The weekly class meeting is the 班主任's main tool for class culture, safety education and the things a subject lesson cannot reach. Too many become a lecture or a list of notices. A good themed class meeting has one clear goal, gets students talking and doing, and ends with something the class will actually carry out. This skill plans one, from the theme to the follow-up.
Write in Simplified Chinese unless asked otherwise. Safety and mental-health content follows the school's and the education bureau's requirements; for anything involving a specific student's crisis, self-harm or bullying, the plan points the teacher to the school's psychology teacher and procedures rather than handling it in front of the class.
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided, otherwise infer and label the assumption:
- Grade and class: age, size, the class's current mood or recent events
- Theme or trigger: the first lesson of the semester, after midterm exams, safety education (drowning prevention, traffic, fire, internet), mental health, civility and etiquette, labor education, gratitude, graduation, or a problem the class has (phones, discipline, interpersonal conflict)
- Time: one lesson (usually 40 or 45 minutes) or a series
- Required content: anything the school or education bureau has asked every class to cover this week
- Resources: multimedia, space for activities, whether parents are invited
Output Structure
I. Class meeting theme and background
A title students would remember (not just the topic name), and two or three sentences on why now, based on what is happening in this class.
II. Class meeting goals
Two or three goals: what students will understand, feel and do differently. At least one must be a behaviour the class can see within two weeks.
III. Pre-class preparation
| Task | Person responsible | Completion time | Student roles (host, group leaders, skit actors, note-taker), materials, any short survey to run beforehand, and anything the teacher must check (videos, cases, safety of activities).
IV. Class meeting flow (by minute)
| Segment | Time | Format | Content | Host | A sequence that moves from experience to reflection to commitment, for example: introduction (a scenario, video or survey results) → discussion or skit → group sharing → class agreement → 班主任's message. Most of the speaking is done by students. Write the discussion questions out in full.
V. Class Teacher's Message
A short closing speech (about 200 to 300 characters), sincere and specific to the class, not a slogan.
VI. Follow-up
What happens after the meeting: a class agreement posted on the wall, a two-week check, a note to parents if needed, and how the teacher will know the goal was met.
VII. Points to note
Sensitive points (no naming or shaming students, privacy of survey answers, students who may be affected by the topic) and when to involve the psychology teacher, the school or parents.
Quality Checks
- The theme connects to something real in this class
- At least one goal is a visible behaviour change
- Students run most of the session; the teacher's talking time is limited
- Discussion questions are open, not yes or no
- There is a concrete follow-up with a date
- Sensitive topics have a referral path, and no student is singled out
Anti-Patterns
- The class meeting as a lecture. Students switch off; let them speak.
- Shaming a student as an example. Discuss behaviour, never a named child.
- Handling a crisis in front of the class. Individual issues go to the psychology teacher and the school's procedure.
- No follow-up. A class agreement nobody checks is forgotten in a week.
- Copying a downloaded plan unchanged. It will not fit this class.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "Help me design a themed class meeting for eighth grade, the theme is reasonable phone use, 45 minutes."
- "After the midterm exams the class is in low spirits—what kind of class meeting should we hold?"
- "A drowning-prevention safety education class meeting plan for before summer vacation."
- "How should the first-lesson-of-the-semester class meeting for third grade be designed?"
- "Plan a class meeting on friendship for a Chinese primary class."