The classroom morning meeting is one of the most important parts of the school day. It is where students can share, connect, listen, laugh, and learn! A great morning meeting sets the tone for the day. Using a morning message is a fun way to engage your students and build community. 

Is a morning message part of your morning meeting routine? Here are 10 Morning Message ideas to start the day off right!

1- Check-in Question

Start each day with a thoughtful check-in question. A check-in question can be a great ice-breaker for students as they form connections with their classmates. Need ideas for meaningful class discussion topics? Check out our Morning Meeting Slides! With 180 slides and printable discussion cards, thinking of a morning message has never been easier!

2- Let's Vote!

Have your students respond to a poll question for the morning message. Tally the votes, and discuss the responses. Here are a few ideas for morning message polls. Use these to get started, or create your own!

• What is the best recess activity: Tag or 4 Square?
• What is your favorite special class? PE or Music?
• What is the best school lunch? Pizza or Cheeseburgers?
• What is your favorite type of weather? Sunny or Rainy?
• What song should we listen to at pack-up time today? (Give appropriate choices)

Have you tried a vote for your classroom morning message? Tell us some of your best voting questions in the comments below!

3- Poems

Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, come on class, it's morning message time! Share a short poem as the morning message. Ask students to share their thoughts, feelings, and observations about the poem.

Need poems? Try projecting one of our phonics poems!

4- Jokes and Riddles

Start the day off with a laugh! Write a joke or riddle of the day for the morning message. Students will have fun trying to figure out the answers! Need any ideas for silly, side-splitting jokes? Check out our list of Jokes and Riddles for 2nd Grade!

Or, start your mornings with a giggle and handwriting practice.

5- Fill in the Blank

The morning message can be a useful time to quickly review language arts concepts. Write the morning message on the board, but leave a few items blank – initial letters, word endings, and punctuation are a few ideas. Have students copy the message and fill in the blanks, or fix the message together as a class.

6- Venn Diagram

A Venn Diagram is a graphic organizer that many students recognize. Why not add it to your morning meeting? Have each student write one thing in the Venn Diagram as school begins. Some ideas for class Venn Diagram morning messages:

• What is something that is scary/exciting?
• Name a food that is sweet/salty
• What is an activity you can do inside/outside?

7- Graph It!

Like the poll questions above, you can use a graph to add some excitement to the morning message! Ask students a poll question, and have them place a sticky note above their choice. Then, arrange the sticky notes to create a pictograph or bar graph.

8- SEL Check-In

Morning meetings are now more important than ever. Many teachers use a morning message as part of a social-emotional learning curriculum. Asking important questions and sharing positive stories can help students express their needs and feelings. A morning message as simple as “How are you feeling today?” can start a much-needed discussion.

9- Collaborative Picture

Do you have students who are reluctant to share their morning message response, in either words or writing? If so, try a class collaborative picture! Draw a simple image on the board, and have each student add another element to the picture. Some ideas for a class collaborative picture:

• This morning I walked past an unusual tree! I saw _____ growing on the tree!
• We're going on a picnic! Draw your favorite snack on the picnic blanket.
• I looked under the bed and found a _____!
• Diving deep under the sea, I saw a ______ staring at me!

10- Morning Message Response in Journals

Tight on time? Change in the schedule? Unexpected event? We get it – the morning meeting might not always run smoothly – and that's OK! After the class has read the morning message, take the topic to the next level! Students can respond to the morning message in their journals, and discuss it together later when there is more time. Print Morning Message Slides and use them as writing prompt cards, too!

Take a Deeper Dive

Let Katie from Team Lucky Little Learners show you each of these morning message ideas (plus a couple other ideas) and how to implement them easily into your classroom.

No matter what approach you take to the morning message, one thing is clear – a consistent morning message routine is so important! Allowing students the opportunity to freely think, question, and express themselves will help build trust and community in the classroom. Have fun with these new morning message ideas! Have you tried any of these suggestions yet? Tell us in the comments below what makes your morning message special!