Creating and Using Formal Occasions in the Classroom

Videotapes of morning meetings in two primary grade classrooms are analyzed using a sociolinguistic scheme for describing formal meetings devised by Judith Irvine. Possible cognitive and affective effects of the structuring of meetings are considered. It is suggested that classroom meetings may vary in the extent to which they help children learn to participate in group meetings, develop a sense of identity, and learn to use more elaborated context‐independent speech. Trade‐offs among these potential functions are considered. CLASSROOM FORMALITIES; CLASSROOM INTERACTION ANALYSIS; SYMBOLIC INTERACTION.