The importance of quality morning work is often overlooked in the elementary classroom. Your morning routine is the perfect time to set the stage for the day and sneak in some valuable learning time. If done right, your morning routine can be one of the most significant parts of your instructional day. Morning work should be a manageable, relevant, and useful teaching tool. After years of teaching and trying out many different resources, I’m here to help you get the most out of your morning work and your morning routine!
Grab my FREE Morning Routine Checklist at the end of this post!
Why Use Morning Work in Your Classroom?
Why should I have morning work? THIS is the question I get asked often. The answer is more straightforward than you think.
- Morning work acts as a transition for students. It takes them from what could be a chaotic morning and gets them ready to learn.
- Time is valuable. Having morning work that is effective can turn twenty random minutes in your day into quality learning time.
- It sets the tone for the day. Again, this is about getting students ready to learn.
- It reduces behavior issues. Instead of trying to “calm” students when you are ready to teach, students are ready for learning.
Characteristics of Quality Morning Work
There is “good” morning work, and there is “bad” morning work. If you are giving your students something to do just to keep them busy, that is not quality morning work. Don’t beat yourself up over it, because we have all been there. However, when you do find the right resource, magical things can happen. Here is what I ask myself when looking for a quality morning work program.
- Is it manageable? To be effective, morning work should be doable. Students should be able to complete it in the allotted amount of time. Think of it like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” You want your morning work to be “just right.” If my focus is math, I like to give about 6-8 problems (depending on the concepts). For reading, a passage with just a few questions is ideal.
- Is it relevant? Any work that is given should be relevant to what your students have learned or the skills you would like them to master. I always make sure my morning work is directly aligned with my grade-level standards and reviews the skills I know my students are required to learn.
- Is it useful? When I say “useful,” I mean, is the work providing you with insights into your students’ progress? As a teacher, are you able to use the work assigned to see where your students are and where they still need help? For me, this is the most critical criterion for quality morning work. This is one of the main reasons I use a spiral review system in my classroom.
Spiral Review as Morning Work
After years of trying out new strategies for my morning routine, I finally tried a spiral review system. To put it simply, spiral review is when you consistently review concepts with students. What goes around comes around. You can read more about spiral review in the classroom in another post. Here is why it works so beautifully.
- Spiral reviews are short and manageable.
- The repetitive format increases independence, which is precisely what you need this time of day.
- Students get time to practice skills they have learned on a daily basis.
- Teachers can collect data and see where students still need help (progress monitoring).
- The data can be used to drive future instruction.
Here is a photo of what my spiral review morning work looks like for math, reading, and grammar.
Set Clear Expectations for Your Morning Routine
As teachers, we set expectations for every single part of our day. Our morning routine is no exception. When you are setting up your expectations, here are a few key points you will want to consider.
- Talking or no talking? I always suggest allowing students time to socialize first thing in the morning. Just like us, they have a lot on their mind and are more than likely anticipating seeing their friends. Decide how much socializing time is okay and set those expectations.
- Stay seated or move around? Depending on what you are trying to accomplish during your morning routine, you may decide students can either move around the room or stay in their seats.
- The checklist. What do you want your students to accomplish? Grab my free morning routine checklist below to help you plan it out!
Establish a Morning Routine
This is where you will need to decide what it is you want your students to accomplish each day. For me, it is simple. Here is my morning routine checklist:
- Unpack backpack and place all homework in the designated location.
- Turn in any papers or forms.
- Eat breakfast (this depends on your school).
- Complete daily spiral review morning work.
I try to keep my list simple, three to five tasks at most. Morning time should not cause stress, but it should also be productive and set the tone for the day. One thing I do want to mention: I do allow my students to socialize during the first three tasks. However, once morning work has begun, my students get focused on the work and talking stops.
My Weekly Morning Routine
At this point, I’m sure you understand why a spiral review is a great tool in the morning. However, you may be wondering what this looks like in the classroom.
- On Monday, I start by placing a new spiral review sheet on each student’s desk. Sometimes I focus on math, while other times I focus on reading and grammar. That depends on your students’ needs.
- Each morning, students complete one column.
- Before the day begins, I take about 5-8 minutes to review the answers. I often project the answer key on the board, and we discuss.
- On Friday, instead of their typical spiral review sheet, my students get a mini-quiz that explicitly targets the skills they have been reviewing all week.
- This assessment is what I use to collect data on where my students are currently performing and where they still need help.
Encourage Independence and Time Management
By giving students a list of tasks they must complete in a specified amount of time, we are encouraging them to be more independent, take responsibility for their own actions and choices, and improve their time management skills. As we all know, some students will excel in this area, and some students will need lots of additional support. Either way, students need to be presented with these types of opportunities if they are going to develop strong time-management and organizational habits.
Free Morning Routine Checklist
My morning routine checklist walks you through everything to think about as you plan your own routine. Just click the button below to grab it!
Morning Work Resources
Click your grade level to take a closer look!
I hope these tips help you start every day on the right foot! You can learn more about the spiral review resources I use for morning work in my posts on math spiral review and the daily reading review.
NOW AVAILABLE…
One Stop Teacher Memberships
Our grade-level memberships provide the BIGGEST savings on ALL One Stop Teacher Resources! Get 24/7 access to a library of highly effective, student-approved educational resources.
