At grades K–1, the Morning Circle takes place daily, for about 15-20 minutes, and consists of a greeting, brief news and announcements, and an activity that brings forward thinking around the social development focus for the week. Morning Circles are designed to offer a routine to start the day and help students transition to their learning community, build relationships, and practice social skills.
Community Chats at grades K–1 set the foundation for class meetings. Chats are shorter and less formal than class meetings. Community chats are discussions about the classroom and school community, including ways to solve problems that arise. Community Chats occur daily within the Teacher Manual during the first two weeks of school as students learn about procedures, discuss norms for the classroom and the playground, and reflect on how things are going. In Weeks 3–8, there are Community Chats built into the Morning Circle, primarily as check-in meetings about how students are doing with some of the topics addressed in earlier chats. After that, there are occasionally Community Chats as part of the Morning Circle. These can be found by looking at the Weekly Overview.
In addition to what is in the Teacher’s Manual, there is an envelope that holds 10 Community Chat cards around topics that teachers may use as needed. Some chats are based on School Life topics such as Welcoming New Students and Getting Ready for a Substitute Teacher, while other chats are based on Social Issues topics such as Playground Challenges or Not Letting Others Play. These chats are designed to last about 10 minutes and can be used as often as needed as students continue to learn and grow in their thinking about the ways they want to be together as a community.