I had a tardiness problem earlier this year. For about three months, I would be lucky to start class with more than 3 students (I have five students in my class). This was, of course, really disruptive to the class’s overall learning, and it was really frustrating for me because I wanted to dive right into the day.
I teach elementary school, and none of my students walk to school, so this was mostly outside of their control, which means there wasn’t much I could do about it either. So I decided to change something that I could control: our schedule.
I put independent reading first after our Morning Meeting; this way, anyone who was late was missing something that they enjoyed (my class loves to read) which might act as a motivator, and they didn’t miss any instruction from me. We have time for independent reading every day anyway, so this was an easy change for me that the students liked too. Students who were on time got to start the day with a pleasurable activity that slowly eased them into the day. Students who were late didn’t have to scramble to catch up with the class. I was less stressed about students missing instruction from me that they would need to make up later.
This has been working really well. We all seem to like the schedule this way. But something had been bothering me.
I rarely had my whole class present for Morning Meeting.
Some students were missing out on greeting their classmates, sharing their lives, building community, and hearing important announcements. With a small class, it is silly to have a Morning Meeting with even one person missing.
Two days ago, during a rare Morning Meeting that had everyone in attendance, I shared an idea with the class. How would you like to start the day with independent reading and then have Morning Meeting? They all agreed to try it for a day.
Yesterday we tried it for the first time, and everyone either liked it better or liked it the same as the other. We all talked about it during our Morning Meeting (everyone was there for it). It was a really nice transition from reading to meeting to math.
So we did it again today. It was a good start to our day.
Teaching With Mrs. Clark 
Being a teacher requires flexibility and the willingness to make changes when something isn’t working. It sounds like this is what you are doing with your morning schedule, and you are including the kids in the decision making. When I taught middle school, I started each class period with independent reading and loved the way it settled the kids – there is something magical about a whole class quietly reading (although there were always a few who weren’t so into it – but they knew to be quiet anyway).
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I love how independent reading has become both the motivator and the reward!
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You are a wise teacher to be flexible and work with your students to solve a problem over which they have little control. You have solved your classroom dilemma, but you have also modeled great problem solving for them!
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I love how you adapted your schedule to fit your kids. I start my morning with morning tubs, STEM activities, so they won’t miss out on instruction being late.
Also, 5 kids in your class?!! Wow. I’m jealous.
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It sounds better than it is. Grading and parent conferences are better, but discussion are hard and small group work is almost impossible.
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That sounds like a lovely way to start the day!
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As I read your post, I was thinking the same thing: flip the activities. This is how my son’s high school eventually had to handle homeroom because kids wouldn’t come until their “important” first period. They moved homeroom between first and second, and voila… Aren’t you the problem solver! (Maybe policy making should be your next move.)
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