Today, students will greet their class and share how they’re feeling. Provide an example for the class by saying “Good morning. I’m feeling [blank] today.” Then, the class responds, “Good morning [blank].”

Sentence Stem: “Good morning. I’m feeling [blank] today.”

Class responds: “Good morning [blank].”

Display different colors for the student. The teacher says, “What color matches your mood today?  What does that color represent to you?”

Sentence Stem: “(color) matches my mood and it represents [blank].” 

Suggestions for Success: If you use Zones of Regulation, you can use that image as well.

Today, students will greet their classmates by thinking of 3 words that describe them. 

Sentence Stem: “Good morning! I am [blank], 3 words that describe me are [blank], [blank], and [blank].”

Class Responds: “Good morning [blank]!”

Today, students will be sharing something or someone that is important to them.

Sentence Stem: “Good morning! [blank] is important to me because [blank].” 

Class responds with “Good morning [blank].” 

Teacher says, “Today, we are going to greet our classmates and tell them we’re glad they’re here! Watch me as I show you what this looks like.”

Sentence Stem: “Good morning [blank]! I am glad you’re here.

Student responds: “Thank you [blank]!

Today, students will greet each other with a high five, fist bump, or hug. Have students stand up, walk around the room, and greet 5 of their classmates. 

Sentence Stem: “Good morning [blank]. Do you want a high five, fist bump, or a hug?”

Student responds: “Good morning [blank]. I want a [blank]. 

Choose a few students to cover their eyes / turn their backs. The remaining students then take off item from their backpack and place it in a line / in the middle of the circle. The group of students work together to guess whose item is whose. When an item is guessed correctly, the original owner claims it. 

Sentence Stem: “This [blank] belongs to [blank].”

Class sets a goal for how fast they can all greet one another in a certain order (seat order, in a circle, etc.) 

Each student says “Good morning, everyone” when it is their turn. The timer starts when the first person begins and ends when the last person greets the class. This is a great one to repeat to try to beat your personal best!

Today, students will greet their classmates with a good morning chain. Students should be sitting in a circle. One student will start and say “Good morning [blank].” to the person to their right. That person will say “Good morning [blank].” back and then greet the person to their right. Continue until everyone has been greeted!

Sentence Stem: “Good morning [blank].” 

Invite students to write their name on a piece of paper. Then, ask them to scrunch it into a ball and bring it with them to the Morning Meeting circle.

When all of the students have joined the circle ask them to gently toss their paper snowballs into the center. Then, allow each student to have a turn to choose one “snowball” from the middle. They should open the snowball and greet the person whose name they see by saying “Good morning (student name.)”

Suggestions for success: Be sure to have paper and pencils ready for students to use. Some students may need additional support writing their names or reading others names. 

Have students stand in a circle. Say “Today we are going to greet the person to our left and to our right with some encouraging words.”  Have students take turns with the people on either side of them and say good morning and then share some encouraging words.  

For example, I would say to the person next to me “Good morning [blank].  Let’s do great work today!” and then they would greet me by saying “Good morning (teacher name). You can do hard things!”  Then you’d turn to the person on the other side of you and repeat the greeting with your own encouraging words.

Suggestions for Success: Consider modeling this greeting for students and providing a few examples of encouraging words and phrases that they can use. Use positive reinforcement when students greet each other appropriately and use eye contact.

Two students face each other and say “Good morning, [blank]”  using each other’s first names. One student says “I feel happy when [blank]” (student says something that makes them happy).  How about you, [blank] (next student’s name in circle).”  

Encourage students to express what makes them happy, give examples if a student needs encouragement. Neighbor greets neighbor around the circle. 

Suggestions for Success: This greeting can be easily adapted to focus on other emotions, such as excited, proud, loved, friendly, etc.

Ask students to imagine themselves in 10 years. Give students a moment to think of how old they will be in 10 years and consider what their lives could look like!

Invite students to walk around the classroom and greet their classmates as their older self.  Remind students to ask each other thoughtful questions about how their life is different from now.  Some questions students may consider asking one another:

• Where do you live right now?
• What is your career?
• What is something you’re proud that you’ve accomplished?
• Who are the most important people in your life?
• What is something interesting or fun that you’ve experienced in your life so far?

Invite students to circle up. Teacher says “Today we will greet each other with an adjective that starts with the same letter as your name.” For example: “Good morning class, my name is Caring Cara.” Remind students that the adjective should be a positive word that describes themselves. If they need help thinking of an adjective they can ask for help when it is their turn.

To begin, the teacher should model what the greeting would look like by saying “Good morning class, my name is (adjective)  (their name).” Then, allow each student to greet the class using this greeting.

Suggestions for success: If needed, as a class, students could brainstorm positive adjectives and the teacher could write them down on chart paper for students to reference during the greeting.

Teacher says “We can share how we are feeling in many different ways! For example, we can use our words, body language, and actions we take to show how we feel. Today, let’s greet each other using only body language! Take a moment to think about which feeling you are having today and how you might share that feeling with a classmate only using body language. You might give a facial expression or even move your body in a way that is safe and appropriate.”

Have students stand in a circle. Students will turn to the student to their right, wave, and then choose to greet their classmate with any appropriate body language that conveys how they are feeling. The student to their right will wave back, then using their body language they will share how they are feeling with the student to their right. Repeat until each student in the circle has greeted their classmates.

Suggestions for Success: Consider modeling a few different feelings for students or inviting students to share what they think different emotions may look like prior to starting the greeting.

First, ask students to determine how many syllables are in their name. Then, ask students to come up with a motion for each syllable in their name.  For example, if their name was Taylor they could give a thumbs up for “Tay” and jump for “lor.”

Invite students to circle up.  Give each student a turn to say “Good morning, my name is [blank]” and do their corresponding motions when they say their name.

The class will then respond “Good morning [blank]” and reflect back to them their motions that go with their name.

Repeat until everyone has had a turn.

Invite students to circle up. In this greeting, you will say “Good morning to anyone who [blank]” and fill in the statement with different categories that apply to your students.  When a student feels that the statement describes them, they can take a step into the circle and see who shares their connection.  Then, students step back and the teacher can greet a different group of students using the same statement.

Sample categories:

• Students who have a pet
• Students wearing sneakers
• Students who have moved before
• Students that play a sport

Suggestions for Success: Depending on the comfort level and developmental level of your students, the teacher could invite students to come up with categories to greet one another.

Invite all students to circle up. Tell students that the class will say a chant to greet everyone today and when their name is called, they can do a dance move if they’d like. Begin by saying the chant, then invite students to join in.  

Class says “We are here. We are here. It’s an AMAZING day because student’s name is here!” 

Start the chant over again with the next student’s name. Continue until everyone has been greeted, including the teacher.

