How can the use of the morning meeting foster a sense of community in the fifth grade classroom?

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of incorporating the Morning Meeting as part of the daily routine in the fifth grade classroom. This study examines the effects of developing a classroom community and incorporating talk as a tool in the classroom through the use of the Morning Meeting. The Morning Meeting is part of the Responsive Classroom approach, and its purpose is to help foster a sense of community and spark student readiness for learning during the school day. This qualitative teacher research used student response journals, a teacher research journal, student surveys, audio recordings of student discussion groups, audio recordings or the Morning Meeting, and interviews with individual students to gather data surrounding the effects of implementing the Morning Meeting and the development of the sense of community. The collected data was analyzed, coded, and triangulated to find common themes that emerged throughout the various sources. This study found that the implementation of the Morning Meeting helps foster a sense of community, develops a sense of respect among students, increases student participation, and improves student attitudes and motivation toward learning