Everything You Need to Know to Use Morning Meeting at the Start of the School Year
Morning Meeting is an effective way to start any day throughout the school year, but it is especially impactful at the beginning of the year when you are looking to build a strong sense of community with a new class of students. Whether you are interested in trying Morning Meeting for the first time or are simply looking for new ideas to incorporate, here is everything you need to plan an effective meeting that will engage new students at the start of the year.
What Is Morning Meeting?
New to Morning Meeting? Get a quick introduction with “What Is Morning Meeting?” Then pick up some tips for getting started.
Once you are ready to start planning, browse some of our lesson plan ideas for each of Morning Meeting’s four components: greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message.
Morning Meeting Greeting Ideas
Get your students out of their seats and interacting with each other with one of these fun greetings:
- Seat-Switch Greeting, The Rewind Greeting, and Interviews
- Say Your Name and Hullabaloo
- Backward Day Handshake Greeting
- Secret Handshake Greeting
- Greeting A-Round, Bead Exchange, and Silent Signal Greeting
Morning Meeting Sharing Ideas
Give your students a chance to discuss their interests and learn about their classmates with one of these ideas for student sharing:
Morning Meeting Activity Ideas
Build a sense of community and let students practice their social and academic skills with one of these interactive group activities:
Morning Meeting Message Ideas
The morning message is your opportunity to shift students’ focus to the academic content they will be engaging with for the day. Here are a few examples:
Morning Meeting Planning Resources
Now it’s time to pull it all together and plan a complete Morning Meeting! Check out some tips for creating your first Morning Meeting lesson plan from one of our consulting teachers, and then map out your ideas with our daily planning guide or weekly planning guide.
Check back with us throughout the school year for more Morning Meeting tips and resources. More greeting, activity, sharing, and message ideas can also be found in The Morning Meeting Book (K–8), 80 Morning Meeting Ideas for Grades –2, 80 Morning Meeting Ideas for Grades 3–6, and 99 Activities and Greetings.
Ted Powers is an editor for Responsive Classroom.