Teacher says “A “glow” is something you are proud of, just like a light bulb shining bright.  A “grow” is something you are hoping to get better at, learn, or do, just like how plants grow when they are given light and water.  Turn and talk with a partner and share one “glow” that you have and one “grow” that you have.”

Suggestions for Success: Consider sharing an example of a glow and a grow with your students. If time allows, you may ask if any students would like to share their glows or grows with the class after they have shared with their partner.

Teacher says “Gratitude means being thankful for something or someone in your life. When people show gratitude, they usually feel kind, friendly, and loved. Noticing what we are grateful for each day can help us feel happier in our everyday lives. For today’s share, think of one person, place, or thing that you are grateful for.” Allow students to share with the class something they are grateful for.

Teacher says “Today, we are going to be talking a lot about different sizes of feelings.  Feelings can be small and sometimes they can be BIG.  A big feeling fills your body with energy like feeling really mad, frustrated, or even really excited.  For example, you might feel a little excited when you are about to watch your favorite show or a LOT of excitement when your friend is coming to visit.  To get us started, can you share an example of a small feeling and a BIG feeling?

Example: “Yesterday, I felt [blank] and I [blank].”

Suggestions for Success: Teacher may want to model what this may look like using a few different emotions.  Teacher may also give students the opportunity to write their responses rather than sharing aloud.

Teacher says “Today we are focusing on setting goals for ourselves and our learning. Take a minute to think of one thing you would like to focus on today. Setting goals helps us to work on areas that may be hard for us to do right now. You might think of something that you would like to work to get better at. We all have different strengths and different things we are hoping to get better at, so our goals will probably all be different.”

Teacher shares examples below with the class.

Examples:

• “I would like to focus on being a good listener.”
• “I would like to focus on being a kind classmate.”
• “I would like to work on trying my  best today.”

Once students have had time to think, allow them to share their goal with the class.

Suggestions for Success: You may also consider asking students what is one small tangible step that they can do to achieve this goal or to say their goal in the form of a SMART goal.

Teacher says “While we are learning all kinds of ways to express how we feel in a safe way, there may be times that you want to talk to an adult for some help or even just to share how you are feeling. For today’s sharing, we will have a chance to share who two trusted adults are in your life that you can go to when you want to share how you are feeling or if you need help.”

Invite students to share two trusted adults that they can go to for help or have students write down their trusted adults on paper.  Allow students to pass if they do not care to share.

Suggestions for Success: Teacher may want to offer some examples of trusted adults before starting the activity. Consider writing down student responses on the board or chart paper so that students can see how wide of a support network they have.

Teacher says “A coping skill is like a tool. It is something that you can use when you have difficult emotions, such as anger, fear, and sadness. Just like how different careers use different tools- a hairdresser uses combs, hair dryers, scissors compared to a construction worker that uses hammers, screwdrivers, and nails, each one of you will have a slightly different tool in your coping skills toolbox. Today we will have a chance to share a few tools in our coping skills toolbox with a group.

Share the following list of example coping skills:

• Mindfulness/taking deep breaths
• Doing an activity (drawing, writing, Legos, video games, walking, playing a sport, etc.)
• Taking a break
• Talking to a trusted adult
• Many others!

Divide students into groups of 3-4 and invite them to share which coping skills they have in their toolboxes.

Invite students to get into groups of 4 or 5. Teacher says “Oftentimes, successful people come up with creative ideas to solve problems or make things easier in their everyday lives.

If there was one thing at school that you would change, what would it be and why? How do you think you would go about changing it? With your group, think of one area you’d like to change and three steps you’d take to do so.”

Allow students to discuss with their group and then give each group a chance to share out to the class.

Teacher says “Being resilient means that when big or small challenges come your way, you are able to bounce back. Bouncing back might look like being flexible and willing to compromise, taking a break, thinking positive thoughts, asking for help, or being willing to problem-solve. Today, think of a time that you were able to bounce back from a setback. Think about what you did or who helped you. Share with a partner.”

Example: I thought it was pajama day and wore my pajamas and slippers to school but pajama day was actually tomorrow! I changed my mindset and even though I felt embarrassed, I decided to focus on how comfortable I was at school in my pajamas!

Teacher says “Today we will be sharing how we are feeling at this moment in the form of a weather report. First, let’s brainstorm some different types of weather.” Allow students to brainstorm all types of weather and discuss how weather can be similar to our emotions - ever changing, temporary, and different around the country and world just like everyone’s emotions are different.  For this share, students should say the following “Today’s weather is [blank]. What’s the weather (student name)?”

Let students know that if they would like to pass, they can say “No weather to report today. What’s the weather (student name)?”

Suggestions for Success: Extend this activity by asking students what they can do to get back to “sunny skies.” You may choose to write down examples on chart paper or on the board for students to reference.

Students will work in teams to make a plan to finish these tasks. Divide students into 5 groups and give each group a task. Tell students that they need to find a way to complete/achieve the task and be able to share with the class different steps they would take to do so.

Task ideas:

• Teaching your dog a new trick.
• Baking a cake from scratch.
• Getting ready for school.
• Learning how to play an instrument.
• Teaching someone else how to play a card game.

Suggestions for Success: Consider giving an example and providing steps to complete it, such as: 

If I want to learn how to ride a bike here are some steps I’d take. Here’s some steps I would take:

1. Make sure I have my bike and safety gear like my helmet on so that I am safe.
2. Practice riding a bike with training wheels to get comfortable.
3. I might ask an adult to help me take the training wheels off.
4. I would ask an adult to help me get started riding my bike with two wheels. This might take some time to feel comfortable!
5. Once I have the hang of it, I might try and ride my bike on my own!”

Depending on the needs of your class, you could make this into a whole class activity and write the steps down on chart paper.

Teacher says “As we go through life, we realize that there are some situations that we can control and change and other things that are outside of our power to control. For example, let’s say you are on a beach vacation and want to go play in the sand and water but there is a huge storm and it’s raining all day. The weather is outside of your control, but what you choose to do instead is within your control. By noticing what is inside vs. outside of our control, we can help ourselves by focusing on what we can control and letting go of things outside of our control.  For today’s activity, we will play a game where we decide which examples are in our control or out of our control.”

Invite students to stand in a circle with about an arms length between each student. You will read a situation, and they will take a step into the circle if it is within their control or take a step back if it is out of their control.

Example situations:

• They are serving something you don’t like for lunch in the cafeteria.
• Your friend says they like someone else’s drawing better than yours.
• You missed the bus to school because you woke up late.
• You broke something on the teacher’s desk by accident and she asks you if you were the one that broke it.
• There’s something you need help with and are deciding whether or not to raise your hand to ask the teacher for help.
• You see someone in your class is left out of a game and has no one to play with. You think they look lonely and you have an extra spot on your soccer team.

