When doing morning meetings, it’s helpful to keep morning meeting greetings exciting, fun, and fresh because they set the tone for the rest of the class meeting and school day.
Here you will find a variety of fun and engaging greetings for morning meetings that students love.
These interactive ideas for morning meeting greetings are sure to keep students focused.
Morning Meeting Greetings
The following morning meeting greetings are based on the teachings of the Responsive Classroom.
1. Greet In a Different Language.
Students walk around the classroom, greeting each other in a different language.
Choose one language for students to use, or have them choose one they like.
Greeting examples from languages other than English include…
- Spanish = hola
- Portuguese = olá
- French = bonjour
- Chinese = nǐn hǎo
- Japanese = konnichiwa
- German = guten tag
- Italian = salve
- Arabic = asalaam alaikum
2. Toss a Ball or Bean Bag.
Once students are in a circle, give one a beach ball or bean bag.
That student greets another student, then passes the ball or bean bag to that student who returns the greeting but not the ball.
The student that now has the ball chooses a new student to greet and passes the ball to him/her.
Greetings continue like this until every student has been greeted and passed the ball.
3. Choose Name Adjectives.
If you’re seeking academic-focused morning meeting greetings, this one fits.
Students brainstorm an adjective that starts with the same sound as their first name.
They will then introduce themselves to the class.
For example,
- “Hello, my name is Kind Keisha.”
- “Hello, my name is Friendly Phillip.”
4. Find a Friend.
For this fun greeting, students find a friend who shares a similarity.
Examples:
- “Find a friend who shares your birthday month.”
- “Find a friend who takes the same mode of transportation home as you do.”
- “Find a friend who likes the same song.”
Once students find a friend, they greet the child with a “Good morning, friend!”
5. Whisper a Greeting.
Students salute each other in the quietest voice possible. They can even tiptoe around the room if they like.
6. Match Cards.
First, make a set of notecards with matching pairs of math equations along with their answers.
Provide each student with one of the note cards that has an equation or answer written on it. For example, a notecard may have written on it “100-20” and another “80”.
Students move around the classroom, looking for their match. Once they find it, they greet each other with a hello or good morning.
Students then sit with their matching partners, with the correct order of the equation visible to the rest of the circle.
As an example, the student with the notecard “100-20” would sit to the right of the student with the card that has “80”.
After all the students have found their matches, each pair will share their equation with the entire group.
7. Say Good Morning to Anyone Who…
Choose a student leader.
She or he will complete the phrase, “Good morning to anyone who…”. The child fills in the blank with a fact that could be true for a set of students in the class.
As an example, the leader could say, “Good morning to anyone who has a birthday in April.”
Any students who have a birthday in April would stand and wave good morning to the other students who are also standing.
After the standing students return to their seats, the leader will continue with another fact.
8. Become a Royal.
For this simple morning meeting greeting, students go around the class, bowing or doing a curtsy to their classmates, saying good morning in a royal voice.
Related Content:
Morning Meeting Activities (coming soon)
9. Have a Snowball Fight Greeting.
Provide each student with a discarded piece of paper. Have each write his/her name on it and then ball it up.
The class will then have a “snowball fight” for a few seconds, throwing the snowballs around the classroom.
Once given a signal to stop, each student will randomly pick up one “ball”, open it, and see whose name is there.
That student will then go to the student whose name is on the paper, greeting the child with “Good morning. How are you today?”
10. Share A Pinky Greeting.
Students greet a classmate using their pinky fingers instead of a handshake.
11. Play Simon Says.
Have students greet each other following the rules of Simon Says. For example…
- “Simon Says hop on one foot while greeting a classmate.”
- “Simon Says blink really fast while greeting a classmate.”
- “Simon Says pat your stomach while greeting a classmate.”
Complete two to four rounds.
12. Talk Silly.
For this simple greeting, students say good morning to each other in a silly voice.
13. Make a Spider Web.
Use this as one of your holiday morning meeting greetings during Halloween.
While sitting in a circle, one student takes a ball of yarn (firmly holding on to one end of it) and rolls it to a student across the circle, greeting the child in the process.
The student who receives the ball of yarn greets another student across the circle and rolls the ball to that student, making sure to hold on to the unraveling strand with one hand.
The activity continues like this until every child has been greeted and the yarn has created a web across the circle.
14. Have Fun Changing First Names.
For this fun greeting, each student introduces herself by saying her name and then sharing what her name would be if she changed the beginning sound.
To get started, each child brainstorms a letter of the alphabet with a sound different from the first letter of her name.
Then she states her original plus new name. Example:
“My name is Patricia. If I change the first letter of my name to M, I would be Matricia.”
15. Perform a Greeting Race.
Time students to discover how long it takes all of them to greet everyone in the room.
The teacher starts by greeting the first child by name. The child responds to the teacher with a greeting.
This student then says a greeting to a classmate, using the classmate’s name. That student responds and then greets a new student.
This process continues as such until every child has been greeted. Challenge students to beat their time the following day or week.
16. Say Grateful Greetings.
Students take turns greeting each other saying good morning and then saying something for which they are grateful.
