Real talk: mornings are one of the hardest times in the classroom. Attendance. Lunch orders. Unpacking. Small talk. Notes from home. Announcements. Morning meetings. Morning work.
And let’s not forget about the time spent prior to students’ arrival; early mornings in your classroom can make you feel like you are playing one giant game of Whack-a-Mole as you desperately try to complete 673 tasks before your classroom fills with chaos in the form of well-meaning, enthusiastic learners.
A couple of years ago, I was no stranger to mad dashes to the copier seconds before the bell rang; it was only on my really lucky days that I arrived to no line and a machine that was willing to cooperate (which, let’s be honest, are about as common as unicorn-sightings).
Armed with my stack of morning work, I’d make sure all of the students received a page upon arrival, and then I proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes juggling my daily tasks while also repeating directions no less than 25 times as students trickled in from buses, breakfast, and the car line.
It is enough activity to make a person dizzy with exhaustion–all before the day even truly begins. It’s not fair to the teacher or the students to start the day on such a hurried, pressured note.
Mad dashes and repeated directions are a recipe for teacher insanity, and I put up with it way too long before I realized I needed a change. That is when Practically Paperless Morning Work was born.
This morning journal system will save you time and sanity while also growing your students’ writing skills. It also relaxes your students and encourages focus by playing calming classical music as they write. This is a win-win-WIN for all parties involved! Let me break it down for you:
1. Zero Morning Prep
Literally, all you have to do is turn on your whiteboard and display the day’s morning journal prompt. That is IT.
2. No Morning Copies & (Practically) No Paper
Students respond to each prompt in a spiral notebook. (Bonus: this serves as an amazing writing portfolio and parent-teacher conference conversation piece!) You also get frequent access to gems like this that make you giggle and swell with pride:
3. Student-Friendly Morning Journal Prompts
On the left side of the screen, the morning journal prompt is displayed. On the right side of the screen, the students view the layout of their morning notebook page as well as any sentence frames, dates, etc. that might help them with their written response. This means YOU can actually complete your morning tasks without answering a bajillion questions and repeating directions until you are blue in the face!
4. Predictable & Exciting Morning Journal Prompts
Morning prompts follow a schedule (viewed in the table below) that makes kids excited as they anticipate the day’s prompt and also reinforces the student-friendly nature outlined in #3!*
5. Calming & Focus-Oriented Morning Work
Version 1: This is a pack of non-seasonal prompts that can be used for an entire year at any time throughout the year. Click your preferred grade level photo below to view the full listing.
Version 2: This is a pack of prompts that can be used for an entire year that follows a seasonal schedule (for example, a week of pumpkin-themed prompts in October). Click your preferred grade level photo below to view the full listing!
And that is that, my friends! Kiss your hectic mornings goodbye and go hug your whiteboard as you welcome a year of calming, smooth beginnings.
Arm you with high-quality tools: Sleep peacefully at night knowing you’re doing what’s best for your students.
Save your energy: Provide resources that cost you little energy (that stuff is precious)---but have high impact on your students.
Light your spark: Putting fun back into your classroom after the hardest teaching years can be just what you and your students need.
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