Suggestions for success: If time permits, you may call on a few students and ask how they might respond to each situation. Teachers may also consider displaying a visual of the circle of control with pictures of examples to support student engagement. 

Teacher says “We are going to play a feelings game. I am going to say a feeling word and you are going to hold a pose showing that feeling. Use your face and body to show the feeling. I will yell freeze and you will hold the pose and look at your partner. Then I will say “unfreeze” and you will have a minute to talk about what was the same and what was different between your pose and your partner’s pose.” 

Suggestions for Success: Consider modeling this for students before having them try it out on their own. You may also utilize the VDOE feelings wheel as a visual for students.

For this activity, all students will need a sheet of paper and a writing utensil.

Invite students to take a moment to think of 3 “stars” or things they already do very well or are proud of and write them down.  Their 3 stars do not have to be related and can highlight various areas of strength that they have.

Then, ask students to come up with a “wish,” or something they would like to work on.  This is going to become their goal.

Once students have their 3 stars and a wish written down, allow students to share their thoughts in groups of 3-4.

Suggestions for Success: You may also want to have students reflect on the following questions:

• How did they become good at or achieve their “stars”? Did it take practice? How long did it take them to learn?
• What are some steps they can do to achieve their wish?

Teacher says “There are many different ways to be strong - your body can be physically strong, your mind can help you get through tough times by thinking positive thoughts, and you can also be emotionally strong by showing others you care about them.  Take a moment to think about which area you have the greatest strength in - physical (your body), mental (your mind), or emotional (your heart.)”

Invite students to circle up and share their greatest strength via a hand motion. Model each hand motion for students.

• Physical: Flex arm muscles
• Mental: Point index finger to head
• Emotional: Place both hands over heart

Teacher will model their strength, then allow each student to have a turn to share their greatest strength via the hand motions above.

Teacher says “One way to calm down our bodies and our minds when we have big feelings is taking deep breaths. Today we will practice taking deep breaths while growing a flower garden!”

Have students sit in a circle. Invite them to sit comfortably and take a deep breath. Ask them to picture their favorite flower in their mind. Then, ask them to cup their hands out in front of them, connecting their thumbs and pinky fingers to create a bloom. Invite students to breathe in and separate their fingers to grow their flower as their arms raise up, then close their fingers and lower their arms as they exhale. Repeat a few times.

Then, ask students to create a bloom with the classmates on either side of them by putting each arm out to the side and cupping each hand with their classmate’s hands. As they breathe in, all students raise their arms up and open their fingers to let their flowers bloom.  Repeat a few times.

Ask students to share one word to describe how they felt about the activity.

Suggestions for success: If health and safety protocols do not permit students to touch one another’s hands, omit this portion of the activity. 

Teacher says “Today we are going to play a self control game. Think of a stoplight and how it has red, yellow, and green lights.” Discuss what each color light means on a stoplight.  Teacher says “For today’s game, I will hold up a colored sheet of paper (red, yellow, or green) to show which light I am turning on in our stoplight. Based on which color you see, you will do the following:

• Red - freeze in place
• Yellow - move in slow motion
• Green - walk, dance, move around freely

Teachers will hold up different colored paper and students will respond accordingly. Once students get the hang of the activity, the teacher may consider changing the rules so that green means freeze and red means move freely so that students can focus on their self control skills.

Suggestions for success: Print out or project a picture of a stoplight for students to reference. Have yellow, red, and green papers ready to hold up for the class.  Teacher may want to remind students how to participate in this activity in a fun and safe way, as a lot of movement is involved. 

For older students, once the class gets a hang of the activity, the teacher could choose one student at a time to hold up the colored paper or have input on how to change the rules to make the activity more difficult.

Teacher says “Having a growth mindset means that you believe that your brain can grow and become smarter as you learn new things. You see challenges as a way to grow your brain and understand that mistakes help you learn. On the other hand, having a fixed mindset means that you believe you are either born smart or not and it doesn’t matter how much effort you put in - you will not get any smarter or better at what you are doing.  Take a moment to think about which mindset you think you currently have. Today we will take a look at some common fixed mindset statements and see if we can flip the script to turn them into a growth mindset statement.”

Divide students into groups of 3-4 and give each group one of the following statements. Ask each group to think of at least 2-3 ways that they could change that statement into a growth mindset statement.

Example Statements:

• “If I don’t try new things, then I can’t fail.”
• “It’s so embarrassing when I make a mistake!”
• “I’m not good at this.”
• “I can’t fix this mistake.”
• “Other people are so much better than me at this.”
• “When I make a mistake, I get frustrated and give up.”

Teacher says “One way that we can stay in control when we have big feelings is by bringing our attention to what is going on in the present moment around us. Today we will do a partner activity that will allow you to use your five senses to notice what is going on around you.”

Ask if students know the five senses.  Then, let them know that you will guide them through the 5-4-3-2-1 method first, then they will have a chance to try it out with a partner.

Invite students to find a partner (or assign partners if needed.) Then, ask them to find a comfortable seat and take a deep breath. Guide them through the following senses and share your noticings, pausing to let them reflect on what they notice.

• 5 things you can see.
• 4 things you can feel.
• 3 things you can hear.
• 2 things you can smell.
• 1 thing you can taste.

Once you have guided them through the 5-4-3-2-1 method, allow them to practice on their own with a partner.  At the end of the activity, take a moment to reflect and as a class, ask students to share one word to describe how they felt after completing the activity.

Suggestions for Success: Consider using a visual to help students remember the different steps. Teachers are encouraged to have students practice this activity throughout the day, especially after a transition when students could benefit from a grounding exercise.

For this activity, all students will need a sheet of paper and a writing utensil.

Teacher says “One way that we can learn more about ourselves is by creating an interest map. To create an interest map, first you will write out anything that you like to do for fun, are interested in learning more about, or things you are really good at on your piece of paper.  You can do a brain dump and organize your thoughts however you’d like.”

Give students 3 minutes to write out all of their interests.  Then, ask students to look for patterns in the things they enjoy doing. Does anything fall into the same category?

Allow students to share their interest maps with others in groups of 3-4 students.  As students share, see if other students in the group notice any patterns that the student sharing may have missed.  *If time does not permit sharing today, consider having students share their maps for a future sharing portion of Morning Meeting.*

Suggestions for Success:  Some sample questions you may have students consider when brainstorming their interests are:

• What is their favorite subject at school?
• What do they like to do on the weekend?
• What are they passionate about?
• What careers interest them?
• What would a perfect day look like to them?
• Who do they enjoy working with?
• What hobbies do they have?
• What is something they would like to learn more about?

Teacher says “We each have our own talents, things we are good at, or things we find naturally easy to do. Every person has different strengths, so it is important to notice areas that you have strengths in as well as areas that those around you have strengths in. Today we will do just that by creating a strengths chain to celebrate all of the strengths in our class!”

