Morning meeting screen template

A morning meeting screen template gives your class a consistent place to start each day. Instead of rebuilding slides every morning, you open one saved board that holds the greeting, sharing, activity, and message, then change only the words that are new. Students see the same layout daily, which makes the routine predictable and calm.

This guide shows how to map each part of morning meeting to a widget, how to build and save the board once, and how to adapt it for middle and high school advisory. You can build it on the free classroom screen or start from the ready-made Morning Meeting layout in our templates.

The four parts of morning meeting

Responsive Classroom describes morning meeting as a daily gathering, often held in a circle for twenty to thirty minutes, with four components. Its page on what morning meeting is explains each one:

• Greeting: students and teachers greet one another by name.
• Sharing: students share news from their lives, and listeners respond with comments or questions.
• Group activity: a short, lively activity that builds cohesion and practices social or academic skills.
• Morning message: a short note from the teacher that students read and interact with, focused on the day ahead.

A screen template supports each part without taking over. Students should still look at each other more than at the board.

Suggested widget layout

Arrange the board so each component has a clear spot. A simple layout:

Add your classroom job chart to the morning meeting slide so students see today's helpers.

Greeting

Write the greeting style in a text widget, such as "Handshake greeting: say good morning and the person's name." Changing the style each week keeps it fresh. If your class passes the greeting around the circle, the board simply reminds everyone of today's version.

Sharing

Use the random name picker with remove-after-selection turned on to choose two or three sharers each day. Over a couple of weeks, everyone gets a turn. A labeled timer, such as "Sharing: 1 minute," keeps turns balanced without you cutting anyone off.

A sentence starter helps quieter students: "One thing I did this weekend was..." or "Something I am looking forward to is..."

Swap in one of our gratitude prompts for the share.

Group activity

The group activity is where the board can add energy. Options that are already on the board:

• Dice for a math warm-up, such as adding or multiplying the numbers rolled.
• The wheel spinner to choose a movement, a song, or a game. The wheel spinner page shows how to add your own options.
• This-or-that for a quick "Would you rather" discussion.
• Word games such as a word scramble or a Wordle-style puzzle for a shared challenge.
• A timer for a short dance or stretch break.

Keep the activity brief and inclusive. The goal is connection, not competition.

Morning message

Put the message in large text in the center of the board. A strong morning message greets the class, previews something about the day, and invites a response. For example: "Good morning, scientists! Today we will test which paper towel is the strongest. Think about it: what makes a paper towel strong?"

For younger students, include a missing letter or word for students to fill in together. For older students, end with a question that leads into the first lesson.

A sample week of morning messages

• Monday: "Welcome back! This week we start our weather unit. What is the weather like today?"
• Tuesday: "Today we have library. What kind of book will you look for?"
• Wednesday: "Halfway through the week! Name one thing you learned on Monday."
• Thursday: "We will measure rainfall today. Guess how many centimeters fell this week."
• Friday: "You worked hard this week. What are you proud of?"

During October awareness weeks, swap the morning message for the daily prompt in this Unity Day and Red Ribbon Week plan.

Build it once, use it every day

1. Open the Morning Meeting template from the templates library, or start with a blank board.
2. Add or rearrange widgets to match the layout above.
3. Paste your roster into the name picker using first names.
4. Write this week's greeting and today's message.
5. Save the board with Save Board on this device.

Post the day's Google Classroom tasks on the same board; see our Google Classroom screen workflow.

Each morning, open the saved board and update the message and, if needed, the greeting. Keep a quick tally of who has shared so the rotation reaches every student over a couple of weeks.

Morning meeting is a good time to review your classroom rules.

Keeping the routine fresh

Predictable does not have to mean boring. A few ways to vary the meeting while keeping the structure:

• Rotate greeting styles weekly: wave, elbow bump, greeting in another language, or a silent greeting with eye contact.
• Theme the sharing by day, such as "Weekend Monday" and "Good news Friday."
• Let students choose the group activity from the wheel spinner once a week.
• Invite students to write the morning message on Fridays.
• Change the background each season, keeping it plain enough for the message to stay readable.

In January, use a new year morning meeting to share goals and a one-word theme.

Morning meeting on unusual days

Some mornings do not go to plan: an assembly, a fire drill, or a late bus. Keep a shorter version ready.

• Five-minute version: greeting and morning message only.
• Ten-minute version: greeting, one sharer, and the message.
• Substitute version: a saved board with simple written directions in the text widget, so a guest teacher can run the greeting and read the message.

Because the layout stays the same, students can often lead parts of the meeting themselves.

Secondary and advisory variant

Middle and high school advisory periods can use the same structure with a more grown-up tone.

• Greeting: a simple name-and-question round, such as "Name and your go-to snack."
• Check-in: a live poll where students raise hands for options like "energized," "okay," or "tired," while you tally. Keep it low-stakes.
• Sharing: one or two volunteers, with a timer.
• Activity: a this-or-that debate, a trivia question, or a quick word game.
• Message: the day's announcements, deadlines, and one reflective question.

Keep the board short and move students on to the day. Advisory often works best in ten to fifteen minutes. For more ideas on emotional check-ins, see our guide to SEL on the classroom screen.

Tips for smooth mornings

• Open the board before students arrive, so it is ready when they sit down.
• Keep the widget count low, about five or six at most.
• Use the timer for sharing, not for the whole meeting. The meeting should feel unhurried.
• Face the circle, not the screen. The board is a guide, not the center of attention.
• Save after changes, so tomorrow starts where you left off.

Elementary teachers may also find the grade-level ideas on the elementary classroom screen page useful.