Contents Page 3: How to Teach Greetings

Pages 4-11: Greeting Cards

Page 12: EDITABLE Greeting Cards ***Use these cards to type your own greetings that you or your students may invent, or greetings you learn from other teachers.

Pages 13-15: Partner Match-up instructions, suggestions, and editable cards

To Assemble: Print Greeting Cards on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Punch a hole in the corner of each card and place on a binder ring for convenient access during Morning Meeting!

For Partner Match-up Cards, print on cardstock, laminate, and store in ziplock baggies labeled with the designated skill.

How to Teach Greetings The “Greeting” is the first component of Responsive Classroom’s Morning Meeting, and is a terrific way for students

to practice healthy, respectful communication skills, not to mention begin the school day on a positive note! Appropriate greetings must be explicitly taught, modeled, practiced by students, and reinforced appropriately in

order for them to be optimally beneficial in the classroom.. As you introduce Greetings at the beginning of the school year, emphasize the following expectations:

*Eye contact *Clear speaking voice with appropriate volume and friendly tone

*Stating the other student’s name *Smiling

*Safe, appropriate touches

Students are seated in a circle for Morning Meeting, either on the carpet or in chairs. I find it helpful to have a classroom job called the “Morning Meeting Master,” and that student is responsible for beginning the greeting for the duration of the week. As students gain mastery and control over Morning Meeting, I will allow the Morning Meeting

Master to choose the greeting each day. Also, it is important to promote an atmosphere of kindness and respect for others during Morning Meeting, emphasizing that there will be a time for silly greetings,

but self-control is still expected.

To experience the full benefits of Responsive Classroom’s social curriculum, I would highly recommend that you attend a workshop and/or purchase resource books from the following website.: https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/store

Morning Meeting

Greetings

Friendly Touch

Students pass a friendly handshake, hug, high five, or “fist bump” around the circle and greet each other by saying, “Good

Morning, ___(student’s name)!” Ensure to model and practice safe, appropriate

touches when introducing this greeting.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

One at a time, greet each student around the circle as a whole class by chanting, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! Who’s in our room?” {Motions = pat-

pat-clap-clap-pat-pat-clap-clap} The child then says his or her name and the whole class responds by

saying, “Good Morning, ___(student’s name)!”

Knock Knock Students pass this greeting to one another around the

circle by “knocking” on the shoulder of the child next to them.

Student A: “Knock Knock” Student B: “Who’s there?”

Student A: (states first name) Student B: “(first name) Who?”

Student A: (states first and last name) Whole class responds: “Good Morning, ____!”

Brown Bear Students pass the following greeting

around the circle: Student A: “student’s name, student’s name,

What do you see?” Student B: “I see (other student’s name)

smiling at me!”

Greeting-a-Round Split and arrange students into an inside circle and an outside circle, both facing the inside and holding hands.

Students rotate in opposite directions and chant the following: “Round I go, friendly I’ll be!

Round and round, what do I see? I see a friend, looking at me!”

On the word “me” the inside circle jumps around to face the outside circle and greets whoever is facing them.

Repeat 2 more times.

Hand Stack

Students pass this greeting to one another around the circle by taking turns stacking hands. The

child starting the greeting begins the hand stack on the bottom, and students take turns stacking up five times. After the fifth stack, both students

“peek” under their hand stack and say, “Good Morning, ____(student’s name)!”

Toss It! Students toss or roll a small object across the circle to greet a friend, such as a tennis ball, bean bag, or stuffed animal. To ensure “safe

tossing,” have students state the other student’s name before tossing or rolling.

Students who haven’t yet been greeted can hold their hands out and open.

Rock-Paper-Math

Students pass this greeting around the circle by playing “Rock-Paper-Math” similar to “Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

On the word “Math,” students each hold up a number of fingers (1-10) and either add them together or multiply,

depending on the age levels and abilities of your students. You can also limit students to only using one hand

(numbers 1-5). The first person who states the correct sum or product wins, and then both students say, “Good

Morning, ___(student’s name)!”

Awesome Alliterations This is a whole class greeting. One at a time around the circle, each student states an alliteration that goes with their first name (i.e. Excellent Ellie, Kind Kamden). Older

students will be able to come up with adjectives or verbs while younger students may come up with any word that starts with the first letter in their first name. After the

student states their alliteration,, the whole class greets him or her by that name (i.e. “Good Morning, Excellent Ellie!)

Butterfly

Students pass this greeting to one another around the circle by linking thumbs and “fluttering” their hands

together to make a butterfly. They also greet each other by saying,

“Good Morning, ____(student’s name)!”

Shoe Twister Students each take off one shoe and place it in a pile in the

middle of the circle. One at a time, students draw a shoe out of the pile without looking and try to match it to its owner. When the owner is found, students greet one

another by saying, “Good Morning, ___ (student’s name)!” The greeted student is then next to draw a shoe.

***This greeting can also be done with hats or sunglasses on

special days!***

Reel the Fish

Students pass this greeting to one another around the circle. The person beginning the greeting “swims” their arms toward the other

student while making a fish face. The student being greeted “reels” in the fish.

They also greet each other by saying, “Good Morning, ____(student’s name)!”

Warm Fuzzies You may choose to pass this greeting in order

around the circle, however, I prefer to pair students randomly. Place a basket of popsicle

sticks or cards with students’ names in the center of the circle. Students take turns drawing names,

then both paired students give each other a compliment or “warm fuzzy.”

30 Second Greeting

This is an ideal greeting to use when you are short on time! Students greet as many other classmates as they can in 30 seconds. Make sure to emphasize the importance of “quality”

greetings over “quantity” of greetings. You may also extend this greeting as a

“One Minute Greeting.”

Lumberjack Students pass this greeting to one

another around the circle by clasping their four fingers together, then “sawing” their

arms back and forth like a lumberjack. They also greet each other by saying,

“Good Morning, ____(student’s name)!”

Holiday Greetings

Instead of saying “Hello” to one another, students use one of the following holiday greetings:

Halloween = Boo, (student’s name)! Thanksgiving = Gobble, Gobble, (student’s name)!

Christmas = Ho, Ho, Ho, (student’s name)! Valentine’s Day = Be Mine, Valentine (student’s name)!

Miss Mumbles This is a silly greeting that always brings lots of laughs around the circle! The student beginning the greeting says, “(student’s name), have you seen Miss Mumbles?” and the other child responds by saying, “No I haven’t,

(student’s name), but I’ll ask my neighbor!” The silly part is that both students must speak with their lips

covering their teeth!

The Weekend is Near

This is a whole class greeting for each student around the circle.

Whole Class: “Hello, (student’s name), the weekend is near! What are YOU gonna do when it get’s here?”

Student: “I’m gonna ___, ___, ___!” (must be a verb, i.e. “I’m gonna play, play, play!”)

Whole Class: (repeats student) “He’s/She’s gonna ___, ___, ___!”

Greetings in Other Languages Students say “Hello” to one another in a

different language of your choice. Suggestions:

Spanish = Hola French = Bonjour

German = Guten Tag Chinese = Ni hao

Milk the Cow

Students pass this greeting to one another around the circle. The person beginning the greeting holds their fists together and thumbs down

to make “udders” and the student being greeted “milks the cow” by pulling down on his

or her thumbs. They also greet each other by saying, “Good Morning, ____(student’s name)!”

The Cheer This is a whole class greeting around the

circle. Students chant the following:

“2, 4, 6, 8! Who do we appreciate? (student’s name), (student’s name),

Gooooo, (student’s name)!”

Formal Greeting

Students pass a friendly handshake around the circle and address one another as “Mr.” or “Miss” with the

student’s first or last name.

Did You Know? This greeting is perfect to review new content for a

science, social studies, or thematic unit. Students think of one fact they’ve learned about a topic of your choice.

(i.e. magnets, butterflies, Native Americans) and use the following greeting:

Student A: “Good Morning, (student’s name)! Did you know _____ (fact)?”

Student B: “Good Morning, (student’s name)!” Either “Yes, I know!” or “No, I didn’t know!”

Jump In, Jump Out

This is a whole class greeting around the circle. One at a time, each child does the actions while the whole class chants:

Jump in! (child jumps in) Jump out! (child jumps out)

Turn yourself about! (child turns) We want to know your name, so please shout it out!

(child states name) Good Morning, (student’s name)!

Skip Die Students stand in a circle and take turns rolling a die in

the center of the circle. The student beginning the greeting rolls the die, then counts that many students

around the circle. For example, if the child rolls a 4, he or she counts to the fourth student, then greets that

student. The students trade places and the next student rolls the die. After a child has been greeted, he or she sits down. Continue the greeting until all students are seated.

Hello Neighbor

Pat, Snap, Clap This is a whole class greeting around the circle.

Students use the following motions:

Pat, Pat Clap, Clap

Snap, Snap (“Good Morning, (student’s name)!”) *Words are said on the snaps.*

Split and arrange students standing and in an inside circle and an outside circle, facing each other.

Students chant the following: “Hello, neighbor! What do you say? It’s going to be a wonderful day!

So clap your hands, (students clap hands together) and boogie on down, (students twist)

give me a bump, (hip bump), and turn around!” Rotate students and repeat 2 more times.

Sparkle

This greeting is a favorite among students and a great way to review spelling words before a test! You’ll want to allow at least 15-20 minutes for this greeting. All students stand in a circle and the

teacher calls out a spelling word. Students spell the word, with each student stating one letter. After the word is spelled, the next student restates the word, the next student says, “Sparkle!” and

the next student sits down. The whole class greets the student who sits down by saying, “Good Morning, (student’s name)!” Continue

playing until all students are seated and there is one winner.

Draw and Greet Place a basket of popsicle sticks or cards with students’ names in the center of the circle. One at a time, students draw out a

name and greet that student by saying, “Good Morning, (student’s name)!”

The student drawn is next to continue the greeting.

Variations: Use photos of students or have older students write “clues”

about themselves for the greeter to guess his or her identity.

Match-ups

Partner match-up cards are a great way for students to greet each other AND review

content areas skills for language arts and math. See pages 13-15 for instructions and

suggestions for partner-match up skills, as well as sets of editable cards that you can

customize to meet the needs of your students.

Floppy Fish Students pass this greeting to one

another around the circle. The person beginning the greeting “flops” their arm along the other student’s arm length. They also greet each other by saying,

“Good Morning, ____(student’s name)!”

Partner Match-ups The cards on the following pages can be EDITED with content of your choice for a partner match-up greeting. Pass out a card to each student and they have to find their “match” to

greet. Once they find their partner, they can sit down together, and matches can be shared aloud with the class once all partners are found.

Suggestions for Content:

Uppercase and lowercase letters Subjects and predicates

Contractions and word pairs Compound words

Spelling patterns with letters missing Vocabulary and definitions

Basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts and answers Numbers and expanded form The possibilities are limitless!

Partner Match-ups: Set 1 Type inside boxes to edit content.

Partner Match-ups: Set 2 Type inside boxes to edit content.

Credits

Graphics &/or fonts copyright

Dianne J Hook. www.djinkers.com,

License # 0824203228

Created by Brooke Brown THANK YOU for your purchase!

I’d very much appreciate your feedback!

https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/