Provide paper strips and writing utensils to the class and allow each student to write down what they feel their strength is. Teacher may want to further brainstorm or provide examples, such as:

• I am a good listener.
• I am good at helping friends feel better when they are hurt/sad.
• I keep working, even if something is hard for me.
• I love to learn new things.
• I am a responsible classmate.
• I am funny and like to make others laugh.

Once each student has written their strength, have students return to the circle. Give each student a chance to share their strength while connecting their paper strip to create a chain.

For this activity, tell students that they will have the opportunity to reflect on this prompt individually and then will have a chance to share their responses with various classmates.  Students may want to write down their ideas.

Prompt: “What is your favorite healthy coping strategy to use and why?”

Once students have had a few minutes to reflect, let them know that they will have a few minutes to mix and mingle with classmates to share their responses. All students should stand up, match up with different partners in the class, and share their responses with one another.

Suggestions for Success: The teacher can tell students that they should share their responses with a minimum number of 3-5 other students (depending on time). Consider setting (or projecting) a timer so that students know how much time they have to mingle with their classmates.

Did you notice a classmate who stayed on task during work time? How?

“[blank] stayed on task during work time by [blank].”

Is there a classmate who didn’t give up when something got hard? When?

“[blank] didn’t give up when [blank].”

Is there a classmate who tried to understand how someone else was thinking and feeling ? How?

“[blank] tried to understand how [blank] was thinking and feeling when they [blank].”

Let’s take a moment to reflect on our day. Think about if there was anything that you did very well or anything you would like to accomplish or do differently tomorrow. Thinking about what we want to accomplish is another way of sharing a goal.

“My goal for tomorrow is [blank].”

Is there something that you did today that you are proud of?

“I am proud that I [blank].”

Did you have any BIG feelings today?

What feeling did you have? What did you do to stay in control?

“Today I felt [blank] when [blank].  I stayed in control by [blank].”

Today we learned about self control. Were there any times today that you practiced using self control?

“Today I practiced self control when I [blank].”

What did you do today to show a growth mindset?  

“Today I showed a growth mindset by [blank].”

“What did it look like and sound like?”

Today we learned about all kinds of emotions!  We learned that we can use words to describe feelings but we can also show feelings with our bodies!  As we end our day, let's go around the circle and say a feeling word or show a feeling word by making a face or moving your body. If you would like to pass, just say “pass.”

Have students stand in a circle. Teacher says “Let’s celebrate all of the effort and great work you all put in today with a class chant! Model one time and then do it as a group 1-2 times.

“We’re gonna give . . . this . . . group a hand.
We’re gonna give this group a hand.” (Clap twice)
“We’re gonna give . . . this . . . group a hand.”
“We’re gonna give this group a hand.” (Clap twice)
“So raise your hands up in the air,” (Raise hands)
“And wave to your neighbor . . . right there.” (Turns and waves to neighbors’ shoulders)

Teacher says “Is there an area of strength you used the most today - physical (body), mental (mind), or emotional (heart)?”

Students respond: “I used my [blank] strength when I [blank].”

Optional Extension:

Teacher says “Did you notice any classmates using their physical strengths?”

Students respond: “I noticed that (classmate) used their [blank] strength when they [blank].” 

Were there any emotions you hoped to have today? If so, which ones? Did you have them at any time today?

Today I hoped to feel [blank]. I felt [blank] when [blank].

If not, what might you try tomorrow to create positive feelings in your day? Think about things that you like to do or that make you happy.

“I didn’t feel [blank] today, but tomorrow I hope to [blank] to feel [blank].”

Thinking about being a resilient student, were there any challenges that came your way today? If so, how were you able to show resilience and bounce back from them?

We learned about how some things are in your control and some things are out of your control. Letting go of things that are out of our control helps us stay successful and happy.  Was there anything today that was out of your control that you chose to let go of?

“Today I chose to let go of [blank].”

In one day, you can feel so many different emotions. I will list some feelings and you give a thumbs up if you felt that way today or a thumbs down if you did not have that feeling today.

• Happy
• Sad
• Lonely
• Bored
• Excited
• Friendly
• Proud

First greeter turns to their neighbor and chooses to either give them an elbow bump or wave. Greeter says, “Hello [neighbor].” Neighbor replies, “Hello, [greeter],” and continues greeting around the circle until all have been greeted.

First greeter says to their neighbor, “Good morning [neighbor], I’m glad you are here today,” without smiling or showing their teeth. Teacher may model first. Neighbor continues greeting students around the circle. 

Suggestion for Success: Allow time for laughter (and connection) as it occurs naturally though this activity.  Brainstorm ways to be friendly that do not include smiling (eye contact, voice tone, using name).

First greeter turns to their neighbor and says, “Good morning, [neighbor],”  in a voice of their choice (silly, robot, whisper, singing). Neighbor returns the greeting, “Hello, [greeter],” mimicking the silly voice of the greeter. The student then turns to the next student and continues the greeting around the circle until all students are greeted.

Suggestion for Success:  Allow students to suggest and identify the “Voice of the Day” from common interests or events within the class. For example, if you are learning about famous explorers in history, students can use a brave or adventurous voice.

In the Morning Message or ahead of time, give students a warning that they will be sharing one word that describes a personal strength. 

The teacher begins by turning to their neighbor and saying, “Good morning [neighbor], what’s one word?” The neighbor shares one word describing one of their strengths, then continues the greeting around the circle, “Good morning [neighbor], what’s one word?” 

Suggestions for Success: Vary this activity by changing the word topic from strength description to weekend highlight, academic content, daily goal, how they are feeling today.

First greeter says, “Good morning, [child’s name]” to someone across from them. The receiver then makes eye contact and greets back, “Good morning, [greeter].” The greeter rolls the ball to the receiver who then continues the greeting. Continue until all students have been the greeter and rolled the ball, with the first greeter receiving last. 

Suggestions for Success: If there are concerns that rolling the ball across the circle would be too challenging, consider starting with a ball pass instead. Consider modeling a safe ball roll across the circle. Through the activity, reinforce students who are engaged/watching and may be able to identify students who have yet to have a turn.

First greeter turns to their neighbor, smiles, and performs one brief gesture or dance move. While facing the greeter, the neighbor copies the greeter’s motion. Then the neighboring student turns to the next student, smiles, and performs their own brief gesture or dance move. Continue around the circle until all students have been greeted.

Suggestions for Success: Model at least three moves a student may choose from (i.e. shooting a basketball, twisting, or putting their hands in the air).

