Staring the day off at school is a great way to connect learning and fun. Thinking outside the box to include some hands-on and interactive activities for morning work can be very helpful in keeping students engaged and getting into a positive mindset for the learning ahead! Try these activities for morning work in your second-grade classroom!
1. Word Sorts
Word sorts can provide extra practice for spelling or phonics skills. Prep them by laminating and storing them in tubs or bags and you’ll have a ready-made morning work activity anytime!
Learn more: Second Story Window
2. Phonics Review Practice
Daily reading morning work can include phonics review practice with these easy-to-print worksheets. These can also be laminated and put into morning work tubs. Chang them outreach week so your weekly skills match your morning assignment!
Learn more: Lucky Little Learners
3. Parts of Speech Practice
Grammar practice is a great way to review parts of speech for morning work. These practice pages are great for practicing essential grammar skills.
Learn more: Lucky Little Learners
4. Morning Task Tubs
A fun morning tub activity is including hands-on and critical thinking tasks. Think outside the box and include tasks that encourage social skills and motor skills as well.
Learn more: Lindsey Kuster
5. Kaboom Money Game
Games like Kaboom are a fun alternative to regular seatwork. This type of morning work also provides an opportunity for students to work together. Kaboom can be played with many math, reading, or language arts skills.
Learn more: Second Grade Style
6. Phonics Search
Independent learning activities like these phonic printables are great ways to review and provide lots of practice with new skills. You could laminate and reuse or print as needed.
Learn more: Jessica Diary
7. Money Maker
Hands-on and practical for life skills, moneymaker tubs are great for morning work! include task cards to help students count money in different ways. You could include a recording sheet or a math worksheet to add another element to this morning work.
Learn more: Mrs. Beattie's Classroom
8. Domino Addition
Domino addition is great for morning work or a math center. This is a good morning tub idea so students can have this and other options for choosing math review games.
Learn more: Mrs. Beattie's Classroom
9. Writing Predictions
When mornings are rushed and busy, these minute prep, easy-to-store think and predict activities are ideal. The pictures encourage thinking, comprehension skills, and writing. You could even include partner work to encourage collaboration and listening and speaking skills.
Learn more: My Kind of Teaching
10. Poems and Building
A frantic morning calls for a quick and easy, strategy-based morning tub option. These promote hands-on activity poem riddles for students to read and develop their critical thinking skills.
Learn more: My Kind of Teaching
11. Sight Word Bowling
Sight word bowling will be a fun start to your school day! Use grade-level sight words or review 1st-grade sight words in this literacy-based bowling game. Get more sight word game ideas here.
Learn more: My Primary Paradise
12. Place Value Matching
Place value is such a critical concept for students to understand. Use morning work time to match numbers with their base ten representations. Students could record this in a morning work notebook or journal as well. Check out more place value game ideas here.
Learn more: Playdough to Plato
13. Telling Time Match Up
Matching games are always good options for morning work. Telling time is a complex skill that students need lots of practice in order to master. These simple matching games can be great for practicing telling time. You can even include a way to double-check through an answer key!
Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
14. Roll It, Add It
The Roll it, Add it game is tons of fun and can be done alone or with a partner. This is morning work that can be part of a morning work tub and allows for several choices for students to do each morning.
Learn more: My Fabulous Class
15. Pizza Fractions
Fractions are tough for most kiddos but using this pizza fraction pack game can spark interest and engagement. This is ideal for partner play during morning work. This spin and cover game is also good for reinforcing turn-taking and other social skills.
Learn more: So Cal Field Trips
16. Skip Counting Lacing Plates
Skip counting is a needed skill that is often underestimated in importance. These lacing plates are cheap and easy to make from basic classroom essentials. All you need is a paper plate, hole punch, sharpie, and yarn. These can be done for skip counting by 2, 5, 10, or even larger numbers.
Learn more: 123 Homeschool 4 Me
17. Dino Contractions
Dino contractions are a great way to start your morning procedures. These printable papers are a good review of skills. This could be part of a morning work pack or morning work tub and could include an answer key so students can check their work as they finish each skill review.
Learn more: Amy Lynn
18. Stencil Stories
Morning routines have never been more fun than when you throw in some stencil stories to your 2nd grade morning work. Give students a stencil and a word bank and let their creative thoughts run! Review later and focus on 2nd grade skills, like complete sentences and adding detail to your writing.
Learn more: Mrs. Winter's Bliss
19. Noun Hunt
These grammar practice sheets are a great addition to a morning work pack. Noun hunts are good for seeing how well students grasp the concept of parts of speech. You could do a verb hunt or adjective hunt as well. Use pictures for hunting the parts of speech or do it around the room in your classroom.
Learn more: Keeping My Kiddo Busy
20. Newsletters
Newsletters are a great way to include writing into morning work time. Students can write about their day at school and have daily practice with sequencing events, writing sentences, and reading to peers about what they wrote.
Learn more: Around the Kampfire
37 Engaging Earth Day Activities for Elementary Students