Mornings, if not prepared, can be complete chaos. That’s why I like to have my students doing something right away when they walk into the classroom in the morning. As the teacher, there is always something that needs to be done or taken care of, which takes my attention away from the rest of the class. I’m sharing my 3 favourite morning activities for elementary students.
All three types of resources are morning slides to be projected on a SmartBoard or projector screen in your classroom.
Let’s check out the activities!
Be sure to download my QEP Competencies Handbook. This free resource outlines clearly what you need to be teaching as an elementary ELA teacher in Quebec. Take the guesswork out of the Quebec Education Program!
Grammar Morning Activities
I don’t know about you, but I have always struggled with finding enough time to fit grammar instruction into my day. That’s why I created this resource to allow students some extra time to practice their grammar skills, even if only for a few minutes at the beginning of our lessons.
This warm-up activity has students read 3 sentences that each have a grammatical error. Students must read each sentence, find the mistakes and correct them.
Click here to check out the product!
I use this activity to practice 11 different skills, including:
- Prepositions
- Conjunctions
- Interjections
- Verb tenses
- Pronouns
- Capitalization Rules
- End punctuation
- Commas
- Apostrophes
- Spelling
- Prefixes/Suffixes
These skills are specifically intended for Cycle 2 (Grades 3 and 4) within the Quebec Education Program. Click here to download the free QEP Competencies Handbook created for Elementary ELA teachers in Quebec.
Get to Know Your Students Morning Activities
Looking for some activities that will help you get to know your students better? Maybe you have found some get-to-know-you questions, but they all seem boring, or out-of-date.
These 60 get-to-know-you questions are relevant to students today, making a fun engaging way to learn more about your students.
Question topics include:
- Social Media
- Pop Culture
- Technology
- School
- Parents/Family
- Being a kid vs Being an Adult
- Pet Peeves
Did you know that it is easier to plan engaging lessons for students after you have taken the time to get to know them? These questions can be used in several ways:
- As a beginning of the year ice breaker
- As a lunch bunch activity
- Speed dating game
- Small-group questions
- Whole-class questions
- Distance learning activity
I have even used these task cards as writing prompts when students are starting their day.
Click here to check out the product!
Writing Prompts/Discussion Starters
Did you know January 2nd is National Buffet Day? Or that April 9th is National Name Yourself Day? Find out which of their friends your students think would make a great bobblehead on National Bobblehead Day or how much your students would need to get paid to eat baby food on National Take a Baby to Lunch Day!
Click here to check out the resource!
These hilarious and engaging prompts can be used for both writing and discussion starters! Each day contains either a question or a task students must complete.
I like to have the day’s slide projected on the board in my classroom when students enter at the beginning of the day. Students know they need to take some time to brainstorm their answers. Then, students share their responses with a partner. Finally, we have a class discussion and students get the opportunity to share their thoughts, feelings and opinions.
Check out my blog post about using this resource in your classroom. Click here!
Final Thoughts on Morning Activities for Elementary Students
I have found that having solid options in terms of good morning activities for elementary students helps in starting the day on the right foot with my students. In particular, I want simple, easy-to-use activities that are engaging without making students too rowdy.
Be sure to download my free QEP Competencies Handbook. If you’re an elementary ELA teacher in Quebec, this resource is a MUST! Click here to download now!