With students sitting in a circle, instruct them to close their eyes. Chorally say, “1, 2, 3, LOOK!” Everyone will open their eyes and try to make eye contact with one other person across the circle. If they successfully make eye contact, instruct them to step into the center of the circle, greet each other, and switch spots. Multiple pairs may be entering the circle at once depending on how many pairs made eye contact. Remind students who did not make eye contact that it is OK and to remain seated for the next round.

Repeat the activity until all students have been greeted.

Suggestions for Success: Discuss and model what strong-eye contact is before this greeting. Pre-teach & model the steps to students, such repeated play, so that students become more familiar with the rules.

Instruct students to stand in their circle spots. The first greeter walks around the inside of the circle and chooses a student to greet by standing in front of them and raising their hand for a high five. The receiving student raises their hand to meet the high five. Once students high five, the greeter and receiver switch places, and the original greeter sits down. Then the new greeter continues the greeting until all students have received a high five and are sitting.

Suggestions for Success: With repeated practice of this greeting, consider adding in elements such as a verbal greeting, replay (at the end, students repeat the entire sequence from memory), and speed (timing for accuracy). Although student choice is encouraged, if the teacher feels it necessary to facilitate new connections, instruct the student to walk clockwise until they hear the chime (which the teacher will ring).

In the Morning Message or ahead of time, give the students a warning to think of a fact about themselves that their classmates might not know. 

During the greeting, the first student will say to the group, “Good morning. My name is [blank]. A fact about me is [blank].” Class chorally responds, “Good morning, [greeter].”

Continue around the circle until all have been greeted.

Have students finish the sentence, “My favorite thing about me [blank].”

If think-pair-share is familiar to your students, have them share their partner’s favorite thing about themselves.

Pose the question, “Would you rather be super strong or incredibly fast? Why? When you are ready, show me a thumbs up.” Allow time to think. 

As most students have a thumbs up, prompt individual students to share their reasoning. If students have a similar thinking, they can give a connection symbol, if established.

Additional Would You Rather questions can be found online.

Pair together students who do not normally play or pair together. The pairs will chat for 2-3 minutes about things they have in common and things that are different. 

Establish beforehand how pairs will share out. Options include:

• Partner shares something about the other: “Something I learned about [partner’s name] is [blank].”
• Pair shares one similarity and one difference “One thing that is the same about us is [blank]. One thing that is different about us is [blank]. 

Suggestions for Success: Initial shares may include common/everyday observations, such as “We are both wearing shorts” or “She has brown hair, and I have black hair.” Challenge students to go beyond these superficial connections. 

Have students turn to their partners and finish the sentence, “Someone important to me is [blank], because [blank].”  

Suggestions for Success: Model filling in the sentence stem and examples of people they could answer with: teacher, aunt/uncle, grandparent, guardian, sibling, friend, etc.

Model the sentence, “If I were a [blank], I would be [blank].” You choose the first blank with a category such as animal, food, sport, weather, feeling, etc. Then pass the share around the circle until all students share. 

Suggestion for Success: Extend the share to include justification. Have students share why they choose what they did.

Identify the students who will be in the sharers that day, approximately 3-4. The first student will be identified to the class and share something that they are happy or excited about. Then they will ask the class, “Who can be happy with me?”

Then the sharer can call on up to three students who share encouraging, empathic statements (such as, “I would want to go there too!” or “I have not been, but I bet you will have a good time.”) At first, these empathic statements will need to be modeled or even offered from a bank (such as, “That’s cool!”, “Sounds fun!”, “Cool!”) until students can build their own.

While students offer empathetic statements, the sharer can give a thumbs up back, smile, or “Thank you.” Once three students have offered empathy statements, instruct the next student to share.

Allow volunteers to share about a teacher chosen topic (movies, sports, books, food) they like for one to two sentences. Teacher can start with an example, “My favorite school lunch is pizza day, because  pizza is my favorite food.” Allow the students to think about the statement and either agree/disagree. Go around the circle (silently is possible) and have students offer a “Me too” connection sign or a thumbs down in disagreement. 

Allow several volunteers to share, allowing classmates to agree/disagree.

Name the sharers for the day (three to four). Check in with these students ahead of time, letting them know they will have one minute during the Morning Meeting to discuss a topic of their choice. If necessary and possible, let the student know the day before.

Identify the first sharer and allow them to share for a minute about a school-appropriate topic of their choice. At the end of the minute, they can say, “Who has any questions?” Allow them to answer three to five students’ questions. 

Repeat for the remaining sharers. This activity can be closed with a teacher facilitate discussion led with reflections such as:

• “I noticed many thoughtful listeners today. Did anyone learn something new?”
• “What was challenging about this activity? Easy?”

Identify the students who will be in the sharers that day, approximately 3-4. The first student will be identified to the class and you will ask the class, “Who has encouragement or a compliment for [student]?”

The student can then call on 3 students with their hands raised. 

While students offer compliments, the sharer can give a thumbs up back, smile, or “Thank you.” Once three students have offered compliments, instruct the next student to share.

As this share is practiced, remind students that compliments should be specific to the receiver and encourage non-appearance based compliments.

Good morning feeling friends,
Today is [day of the week]. All feelings are good feelings! How are you feeling today? Grab a post-it note and draw how you feel. Put it here:

Good morning seeing students,
Today is [day of the week]. Today the cafeteria will serve chicken nuggets, rice, and applesauce. What is one thing that went well at lunch yesterday?

Happy [day of the week],
It is the first day of October. Tomorrow we will have a substitute. Write down in the space below how we will show our guest teacher respect and kindness?

• Looks Like
• Sounds Like

Today is [date].
We have a lot of new learning this week. Albert Einstein said, “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” What is something new you want to try?

Dear friends,
Today we have a new friend joining our class! Their name is [blank]. Think of one friendly way you will welcome them into our class today.  
[record ideas after reading message]

Happy Friday,
Today is [date]. We will go to PE today. Draw or write how your body will be safe in PE here:
We will share this with [PE teacher’s name]. 

Good morning meteorologists, 
Today is [day of the week]. We will have silent work time today, while we work on our science tests. Let’s give each other some encouragement for our test today. Write your encouraging words below:

Today is [date]. 
We will have a guest reader after lunch. What greeting would you like to do during Morning Meeting? Write your name on a post-it note and put it under your vote.

• High-Five
• Hand Shake
• Closed Eye
• Elbow Bump

Good morning pizza lovers,
Today we are going to practice having a safe body in the cafeteria. What ideas do you have to help us stay safe in the cafeteria?[record ideas after reading message]

Within the closing circle, instruct students to silently reflect on their day for a moment and come up with one safe, silent gesture to share with the class. The gesture can represent something the student did or felt. Once ready, have the students go around the circle and silently share their gesture. 

Suggestion for success: Provide a model, such as a smile (something happy that happened) or fake laughing (something funny happened).

Within the circle, prompt students to identify who or what made them happy during the day. Students are encouraged to share but are also able to pass if they choose. Have students each share, “[blank] made me happy.”

