Social Emotional Activities
Mock Morning Meeting
You will be assigned a group to lead one section of the Morning Meeting: Greeting, Sharing, Activity, and Schedule Review. Here is what you need to prepare for each section:
- Greeting: choose a way for students to greet each other. There are a variety of examples below for your review.
- Have an idea of what each greeting might look like.
- Greeting race: Students try to greet each other one by one as fast as they can.
- Compliment chain: Students greet each other with genuine compliments.
- Book club: Students share interesting facts about a book they’re reading or have read.
- Ball toss: Students greet and toss a ball to each other across the circle.
- One-minute greeting: Students greet as many others as they can in one minute.
- Learn it
- Be ready to explain it to the whole group.
- Have an idea of what each greeting might look like.
- Sharing: Create a talking stick with an item you can find in class or outside.
- Choose a question prompt to get everyone started.
- Depending on the age group you are working with, consider how to involve all students daily and/or weekly.
- Activity: The topic of the day is [Weather].
- Find a simple game, poem, song, or movement activity to get students excited about the topic.
- Learn it and be ready to explain it to the group.
- Schedule Review: Create a visual schedule with Morning Meeting, ELA, Math, Lunch/Recess, PE, Social Studies and Science.
- Next to the time and subject, add a visual symbol for English Learners or Emergent Readers.
- Add a way to mark off each item on the schedule when subjects are completed.
Examples
Greeting children warmly upon arrival helps create a sense of belonging, builds relationships, and sets a positive tone for the day. Offering children a choice in how they are greeted can also support autonomy and engagement.
Verbal Greetings
- Good morning, [child’s name]!
- I’m happy to see you today.
- Welcome back!
- How are you feeling this morning?
- I’m glad you’re here.
- What are you excited about today?
- Did anything special happen before school?
- Thank you for joining us today.
Choice Board Greetings
Invite children to choose their greeting:
- High five
- Fist bump
- Handshake
- Wave
- Elbow bump
- Air high five
- Smile and wave
- Dance move
- Thumbs up
- Heart hands
Playful Greetings
- Animal sound greeting (“Can you greet me like a lion?”)
- Silly face greeting
- Superhero greeting
- Robot greeting
- Pirate greeting
- Princess or prince greeting
- Dinosaur greeting
- Favorite character greeting
- Magic wand greeting
- Secret agent greeting
Social-Emotional Check-In Greetings
- Point to a feelings chart that matches your mood.
- Choose a color that represents how you’re feeling.
- Share one word about your morning.
- Give a thumbs up, sideways, or down for how your day is starting.
- Place your name card under a feeling emoji.
Movement-Based Greetings
- Jump and greet
- Spin once and say hello
- Stretch and greet
- Yoga pose greeting
- March into the classroom
- Hop like a bunny
- Tiptoe greeting
- Dance entrance
- Skip to the teacher
- Freeze pose greeting
Cultural and Community-Building Greetings
- Say hello in different languages:
- Hello
- Hola
- Bonjour
- Ciao
- Ni hao
- Aloha
- Bueños díaz
- Morning circle greeting where each child is welcomed by name.
- Family photo greeting board where children point to their family photo upon arrival.
- Classroom community chant or song.
Nonverbal Greetings (for children who may not wish to speak)
- Smile
- Wave
- Nod
- Peace sign
- Hand on heart
- Thumbs up
- High five
- Secret handshake
- Eye contact and smile
- Sign language greeting
- Choose a greeting card with a picture
- Place a name tag on an arrival board
Special Arrival Rituals
- Sign-in station
- Question of the day
- Attendance helper greeting
- Classroom mascot greeting
- Welcome song
- Morning message response
- “Tell me one thing” sharing opportunity
- Classroom job selection
- Book basket greeting
- Nature observation greeting (“What do you notice outside today?”)
Rotating greeting options weekly can keep arrival routines fresh while helping children develop social skills, communication, and a strong sense of classroom community.
Reference
- Maroño, A. and Hickey, D. (2025). 35 morning meeting greetings for elementary students. https://www.wikihow.com/Morning-Meeting-Greetings
