Virtual Morning Meetings with Flipgrid

Morning meetings are an important component of building a strong classroom community. In a virtual environment, it can be difficult to maintain a strong sense of community; however, Google Slides and Flipgrid could offer a good solution.

Need a video? Scroll down to the video below to see this in action! 

What are the Components of Morning Meetings? 

Morning meetings are generally comprised of several different components:

• Greeting
• Sharing opportunity for students
• Group activity
• Announcements / Teacher Message

Step 1: Create a Slide with Your Meeting Information

I tend to use Google Slides to communicate information; however, you could use PowerPoint, Keynote, etc. to share your agenda or information with students. 

I created the following example in Google Slides. 

Want your own copy of the sample meeting agenda? Click here! 

Step 2: Create Your Morning Meeting in Flipgrid

Next, you will want to create a new topic in Flipgrid to create your morning meeting. It may be helpful to title your meeting as the date and set a 1 - 2-minute time limit for students sharing. You will also want to include a description, instructions, and shareable link to Google Slides in your Flipgrid too! 

It may be helpful to use Flipgrid to record a sample video greeting students and explaining how the meeting will work. 

Step 3: Share with Your Students

Finally, you will want to share the link to your FlipGrid with your students. You can do this a variety of ways. If you already have a tool like Google Classroom, Schoology, or another LMS, I would recommend sharing the link directly through that. 

Want to see it in action?  Check out my how-to video: 

Need a tutorial on how to use FlipGrid? Check out my video below:

Have Students Create Their Own Music Through Google Song Maker

Looking for something for your students or your own children to do while they are out of school? Google Songmaker is a great tool for creating your very own music on any device that can access the Internet!

I have to admit that I am not the most musically talented person in the world, but this platform is made easy! When you are finished, you can record and share your music via a link.

This might be a perfect resource to give students something to "create" instead of mindlessly using technology.

Check out a sample song of "Bad Guy" below:

5 Minute Crash Course on Google Classroom

Google Classroom is an excellent platform for virtual learning to take place if you don't already have a learning management system. Is your school using it, but you are unfamiliar with how to use it? No sweat! I have created the following 5-minute crash course on Google Classroom.

Crash Course in Classkick!

Classkick is an excellent interactive tool that you can use for students to type, draw, highlight, and take quizzes. You are in control as a teacher, as you can watch and monitor student progress in real-time through self-grading tools, student feedback tools, and the ability to answer student questions the moment that they happen.

Need a crash course in Classkick? Check out Matt's video below:

6 Minute Crash Course in Flipgrid!

Want to use Flipgrid, but don't know how? Here is a 6 minute tutorial on how to use this powerful video response tool that can be used on any device that has a webcam and Internet connection.

Create Booksnaps with FlipGrid

Booksnaps take a literacy twist to the idea of Snapchat! Students will be using FlipGrid instead of Snapchat for this activity; however, the idea is that they do the following:

Step 1: Take a Picture! 

Have students use their camera to take a picture of a passage from their book. 

Step 2: Create Your Booksnap

Booksnaps should have the following three components:

• Identify - Highlight or underline a sentence or phrase that stood out to you in the text.

• Reflect - Add a sentence or phrase with a brief comment on what stood out to you from your highlighted sentence.

• Graphic - Add a graphic, drawing, or additional photo that represents something about your passage. 

Step 3: Present! 

Record a brief 15 to 30-second video of yourself presenting your booksnap. When you are ready, post to FlipGrid! 

Need a video explanation? Check out Matt's video below:

Create a Booksnap with Seesaw

Booksnaps take a literacy twist to the idea of Snapchat! Students will be using Seesaw instead of Snapchat for this activity; however, the idea is that they do the following:

Step 1: Take a Picture! 

Have students use their camera to take a picture of a passage from their book. 

Step 2: Create Your Booksnap

Booksnaps should have the following three components:

• Identify - Highlight or underline a sentence or phrase that stood out to you in the text.

• Reflect - Add a sentence or phrase with a brief comment on what stood out to you from your highlighted sentence.

• Graphic - Add graphic, drawing, or additional photo that represents something about your passage. 

Step 3: Present! 

Record a brief 30-second video of yourself presenting your book snap. Read the sentence and explaining what it means to you in 30 seconds or less. When you are ready, post to Seesaw! 

Need a video explanation? Check out Matt's video below: