Family Meetings
ECP
| 1st & 2nd | 3rd
& 4th | 5th and
6th | Middle School
| High School
Third and
Fourth Grade Family Meetings
Agenda We have a clipboard with paper in
the classroom where both students and teachers can write issues that
they want to discuss at family meeting. We ask that the person writing
the issue signs his or her name next to it so that we know whose issue
it is.
Time We meet every Friday morning for about
an hour if we have agenda items. We dont meet if there arent
issues. We set time limits that we think will be appropriate for each
issue.
Voting We look over the issues before Friday
to see which issues could be open for students to vote on. If we just
want kids feedback because were unsure about an issue, then
we tell the kids that were taking a straw vote, and then we will
make a decision and let them know later.
Discussion With each issue we ask that the
person who brought up the issue briefly explain it. Then we open the
discussion up. If it is a problem, we call on people to explain how
it has been a problem to them. Then when that part has been covered,
we ask people to brainstorm solutions to the problem. If we need to
vote on which solution or solutions the group wants to try, then that
is the next step. We ask that kids not repeat what others have said,
so, if someone described what you wanted to say, then your hand should
go down.
Kids Roles:
- Caller this person calls on people with hands
raised. They should give everyone who wants to speak a turn first
before giving someone a chance to talk twice.
- Timer this person keeps track of the time limit
and lets us know when weve run out. We take a group vote about
whether to continue past the time limit if the discussion isnt
finished. (A digital clock or timer is helpful for younger children.)
- Focus Person this person keeps an eye out for
anyone who is distracting others during the meeting. If there is disruptive
behavior the focuser stops the meeting and asks for it
to stop.
- Scribe this person writes down all of the important
decisions that were made during the meeting. We keep this in a loose-leaf
notebook. Its important to date each entry. The teacher will
need to do this for younger children.
- Sharing We have a sharing time in some of our
meetings. One type of sharing is show and tell. We let 1/2 of the
group bring something in to share, if they want, once every 2 weeks.
Another type of sharing is golden shining moments. Each person in
the group shares a special moment that happened to them during the
past week. A child can pass, but we always come back to them if they
just needed some extra time to think.
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