Suggestions for Success:

Can vary sentence stems:

• “[blank] made me laugh.”
• “[blank] made me smile.”

Instruct students to think of another student who showed a positive behavior or worked hard that day.

Option to either go around the circle or call on students who are ready to give a specific complement. If students are not ready to give a specific complement, they can finish the sentence, “[Name], worked hard today.”

Standing in a circle, ask for volunteers to share  something new they learned today. The leader steps in, shares, “Today I learned [blank].” If others learn that as well, they step in the circle and say, “Me too!” Students return to the circle edge, and prompt for additional sharers.

Print a copy of your calendar visuals/words to place in a bag or cup. Have students pass the bag around the circle and pull one part of the day out. Have them share a memory or noticing, with “I noticed[blank]” and “I remember [blank].”

Examples:
Math: “I remember that I got to use the computer during stations.”
Lunch: “I noticed that we kept the floor clean today.”

Similar to the 5-4-3-2-1 mindfulness activity, instruct students to close their eyes and recall from the day:

• 5 things they saw.
• 4 things they felt.
• 3 things they heard.
• 2 things they smelled.
• 1 thing they tasted.

Suggestions for Success:

Can be presented as one long activity or paused for students to give answers as to what they saw/felt/heard/smelled/tasted. 

Reinforce the sense they are focusing on by giving examples as to what they might feel, smell, etc. (“I remember we used new counters today… how did those feel when you sorted them… bumpy? Hard? round?”)

At their seats, instruct each student to draw a quick drawing of something they learned today. Then, collect the drawings and have the students come to the circle. Pass out the drawings randomly, giving each student someone else’s drawing. Have them study the drawing and try to guess what that person learned. After providing time to study their new drawing, allow students to share one at a time what they believe that person learned and why. Students can say, “This friend learned about [blank], because today we [blank].” Or, “This friend drew a [blank], and they learned about [blank].”

Option: have the artist reveal themselves and share what they learned. 

Sitting in a circle, have the students turn to a partner and share: two stars (things they did well today) and one wish (something they want to do better tomorrow). 

Share with students that all emotions are ok, and that it is normal to feel many emotions over the course of one school day. Invite friends to share any emotions they felt today, “Today I felt [blank], when [blank].” and invite others to make a connection or “Me too!” symbol.

Suggestion for Success:
You can limit the options by providing the emotions, such as: “Did anyone feel nervous today? When?” Student answers, “I felt nervous, when [blank].” Students make connection signs.

Students will go around the circle playing rock-paper-scissors. The first student begins by turning to the peer next to them and initiating rock-paper scissors. Whoever won the game, waves at their partner. Whoever loses the game, gives a thumbs up to their partner. 

Suggestions for success: Consider modeling rock-paper-scissors and the win/lose responses. 

Offer three options to students: wave, salute, or thumbs up. Model options before the greeting begins. Allow students to choose one of the gestures to greet their neighbor. The neighbor can return the greeting with a gesture of their choice (wave, salute, or thumbs up). 

Suggestions for success: Consider discussing when and why a no-touch greeting (versus a high-five or hand shake) might be appropriate). Sample answers include, in the hallway or lunch or if that person does not want to be touched.

Have your class stand in a circle. Their goal is to safely pass the ball to someone else in the circle without speaking.. One student begins by making eye contact with another student, passing them the ball, then sitting. Once the receiver receives the ball, they pass it to a new student, and sit down. Continue until all students are sitting.

Suggestions for success: Model a safe ball toss and how to make eye-contact with the person to whom you’d like to pass.

Set a 1 minute timer, students must safely walk around the room and greet all of their classmates before the timer goes off.

Suggestions for Success: Start with a longer timer and work your way down to under a minute.

Students will say “Good morning class. I’m curious about [blank].” If someone else is also curious about that, they can show the connection sign.

Suggestions for Success: The teacher can write down the things students said on anchor chart paper. This activity connects with the Positivity Project.

Students take off one shoe and place it in the center of the circle. Take turns choosing a shoe and saying good morning to the owner of the shoe.

Suggestions for Success: You could also use backpacks or water bottles.

Today we will have a chance to greet different classmates! Have students number off 1-3.

• Student 1’s will be graham crackers (hands flat and vertical to be the outside graham crackers of the s’more.
• Student 2’s will be the chocolate and will place their palms flat together.
• Student 3’s will be the marshmallow and ball up both hands together.

Be sure that all students know their number and corresponding hand shape. Tell students that they will need to find their counterparts to create a s’more with one person from each category (graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow.) Once they are grouped together, they can greet each other by saying good morning to each person in the group by name.

Class: “(Student 1), (Student 1), who do you see?
Student 1: “I see (Student 2) looking at me.”
Class: “Good morning (Student 2), who do you see?
Student 2: “I see (Student 3) looking at me.”
Repeat until all students are greeted.

Suggestions for Success: If you are allowing students to choose who to greet randomly, having students sit down once they have been greeted may help to identify who is left.

Class sets a goal for how fast they can all greet one another in a certain order (seat order, in a circle, etc.) 

Each student says “Good morning, everyone” when it is their turn. The timer starts when the first person begins and ends when the last person greets the class. This is a great one to repeat to try to beat your personal best!

Yesterday we read, “{Insert Book}.” If this character were in our class, how would you help him be successful? Students reply, “I would help the character by [blank].” 

Have students finish the sentence frame, “Today I will be responsible in [place], by [blank][blank].” 

Suggestion for Success: Consider having picture options of school places to fill in the sentence frame.

Share an example of a real-life problem at school with students: bus is late, forgot homework, did not pack a snack, was not invited to a birthday party. Allow students think time and encourage multiple solutions. 

Ask the students, “Your friend lied to an adult about who made a mess because they were nervous to get in trouble. What advice would you give this friend?”

Suggestions for Success: This connects to the Integrity week of Positivity Project. Other examples can also be used. Change the scenario to something more fitting for your class. 

Say to the class, “Sometimes, when we’re having a strong emotion. We react in ways that aren’t good for us or others. Think about a time when you reacted that way to a situation. How would you react differently if it happened today?”.Classmates can help students brainstorm different reactions.

Have students think about what would happen if…

• No one cleaned up in the cafeteria
• You came to school whenever you wanted
• You walked around by yourself

After sharing, think about the importance of WHY we have these rules.

Consequences can be positive or negative. Any choice we make can have positive or negative consequences - or even both sometimes!  

For example, let’s imagine that your mom tells you to put your toys away because it’s time for dinner and you choose not to because you are really hungry. What do you think the negative consequences of this would be? And positive consequences?

Think of a choice you made recently and what consequences followed - positive and negative. Share with your partner.

If you had a time machine and could travel in time to the future or the past, which would you choose?

