Morning Meeting & Science

How can we build upon children’s natural sense of wonder about the world around them? How can we include more science learning during our busy school days?

An answer is the Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting. Beginning each day with this purposeful structure helps strengthen the community of the classroom and actively engages children for the day of learning ahead. This makes Morning Meeting an ideal opportunity to keep science alive and present beyond the science block in your schedule.

Morning Meeting is made up of four components, and science can be easily woven into all of them. Our new book, Doing Science in Morning Meeting: 150 Quick Activities That Connect to Your Curriculum, gives you ideas for doing this. The topics and activities we chose were shaped by A Framework for K–12 Science Education, which serves as the foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards. For instance:

• The Science Friction greeting gives students hands-on experience with this fundamental science concept.
• The Happy Habitats sharing gives students who are learning about animal habitats an opportunity to share observations and make connections about animal survival.
• The Big Ideas in Science group activity helps students formulate questions and take a “big picture” view of their science learning at the beginning of any new science unit.
• The Reduce, Reuse, Recycle morning message inspires students who are exploring human impacts on the environment to find practical solutions to important environmental issues.

With its purposeful format, Morning Meeting provides engaging ways to capitalize on students’ natural love for science. It’s also a safe time for students to take positive risks, communicate their scientific thinking, and learn that everyone is a scientist. As students actively engage with one another during Morning Meeting, they experience all the joys and wonders of bringing science to life.

Doing Science in Morning Meeting