Example:
Partner 1: “Good morning, Jonathan. I am grateful for_____.”
Partner 2: “Good morning, Lindsey. I am grateful for_____.”
17. Greet in Simple Fashion.
The teacher simply greets each student at the door with “Good morning.”
18. Chant Names.
The entire class chants to a student, “Say your name and when you do, we will say it back to you!”
The first student then says his or her name out loud. Then in unison, the whole class repeats the name.
Example:
Class: “Say your name and when you do, we will say it back to you!”
Student 1: “Jennifer!”
Class: “Jennifer!”
The process continues until each child has had a turn.
19. Be a Cheerleader.
Students chant, “2,4,6,8. Who do we appreciate? Calvin, yeah, yeah, Calvin!”
Repeat the chant until every student’s name has been cheered.
20. Hi-Five One Another.
Students go around greeting each other with a high-five.
21. Play Hullaballoo.
For this fun morning meeting greeting activity, make a chart with three columns titled Movements, Greetings, and Topics, respectively.
| Movements | Greetings | Topics |
| jump | high-five | hobbies |
| gallop | fist-bump | books |
| fly | elbow rub | music |
| tiptoe | handshake | birthday |
| swim | jazz hands | food |
| skip | pink shake | activities |
| slither | family | |
| moonwalk | holidays | |
| hop | ||
| walk like a crab | ||
| crawl |
In the movement column, write the following words and phrases: jump, moonwalk, fly, slither, tiptoe, gallop, skip, swim, hop, and walk like a crab. Add your own, too.
In the greetings column, write these phrases/words: high-five, fist-bump, pinky shake, jazz hands, and elbows. Add others if you like.
Then in the topics column, write the following information: family members, hobbies, songs, foods, activities, and books. Feel free to add your own.
Now take one item from each column in order to create a sequence.
As an example, you could choose the words jump, fist-bump, and hobbies.
Students will jump around the classroom to find a partner, greet the person with a fist-bump, and then share his/her favorite hobbies.
Use an attention-getter to signal when it’s time for a new round.
Provide a new combination using an item from each column. Complete up to four rounds.
22. Recite Positive Affirmations.
Morning meeting greetings aren’t complete without one focusing on nurturing a growth mindset.
While in a circle, students greet each other with “Good morning” and then share a personal, positive trait about themselves.
Examples:
- “My name is Celeste, and I have neat handwriting.”
- “My name is Wesley, and I am kind to others.”
23. Do An Eyes Closed Greeting.
Students put their heads down on their desks with their eyes closed.
The teacher chooses one student, saying “Good morning” to him or her.
That student pops up his head, responds “Good morning”, and then goes to greet another student who pops up his head, returns a greeting, and then initiates greeting a new person.
This process continues until all students have been greeted.
24. Make a Monster Mash.
This greeting is really fun to do all year but especially during Halloween. Simply have students greet each other using a scary monster voice.
25. Respond to This or That Questions.
An easy and fun greeting to do is this or that questions. Provide students with a question that only has two options.
Example:
“Would you rather have broccoli or spinach as a side dish?”
Students who prefer broccoli stand, and those who prefer spinach stay seated. Do up to four rounds of questions.
26. Be a Pirate.
Using a pirate’s voice, students greet one another.
Example:
Student 1: “Good morning, (student’s name). How are you today, mate?”
Student 2: “Good morning (student’s name). I am fine mate. Arrrghhh!”
27. Incorporate Foodie Greetings.
Students greet each other using food phrases such as…
- “What’s shakin’ bacon?”
- “Good morning, I think you’re really grate.”
- “You are one in a melon.”
- “What’s the deal, lemon peel?”
- “You are berry special.
- “You are tea-rrific.”
28. Greet Like a Butterfly.
Students make a butterfly by connecting their thumbs.
They use the “wings” to wave at classmates as they go about the classroom greeting others.
29. Do A Minute Mingle Greeting.
For one minute, students greet as many classmates as possible.
They may use a handshake, fist-bump, elbow rub, high-five, or any greeting they like.
30. Greet Like a Cowboy.
Students greet a classmate using a cowboy voice and cowboy vernacular.
Example:
Student 1: “Howdy, (student’s name). How are you doing today?”
Student 2: “Howdy, (student’s name). I am doing well. Yee-haw!”
Students repeat the greeting with several other partners.
31. Stretch the Imagination.
Encourage students to stretch their imaginations using this greeting.
Students will imagine something that they want to be or become, whether it’s realistic or not.
Examples:
- “Good morning class. My name is Spencer, and I am an astronaut.”
- “Good morning class. My name is Sarah, and I am a disco queen!”
- “Good morning everyone. My name is Paul, and I’m a superhero!”
32. Customize Morning Meeting Greetings for Holidays.
During the holidays, add a bit of festivity to greetings.
Instead of “Good morning”, use “Happy holidays”.
Also consider using the following phrases:
- “Be of good cheer.”
- “Peace and love.”
- “May your day be merry.”
- “Have a spooktacular day!”
Final Thoughts
Establish a positive climate in your classroom by incorporating a variety of morning meeting greetings.
This list provides an array of fun choices that will fully engage students.