Morning Meeting Ideas to Help Students Develop Social & Emotional Learning

 Morning meetings are a powerful way to build relationships and develop a strong classroom community. But how? Check out this morning meeting resource to help you start off your day on the right foot and build community with your kindergarten, first, second or third grade students in the classroom!

Morning Meeting

Morning meetings are a great way to help build social and emotional learning strategies that your students can use all year long. This helps your class start the day on a positive note!

Social and emotional learning starts with making connections, learning character traits and building a strong classroom community with mutual respect and trust. 

Students can come together to share stories and connect with one another. 

These are usually led by the teacher to promote communication, collaboration, and empathy. 

How to Implement a Morning Meeting?

After students have arrived, completed morning work (CHECK OUT SOME FUN, NO-PREP MORNING WORK IDEAS HERE!) and you have taken attendance, you can gather all of the students in a circle on the carpet at the front of the room. This helps everyone be able to see one another and make eye contact. 

At the heart of every morning meeting is the "Morning Message".

This is a brief not or message written by the teacher. It can set the tone for the day, reflect on values, reiterate classroom or school rules or provide a thought-provoking question. Sometimes it can be as simple as telling everyone about the daily schedule and reminding them of the goals the class is working towards. 

When I hold a morning meeting, I like to include the following aspects:

• A fun greeting
• Morning message
• Activity
• Sharing time
• Character trait of the week

I also like to end the day with a closing where we can talk about our 'glows' and 'grows'. 

Why Have a Classroom Morning Meeting?

Relationship building is one of the biggest ways to help build a positive classroom rapport and help students 'buy in' to the rules and routines in the classroom. It helps students build relationships with their peers, actively participate in discussions, learn to make eye contact, share ideas and celebrate the diversity within the classroom. It teaches students that each one of them has something unique to contribute. 

Social and emotional learning is encouraged through morning meetings! 

By engaging in activities, games and role-playing, students are able to share personal experiences and express empathy towards others. 

Conflict resolution, active listening and effective communication are valuable skills that students need to learn in the classroom and beyond in their everyday lives. 

Character Development

Through morning meetings, students can reflect on and teachers can reinforce positive character traits. Each week, I like to have a weekly character trait where we talk about a trait we would like to have and see in others. We also chat about how to practice these character traits. 

A morning meeting is a great way to develop a strong classroom community and these meetings can be held in the morning, at the beginning of a certain class, after lunch/recess or even at the end of the day.

 Morning meetings provide a safe space for students to share their thoughts and feelings, celebrate in one another's successes and address any group concerns. 

When we build a strong classroom community, lifelong friendships are made and everyone feels valued and respected! In turn, this leads to amazing classroom behavior! 

Classroom rewards can also be included in this morning routine to help all students work toward a common goal! 

Morning meetings are more than just a classroom routine. They hold so much value in helping students develop social & emotional skills, foster character development and build a strong classroom community. Make the most of your classroom mornings to create a supportive and inspiring learning environment together! 

If you want to take the stress and confusion out of what to include in your morning meeting, check out this super helpful resource with everything you need! It is even editable so you can customize it to your own classroom!

Follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers to stay up to date on my latest products!