The 5 Best Back to School Morning Meeting Greetings
Howdy partner!
A greeting is the first thing to give us an impression of what is to come! I hope my greeting showed you that we are going to have some fun today planning our first week of school greetings! The first of four parts in a responsive classroom morning meeting is the greeting! This not only shows what is to come for the classroom meeting, but sets the tone for the whole school day ahead.
My Back to School Morning Meeting Cards focus on get to know you, relationship building, and expectation establishing because that should be the focus the first month of school!
5 free morning meeting greetings are also ahead of you… keep scrolling!
At the beginning of the year I like to establish the expectations for our morning meeting greetings with simple low pressure greetings.
I explicitly teach and model my expectations for morning meeting greetings:
- turning your body to face the person you are talking to
- making eye contact while talking
- smiling and talking in a kind tone of voice
This is not natural for students!! I have found no matter what elementary school grade I have conducted morning meetings with, students need to practice these social interactions. The 5 morning meeting greetings below are the perfect avenue to help you teach your expectations!
In this video I explain (and act out) the 5 free morning meeting greetings. You can scroll down to keep reading about them! These greetings are also easily adaptable for virtual morning meetings.
My 5 Favorite Back to School Morning Meeting Greetings
#1- Wave
This is as simple as is sounds! The first student turns to the person to their left, waves, and says “Good morning _______.” (inserting the student’s names) That student then reciprocates the greeting to the first person, then turns and greets the person on the other side the same way.
The wave greetings is a great time to teach and practice tracking! This is when the students follow the speaker with their eyes around the circle.
**At the beginning of the year I always give my students a chance to turn to the people on either side of them to ask their name before beginning the morning meeting greeting!
#2- Thumbs Up
Isn’t it great when someone tells you to have a great day?! Well, this morning meeting greeting does just that! The first student turns to the person to their left, shows a thumbs up, and says “Have a great day _______.” (inserting the student’s names) That student then reciprocates the greeting to the first person, then turns and greets the person on the other side the same way.
This morning meeting greeting is the perfect time to model and practice smiling and having a positive tone of voice while greeting each other. I model saying “Have a great day” in various tones and we talk about which one makes them feel good.
These first two greetings are from my Morning Meeting Greetings Cards Year Round Pack!
#3 Cross Circle Category
Maybe this year we should call it Cross Zoom Category??
So the idea of this morning meeting greeting is that rather than the greeting being passed around the circle (or in a set order), students can choose anyone to greet. Students could pick someone they have the same color shirt, same hair cut, anything that makes them feel like they have a connection! They then walk over to that person and say “Good morning ________.” The chosen student will reciprocate the greeting and then it is their turn to pick who to greet next.
I love that this gets students building connections and relationships!!
Whenever students are greeting in a random order I make sure there is a signal (mine is crossing your arms) to show that you have been greeted. This helps to make sure that everyone gets a turn!
#4 Breakfast Bowls
This is a fun one! The person who starts this morning meeting greeting should mime holding a plate or bowl and eating their favorite breakfast food, turn to the person to their left, say “Good morning _______ (insert name), do you want some ____________ (insert favorite breakfast food).” The student who was greeted responds, “Yes/No thank you, good morning _________ (insert name), do you want some ____________ (insert their favorite breakfast food).
Students take turns passing this around the circle until everyone has a turn.
Quick, easy way to learn their favorite breakfast foods!
These two greetings are from my September Back to School Morning Meeting Greeting Cards.
#5 Robot
Make way for the sillies to come out!!
For this morning meeting greeting, students can move their hands like a robot and or talk like a robot. The first student turns to the person to their left, moves like a robot and says “Good morning _______.” (inserting the student’s names) That student then reciprocates the greeting to the first person, then turns and greets the person on the other side the same way.
Some students will make small hand movements for this greetings and others who are ready to embrace there class with their silly nature will become a full robot!
I LOVE using this during the first week of school! It starts to show the class how morning meeting can be fun and silly as long as we are calm and appropriate. We also talk a lot about how to show self control at the same time as being silly.
If you have read my other blogs, I let students skip during sharing if they are uncomfortable and do not want to share. I do NOT let students skip the morning meeting greeting. We talk a lot about the importance of being greeted and greeting your classmate. Honestly, I have never had a student want to skip the greeting anyway!
What else can I help you with to get ready for your back to school morning meetings?!
Do you have your morning meeting routines and procedures planned?
Do you want to see my preplanned morning meetings to get you started?
Let me know what else you need!
