Morning meeting messages make up the last component of the morning meeting daily classroom routine.
During this time, students hear a daily message from the teacher plus practice academic and social-emotional skills.
These messages motivate students in the learning process, build community through choral reading plus discussion activities, and reinforce academic skills in a meaningful way.
The most successful morning messages connect the questions, prompts, activities, and games of this component to a current topic of study.
To keep morning meeting messages predictable for students, they are generally sequenced in four steps which are described below.
Morning Meeting Messages
Following you will find ideas for morning meetings that help you know what to write for messages.
1. Start With a Morning Message Greeting.
The morning meeting message block is introduced with a greeting and/or welcome.
Greetings can be simple, traditional, and/or based on a theme based on a unit of study or a topic special to the class.
Examples:
- “Good Morning, Third Graders,”
- “Welcome, Hard Workers,”
- “Good Morning, Learners,”
- “Hello, Fabulous First Graders,”
- “Good Morning, Mighty Tigers,” (a school’s mascot)
- “Dear Mathematicians,”
- “Good Morning, Word Whizzes,”
- “Hello, Confident Class,”
- “Good Morning, Wonderful Pumpkins,”
- “Dear Scientists,”
2. Recite the Date of the Morning Message.
After the greeting, students listen to and/or recite the date plus the day of the week. This is especially important for younger students.
Examples:
- “Today is Friday, October 7, 2022.”
- “Today is October 7th of 2022. The day is Friday.”
Related Content: 101 Morning Meeting Questions
3. Do a Morning Message Activity.
For this part, students participate in an interactive exercise that reinforces a skill they are currently learning in class. The activity could also be a game or brain teaser.
This task is meant for students to discuss and/or share responses.
Note that responses for morning meeting messages may be written in journals instead of communicated orally.
Academic Examples:
- “This week, we’ve been talking in detail about strategies for solving math word problems. Though there are many ways math word problems can be solved, there are general steps that must be followed every time. List the steps for solving a math word problem.”
- “In math class, we’ve been learning about multiplication arrays. Mr. Johnson purchased three dozen eggs from the supermarket. Solve the word problem using pictures, numbers, and/or words.”
- “This week, we’ve been talking about the difference between odd and even numbers. The difference is fairly easy to determine when it’s a single-digit number. But what about multi-digit numbers? Tell the strategy for determining if a number is odd or even.”
- “Currently, we are reading chapter 3 of James and the Giant Peach. The characters in the book have really strong traits that show their personality. Share any traits that you would use to describe one of the main characters.”
- “In science this week, we’ve been using the textbook a lot. Within that textbook, there are text features that help us understand the information better. Provide an example of a non-fiction text feature from the textbook, and tell its purpose.”
- “It’s important to be a strong reader because reading is part of almost everything we do. We should always be aware of strengthening our reading comprehension skills. Describe any habits good readers exhibit while reading.”
- “Our character defines who we are, and we should always be aware of how we treat others. I want you to reflect on that right now. Think about the character traits you show regularly. Tell one way that you showed good citizenship this week.”
- “It’s been fun learning about the solar system. We’ve been exploring the planets, asteroid belt, rotations, stars, and the Milky Way. Thinking of everything you’ve learned in the past few weeks, share two facts and one opinion about the solar system.”
- “While conferencing with several of you this week during writer’s workshop, I noticed how well you used transition words to help the writing flow. Think about some of those transition words that you used in the beginning, middle, and end of your writing. Name examples of transition words that keep an essay flowing.”
- “Currently in writer’s workshop, we’re learning about narrative writing. We know there are many forms of writing but narratives are unique. So let’s talk about how they are different from other writing genres. List the elements of a narrative writing piece.”
Game and Activity Examples:
Quick, structured games and activities can very well be implemented within morning meeting messages. Try the following ideas:
- Complete a Survey. – Ask students to respond to fun or interesting polls such as a favorite season, best school lunch, favorite subject, etc.). Tally the votes, and make a quick graph right there on the spot.
- Share Knock Knock Jokes. – Tell a couple of knock-knock jokes, seeing if students can figure out the play on words presented.
- Play Guess Who. – The teacher asks the class about who did what in the past such as, “Who visited a pumpkin patch last weekend?”, “Who lost a tooth last week?”, “Who has a new sibling?”, “Who took a trip to another state last month?”, etc. Students make their guesses.
- Recite Positive Affirmations. – Focus on social-emotional growth by incorporating positive affirmations for kids into your morning meeting message routine.
- Interpret a Quote. – Give students an interesting quote, and ask for their interpretations. Compare thoughts.
- Recite a Poem. – Read a poem with students, and ask them to share their thoughts about it. How does it connect to themes the class is currently exploring?
Question Examples:
Use questions to check-in with how students are feeling, or use them to review concepts.
- “How do you show a growth mindset?”
- “Where do you see math in your world?”
- “How did you show kindness today?”
- “For what are you thankful?”
- “What makes you unique?”
- “When did you last feel proud of yourself?”
- “How showed responsibility today?”
- “What is most important to you?”
- How do you show respect towards your peers?”
- “What superpower could change the world?”
- “How can you grow your prior knowledge today?”
4. Share News and Reminders.
The last part of messages is highlighting with students any important reminders and news. Doing so regularly keeps everyone on the same page.
Examples:
- Reviewing the day’s schedule
- Upcoming field trips
- Special school events such as the talent show, Field Day, etc.
- Homework due dates
- Signing homework agenda
- Change of daily plan/routine
- Forms submission deadlines
- Student birthdays
- Upcoming holiday breaks
- Reminders sent from the office
Final Thoughts On Morning Meeting Messages
Morning meeting messages need not be a chore.
Following these helpful suggestions, you’ll create your own unique rhythm, flow, and style that meets the needs of students.
For sample charts collected from three classrooms, you might be interested in this morning meeting messages book.