Morning meeting

A morning meeting is a familiar way of starting the day in many kindergartens and schools. The types of activities and style can change as the children grow up, but the general structure will work with all ages. In fact, it is not at all different from a morning check-in or stand up company meeting!

A morning meeting generally lasts about 30 minutes and follows a general outline:

• Greeting – welcoming students and inviting them to say hello to one another;
• Sharing – asking an open question to invite students to share something about their lives or a reaction to a topic;
• Group activity – a game, poem, song, or fun activity;
• Morning message – a message from the teachers about the day, usually introducing a topic that will be covered in the next classes and the “why” behind it.

This template will give you a good starting point to design your own morning meetings.
Long-term success depends on getting the balance between having a reassuring ritual and keeping it fresh. Ask the students themselves for ideas on what they’d like to do during morning meetings.

If you need some more inspiration, many icebreaker and energizer activities geared to adults can be easily adapted for morning meeting use!

Who can facilitate this morning meeting?

Every teacher and educator has the skills to host a morning meeting. Just make sure the rest of the school staff is onboard and informed of what you plan to do!

More materials on participatory practices for raising engagement in school can be found in our “Teacher as Facilitator” guide. Here you can find an example of a lesson plan that incorporates ideas from workshop design.