Morning Activities For Students Made Easy
Morning activities for students that require your them to be engaged, independent, and learning are essential to a successful learning environment. Grab these free easy prep printables to get your student’s day off to a great start.
Establishing Routine
On the top of the morning activities for students priority list for the new school year is to establish routines and procedures. Having a well run, happy, engaging classroom depends mostly on the cornerstone of well established routines and procedures.
Routine #1
First teach this routine. After the obvious routines of hang up coats, turn in homework etc. a teacher needs to guide students into what they want them to do while class is getting ready to start.
Giving Them Nothing To Do Will Ensure Complete Chaos
Now, if you are into chaos and pandemonium then simply let your students wait “quietly” at their seats until you are ready to begin class. I guarantee there will be nothing quiet or calm about the way you begin your day.
Buuuutttt…. if you want each day to start with happiness, engagement, and high expectations you MUST give your students a task they can complete independently. Furthermore, you MUST make this the established routine for every single day for the rest of the year. So what kind of routine will bring happiness, engagement and learning to the very first moments of everyday????
Next, is the idea to use a simple printable activity that is “fun” and easy for the students to accomplish and independently extend.
Independent Morning Activities For Students Made Easy
Here are a few examples of morning activities K-2 grade students can do independently first thing in the morning.
Morning Journaling
I’ve found this works good for kids that can read. You simply display a writing prompt and students work in a journal a write about the topic. I’ve found this works great for some students and not so much for others. Writing is a difficult process that requires a bit of a warm-up period. Many students (oh, heck- adults too) have a hard time producing ideas on demand.
Printables
Why printables to use in the morning routine?
- It requires your students to begin, end, and extend a task independently.
- It gives them autonomy in their learning. (Hummm, Didn’t I just say that?)
- It helps them to feel successful and “smart” first thing in the morning.
- It gives them time to socialize but also have a task to complete in an allotted amount of time.
- It allows them to independently revisit a skill that they have learned.
180 Printables???
For real, you need to get 180 printables to cover everyday of the school year. I found that having the same exact format over all 180 days gets a bit mundane. So try spicing it up a bit.
Scroll down for a few freebie printables to get your collection started.
Dot-To-Dot and Graph
Kids love dot-to-dots. They are fun and easy and usually most 5 year olds have no clue what the picture is until they have completed the dot to dot. It’s always a surprise for them.
Yet, if you are like me I always felt a little guilty and thought “Yah, a dot-to-dot, how can I be more lame? So easy. Obviously, they can count to 20.”
Level Up the Dot-to-Dot with a Graph
Consequently, I decided why not add a graph to the activity? The student finishes the dot-to-dot and then finds the “hidden” shapes in the picture to graph.
Built In Extension
You notice that the dot-to-dot picture is pretty basic. Well there is a reason for that. The extension idea is that if the student finishes early they can add onto the “picture” with color and extra detail.
I’ve even had students flip their paper over and retrace the dot to dot on the blank side and then build an entire scene from the original. Pretty creative little minds.
Printables Make Your Teacher Life Better
So what do you do when they are being all grown up and independent? Well I don’t have to tell you that every morning comes with its own little surprises. A new student shows up at the door, someone walks in with a bloody nose, your administrator wants a quick little “chat” with you in the entry of your classroom. It really is always something. Filling those first few minutes with a learning activity that they can do independently is a win/win everyday.
Here's Your Free Dot-To-Dot and Graphs
You know I love you all and this full packet is available at my TpT store (Click Here To See That Resource) but I wanted to make sure that you are covered. Below, I have 5 out of the 8 pages from the packet for you. And truly if you contact me I will get you the other 3 for free. I love my teachers and I so appreciate the support you have given me over the past few months. You all ROCK.
Click each picture below to download.
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