What people would you see, places would you go, or things would you do?

Sometimes, when we are trying to make a difficult decision or think through consequences, making a pros and cons list can help us. When you create a pros and cons list, that means you think of all of the positive outcomes of a decision (“pros”) and all of the possible negative outcomes of a decision (“cons”). Let’s practice this today in groups!

Decisions/situations to consider:

• You don’t do your homework so that you can get to soccer practice on time.
• You stay up late the night before a test playing video games.
• Should you be allowed to eat in class whenever you want?
• Should we have school rules?
• Should we have year long school?

Suggestions for Success: Provide paper for groups to use as they write out their pros and cons lists.

Give the students a category: animals, people, classroom materials, etc. Teacher chooses a mystery item within that category. Students ask questions to determine what the mystery item is. Teacher discretion to limit questions to be open ended or yes/no. Model for students how to narrow down decision making based on answers.

Choose one student as Simon. That student leads a game of Simon Says. Before the game, discuss possible responsible “commands” that Simon could give: jump up and down, tap your head, rub your stomach, wiggle ears, wave, etc.

One student leaves the circle and stands where they cannot see the class; this student will be the guesser. Choose a leader who does a movement, such as tapping their nose or stomping feed. Other students imitate this motion. The guesser returns to the circle. 

The leader changes their movement regularly and the other students imitate. Have the guesser try to find the leader. Allow them up to three guesses.

For today’s activity, we will work on deciding what size different problems are.  The problem sizes we will use are:

• Small problem - you can solve it on your own!
• Medium problem - you need an adult to help you.
• Big problem - it’s an EMERGENCY and you need an adult to help right now!

Show students which problem size is in which corner. Teacher says “I will read a few scenarios and you will go to the corner with the problem size that matches that problem.”

Example scenarios:

• Someone hurt their head while playing on the playground.
• Someone cut you in line.
• Someone pushed you in line by accident.
• Someone said something mean to you in line.
• You don’t understand what the teacher just said when she was giving directions.
• Your pencil broke.

Suggestions for Success: Teacher may want to label each corner with the problem size and review expectations of how students should move from corner to corner.

As you become more responsible, you’ll learn some important time management skills.  Time management means keeping track of time and knowing how long different tasks take to complete. Part of growing up is learning how to fit in things that you have to do and things that you want to do into your schedule.

For today’s activity, you will be given a list of tasks that you need to get done after school. With your group, you will have to come up with a schedule and figure out how you can fit all of the tasks into your schedule!

Divide students up into groups and display the following tasks on the board (or print out copies of the list.)

Challenge: Can you create a schedule that includes ALL of the things you need to do and some of the things you want to do?

After school, today, you need to:

• Walk the dog
• Read for 30 minutes
• Go to the mall to buy a new pair of sneakers
• Go to soccer practice
• Eat dinner

You want to:

• Play outside with your friends
• Play video games
• Eat dessert

What does it mean to be responsible?  Using a carousel, have students brainstorm attributes of what a responsible student looks like and sounds like in different settings.  Divide the class into four groups and post four sheets of paper in the room.  Each paper will have a different environment listed such as classroom, specials, recess, lunch or home.  In small groups, students will rotate to each chart and list 2 ideas for each area.  Signal when it's time for the groups to rotate to the next chart.  Discuss the charts as a whole group as time allows. 

Put students into small groups or partners and have them brainstorm their hopes and needs for the school year. As a teacher, share some of your expectations. After students had time to think, share ideas with the class. Group similar needs and hopes together and summarize. Once you’ve come to a common consensus, have everyone sign.

Put students into groups. Their goal is to come up with steps to make responsible decisions that they can present to the lower grade levels. The steps should be simple to understand.  Have groups share and provide feedback on steps. Come to a common consensus on which steps make the most sense. 

Suggestions for Success: Teachers can decide how they want to give the steps to lower grade levels.

For today’s activity, students will draw or write choices (smart and otherwise). When students are finished, collect student work. As a class, sort them between “Smart Choices” and “Not Smart Choices”. As students are sorting, ask questions about how to turn the Not Smart into Smart choices!

Suggestions for Success: Give students sticky notes to write one choice per sticky. Sort on a t-chart.

Invite students to turn and share with a partner something that was challenging for them today. 

If the language of “problem solver”, “solution” and/or “persevere” is appropriate and has been introduced to the students, invite them to share with their partner how they solved for persevered through the challenge. 

Reflect and share:

1. Triangle: three things learned today.
2. Square: ideas that squared with students’ thinking or that they connected with.
3. Circle: Questions circling their mind.

This can be done as a whole group, partner share, or individually.

Suggestions for success: Consider using a visual of shapes for students to reference and record their thinking.

Have students go around the circle and complete the sentence, “After school, I am going to[blank].” 

Pose the question, “What responsible decisions and choices do you want to make tomorrow?”  Call on a few students to share

Suggestions for Success: Consider making a class goal as well.

Invite students to reflect on ways they were safe or they saw a classmate being safe. Call on a few students to share.

Suggestion for Success: Make this your closing circle the same day as the Safety First! Activity to tie the day together.

Say to the students, “In Morning Meeting, we sorted pictures that were smart choices. What smart choice did you make or see a classmate make?”

Teacher says “One way to make responsible decisions is learning how to get things done that you need to do before moving onto things that you would like to do. What is one thing that you accomplished today?”

When we make a mistake, we should take responsibility for it. That might look like admitting if we do something wrong and apologizing or making it right. Were there any times today that you showed responsibility for your actions when you made a mistake?

Today we learned about thinking through the “pros” and “cons” before making a decision. As you were making decisions throughout the day today, did you think of any pros or cons today?

Sitting in a circle, select the first student to begin. They turn to their neighbor and say, “Hi, my name is [blank]. What is your name.” Neighbor says, “Hi. My name is [blank].”

Neighbor then turns and repeats the activity around the circle.

Sitting in a circle, the teacher will call out a category, such as “students wearing glasses,” “students who play soccer,” “students with an older brother,” etc. 

If students fit into that category, they will move into the circle and greet each other then sit back down. 

Repeat up to three times until all students have been greeted.

For this greeting, allow students to circulate. Teacher will call out topics, such as, find one student who….

• Is wearing the same color as you
• Likes the same food as you
• Is the same age as you
• Sits at your table
• Does not sit at your table
• Etc.

Once they find that student who meets the criteria, have them greet them with a “Hello!” and provide a new category.

Have students stand in a circle or stand facing one another.

Teacher says “Good morning!  Today for our greeting we will be striking a pose!  For our greeting, you will say good morning to the student to your right and strike a pose.  Then, they will respond by saying good morning back to you and copying your pose. They will then say good morning to the student to their right and do their own pose. Let’s brainstorm some poses before we begin.” Some examples may be standing tall with hands on hips, giving a peace sign, giving jazz hands, etc.

