If you’ve ever found yourself looking around your classroom in the morning and thinking things are a little…. Chaotic, then this post with morning work activities is for you! We’ve all been there, especially as newer teachers. There are just so many things going on each morning (attendance, notes from home, homework collection, lunch counts, announcements, students with stories to tell from the night before… the list goes on and on!). That’s why it’s so important to have a consistent routine with meaningful morning work that sets the tone for work each day.

The Benefits of Morning Work

Incorporating structured morning work activities can set a positive tone for the day, enhance learning outcomes, and create a conducive environment for student growth and development.

Routine and Focus: Structured morning work activities help establish a routine at the beginning of the day, allowing students to transition smoothly into the learning mode. We all need a little time to get focused and mentally prepared for the day as we switch gears! 

Review and Practice: Morning work activities can include review exercises on previous lessons or practice problems in various subjects. This allows students to reinforce their learning, retain information better, and build confidence in their skills.

Engagement and Participation: Morning work activities promote active participation and reduce distractions by engaging students in meaningful tasks right from the start. This sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.

Independent Work Skills: Many morning work activities encourage independence as students learn to manage their time, follow instructions, and work on tasks individually. This promotes self-reliance and responsibility.

How To Create a Morning Work Routine

Your morning routine will vary based on your school’s schedule, but a consistent start to the morning is a must-have for every classroom. You can read more about the 3 parts of our morning routine in this post. Our morning typically includes a soft start while waiting for all students to arrive, morning work to help students warm up for the day while I take care of housekeeping tasks., and a morning meeting to build community. 

This post focuses on the morning work portion and how to use it for review and critical thinking. Tip: You don’t have to do the same activity every single day, but having a routine will help cut down on the amount of directions (and questions!) needed every day.

Here are some of the best morning work activities.

Skill of the Day

Skill of the Day Journals are my favorite morning work activities because they consistently review key skills throughout the year. With so many skills to cover in each subject, students sometimes forget the details of skills learned earlier in the year. A spiral review keeps all skills fresh, all year! There are also assessment options each week to help you make sure all students are on track and inform your small group lesson topics.

Reading Skill of the Day is available for 2nd/3rd and 4th/5th grades. It also has weekly quick checks for assessment!

Language Skill of the Day for 4th-6th grades reviews key language arts and grammar skills for student success! Language assessments are available too!

Math Skill of the Day for 3rd, 4th, or 5th grades provides provide the perfect amount and type of review and practice to keep skills sharp. There are quick checks for each grade level too.

Grade Level Bundles

When you need it all, these grade-level bundles include weekly journals and assessments for each applicable subject!

• Third Grade
• Fourth Grade
• Fifth Grade

Free Week

Want to see how Skill of the Day works for your students? Visit this post to download a free week for each subject!

Morning Meeting Question Slides

These daily morning work question slides will enrich your daily routine with fun and thought-provoking questions that spark curiosity and discussion. Each question encourages students to think critically and express their ideas. This daily practice helps develop their reasoning, problem-solving, and communication skills… all essential for their academic growth!

The questions are perfect for kick-starting class discussions, so they’re a great addition to your morning meeting each day. The questions encourage students to share their thoughts and listen to others, promoting a collaborative and inclusive classroom environment.

Daily Writing and Self-Reflection Journal

Daily journals are the perfect tool to build essential writing skills while incorporating a growth mindset, self-reflection, and character development. It’s the ultimate way to incorporate SEL with writing standards. 

Each daily journal is two pages:

• Page one is the self-reflection piece where students are prompted to think about their lives, emotions, and character.
• Page two is a more in-depth journal prompt. Here, students are given a full page to create a variety of writing. Students will create personal narratives, use critical thinking, write letters, reflect on an experience, and more!

Think It Through

My students complete Think it Through at least one morning a week (and then use it as an early finisher option any time of day). This can also tie into morning meeting because we discuss that week’s content as our sharing activity every Friday. 

Think It Through includes 45 weeks of activities designed to extend your students’ creative, critical, and reflective thinking. Each week includes three sections:

• Each of the 45 sheets begins with a child-friendly quote to interpret. I have found that interpreting quotes challenges students to really think about what they are reading and helps with the tricky skill of inference. 
• The second activity always has something to do with words and vocabulary building.
• The third activity varies, but often has some connection to an event or date during that week.

Critical Thinking Brain Busters

These Critical Thinking Brain Busters help students increase their logical reasoning in a way that’s so much fun.  180 days of activities mean you’re covered for the whole school year and a wide variety of activities keeps students interested and motivated all year!