOVED listening to Sylvia Long. I could listen to her all day. She told stories that made me laugh so hard, and stories that brought me to tears. I spent at least an hour retelling all her stories to my husband that night. I also loved listening to Jentri Youd. You can just tell that his students have so much fun in his classroom and that even the shyest student eventually opens up.

Both of these teachers have implemented morning meeting styles that differ from the original, but both of these teachers were successful because they made it their own. I love what Mr. Youd said: "Do what works best for you. Be your own teacher!"

I'm not exactly sure what my morning meeting will look like, but I definitely want a class creed. I'm thinking about having a list of short class creeds that change each month. I like the idea of addressing class business. (Vegetables are the every day stuff, desserts are the things the students did well, and the medicine is if there are every any problems that need to be discussed.) I will definitely want the students to share in some way and we will always play a game, because those are my favorite. :)

PS22 Chorus

This teacher is seriously so inspiring.

Differentiation is encouraging each student to blossom before they close up.

"If you close up when you're in 5th grade, you're going to close up the rest of your childhood." -Mr. B