Two Practices, Two Purposes: Morning Meeting and Read-Alouds

Read-alouds are a powerful and joyful part of the elementary classroom. They offer a unique opportunity to foster classroom connection and deepen students’ social, behavioral, and academic learning.

Why Not Use Read-Alouds During Morning Meeting?

Picture books and read-aloud stories are powerful tools for social and behavioral learning. However, Morning Meeting isn’t the best time to read them.

Morning Meeting is a 15–30 minute daily routine with four specific components: greeting, sharing, group activity, and morning message. It sets a positive tone, builds connection, and helps students transition into the school day, so it should stay focused, upbeat, and efficient.

You can use the morning message component of Morning Meeting to introduce or preview a theme from a book, like empathy or assertiveness, then return to the read-aloud later in the day when there’s more time to dig into discussion and connection.

This approach keeps Morning Meeting purposeful and makes your read-alouds even more impactful.

Tips for Implementation

Here are a few ways you can get the most out of both the morning message and read-aloud time:

• Use the morning message to prompt personal reflection and connection to the topic.
• Conduct the read-aloud during a designated time outside of Morning Meeting, such as after lunch or during a literacy block.
• Follow the story with class discussion, reflection, or partner conversations.
• Revisit key moments in the book throughout the week.
• Encourage students to connect their own experiences to the characters’.

Learn More

For more on writing an effective morning message, check out our free articles:

• Morning Meeting Message Idea
• 4 Tips for Writing Morning Meeting Messages

Looking for read-aloud books? Explore the Adventures of the Center City Kids series—an engaging, relevant, and relatable series that celebrates friendship, family, and learning.