Say:  “I’ll start us off.  Good morning [blank]” (strike pose)

Teacher says “There are so many different ways that we communicate! We can use our words, write a message, or use body language. Often, we use more than one way of communicating with others. Today, let’s do a silent greeting where we can only use our body language to greet one another.”

Have students stand in a circle facing one another. Model for students what a greeting may look like without using words (example - waving, smiling, giving a thumbs up, etc.) Each student will have a turn to greet the students on either side of them.

Teacher says “For today’s greeting, we will get a chance to share a hobby of ours. A hobby is an activity that you like to do for fun, such as playing a sport, participating in a club, doing arts and crafts, or playing video games. There are so many different hobbies to choose from!  Take a minute now to think of one hobby of yours that you would like to share today.  Now, think of a motion you could do to show the hobby.  We will greet our classmates by saying “Good morning! I am (your name) and I like to [blank] (motion for hobby.)”

Each student will have a chance to greet the class, share their hobby, and do a motion for the hobby.  

Suggestion for Success: Model the greeting for students. For example: “Good morning! I am (teacher name) and I like to play basketball (pretends to dribble a ball.)

Students will find 5 different people to greet and ask a question. Questions examples include “What do you like to play at recess?”, “Who is your favorite superhero?”, or “What do you like to eat for a snack?

The student will say “My name is [blank] and I can do this!” while performing a simple action. The class will say “Their name is [blank] and they can do this!”.  Go around the circle for everyone to take a turn. Model for the students and then have another student demonstrate.

Students stand in a circle. They will gently toss a ball across the circle to a classmate and greet them by name, “Good morning [blank]!”. The students will take turns until all students have been greeted.

Suggestions for Success: Have students start by standing, then sit down when they’ve been greeted. 

Invite students to sit in a circle. Teacher says “Today we will play a game where we will have a leader and a detective. The detective will leave the room (or close their eyes or turn around) and I will choose a leader.  The leader will choose different motions to do and the class will follow along. It’s important for everyone to pay attention to the leader but not make it obvious so that the detective doesn’t know who the leader is. The detective will have 3 guesses as to who the leader is.”

Suggestions for Success: Before assigning a detective, model what being the leader should look like and show some motions that the leader could use.

Invite students to stand in a circle a little closer than arms-width apart. Teacher says “Today we will grow tall like a tree and then see how our friends can help us create a forest. First, ground your feet into the Earth like the roots of a tree. Then, lift one foot to touch your ankle or calf. Your palms can touch and when you are ready, you can grow your tree branches tall by lifting your arms up and spreading your fingers wide!  Take a few deep breaths here and notice how you feel. Maybe your branches are blowing in the wind if you are a little wobbly! Now let’s connect all of our trees by bringing our arms back behind the person next to us on either side. Take a few deep breaths here. Notice how you feel now - is it easier to balance with the help of your classmates?”

Suggestions for Success: Possible reflection questions:

• How did it feel to practice tree pose on your own?
• How did having your friends support you change your experience?
• What’s one thing that you can do to help your friends in class in other ways throughout the school day?

Today, we will think about all of the different relationships that we have with people in our lives. We’ll start off by creating a small circle in the middle, which is yourself. Then, you will create larger circles around that first one for each of the following categories:

• Family
• Close Friends
• Acquaintances
• Community helpers

Teacher chooses a student to be the leader/mirror. They will move slowly and carefully while standing in one spot. The rest of the class “mirrors” their movements. Prompt the mirror to pass to another student, by pointing to the new mirror, after 10-15 seconds. 

Suggestions for success: Brainstorm and model ways to move safely and carefully without touching others if you are the mirror or mirroring.

Students will be standing in a circle, with the teacher in the center. The teacher will say, “a warm wind blows for anyone who is wearing (a color the teacher is wearing).” All students wearing that color will move into the circle and find a new spot, including the original caller (the teacher). 

The student then standing in the middle of the circle, without a spot will be the new leader. They will say, “A warm wind blows for anyone who (an attribute that applies to them).” The game continues for several rounds.

Suggestions for success: 

Before and as the game is played, offer suggestions of attributes for students to name:

• Clothing color
• Shoe type
• Hair/eye color
• Letter in their name
• Likes to play [blank]

Teacher will call out groupings such as, “Get into groups…

• Of three/four/five
• Where everyone's the same age
• Of the same color shirt
• Of the same bus number”

Students will quickly form and reform groups.

Suggestion for success: Discuss safe ways to move through the room as this activity will require movement.

Students sit in a circle, the student speaking stands and says “I like [blank].” Students who also like this stand up and say “Just like me!” and then sit down.” 

Suggestions for Success: Ask students to make connections with people who liked similar things.

Students must line up in order by their birthday silently. They can use their hands to communicate and should not speak.

Suggestions for Success: Do this activity over multiple days and time students to see if they can beat their time. You can also use a different way to line up, such as height or number order. 

You will need index cards and dot stickers (or something similar). Students must work in small groups to create the tallest towers using the two materials.

Pair students up. With their partner, come up with one word that describes both of their days. Once pairs are ready, share with the group.

Teacher says, “Today I saw many students being leaders in our class. Think of one way you were a leader today.”

Sentence frame: I was a leader when I [blank].

Teacher says, “I noticed students filling up each others’ buckets today (or showing kindness). How did someone fill up your bucket today?”

Sentence frame: [blank] filled my bucket when they [blank].

Today we learned about how to be a good teammate. Did you notice anyone in class that used good teammate skills today?

Sample sentence starter: I noticed that [blank] was a good teammate when they [blank].

Have students stand in a circle and complete the chant - 1-2 times.  

Teacher says “Let’s form a circle for our closing activity.  We have done an amazing job, thinking about others and showing empathy!  Let's celebrate our progress as we end our day. We are going to do a class chant.” (Model one time and then do as a group 1-2 times.) 

 “We’re gonna give . . . this . . . group a hand.
We’re gonna give this group a hand. (Clap twice)
We’re gonna give . . . this . . . group a hand.
We’re gonna give this group a hand. (Clap twice)
So raise your hands up in the air, (Raise hands)
And wave to your neighbor . . . right there. (Turns and waves to neighbors’ shoulders)

Teacher says “Earlier today we talked about empathy. We learned that empathy is when you notice how someone else is feeling and you show them that you care. You can use your words or body language to show that you care. Did you notice anyone that used empathy today?”

Sample sentence starter: I noticed that [blank] showed empathy when they [blank].

Teacher says, “How did you stand up for or defend a friend today?”

Teacher says, “How did you help a friend solve a problem today?”

Teacher says, “Let’s give some shoutouts to people who helped us today. Who helped you and what did they help you with?”