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All About Us Chat

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Lesson Plan

All About Us Chat Plan

Students will listen actively and share personal interests using guided prompts to build a supportive classroom community in a 15-minute morning meeting.

Creating a welcoming environment on day one helps students feel seen, increases engagement, and fosters empathy and connection among peers.

Audience

2nd Grade

Time

15 minutes

Approach

Use a talking stick and guided questions to structure quick, respectful sharing.

Materials

  • Talking Stick or Soft Ball, - Name Tags or Stickers, - Chart Paper, - Marker, and - Timer or Watch

Prep

Prepare Materials

5 minutes

  • Write each student’s name on a name tag or sticker so they’re ready at greeting time
  • On chart paper, list 3–4 simple prompt questions (e.g., “What’s your favorite book?” “What do you love to do after school?”)
  • Have a talking stick or soft ball accessible for turn-taking
  • Set your timer or watch to track each segment
  • Review All About Us Chat Plan for flow and reminders

Step 1

Welcome & Greeting

1 minute

  • Gather students in a circle
  • Greet everyone by name, modeling friendly eye contact and tone
  • Explain today’s quick community-building chat

Step 2

Warm-Up Check-In

3 minutes

  • Pose a simple question (e.g., “How are you feeling this morning?”)
  • Invite 3–4 volunteers to share using the talking stick
  • Model active listening: look at speaker, nod, smile

Step 3

Main Sharing Activity

8 minutes

  • Introduce the prompt questions on chart paper
  • Pass talking stick around circle; each student answers one prompt of their choice
  • Encourage 10–15 seconds per student to keep pace
  • If time runs short, invite students to share in pairs after the circle

Step 4

Cool-Down & Reflection

3 minutes

  • Place talking stick in center and invite students to say one word describing how they feel now
  • Offer positive feedback on listening and sharing efforts
  • Transition to next activity with a cheerful clap or class chant
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Slide Deck

All About Us Chat

Welcome to our 15-minute Morning Meeting!
Let’s get to know each other and build our classroom community.

Welcome everyone to our first morning meeting of the year! Introduce yourself and explain that today we’ll do a quick community‐building chat called “All About Us Chat.” Encourage students to listen carefully and have fun sharing.

Our Goals Today

• Listen actively when others share
• Share one of your interests or favorites
• Build a supportive classroom community

Point out each objective and explain why it matters: listening helps us be good friends, sharing helps classmates learn about each other, and building community makes school feel safe.

Prompt Questions

Choose one to answer:
• What’s your favorite book?
• What do you love to do after school?
• Who is someone you admire and why?
• What’s one thing that makes you happy?

Display this slide as a chart or poster. Read each prompt aloud. Tell students they’ll choose one question to answer in our main sharing activity.

Warm-Up Check-In

  1. I’ll ask, “How are you feeling this morning?”
  2. We’ll use the talking stick for 3–4 volunteers.
  3. Listen by looking at the speaker and nodding.

Explain that first we’ll do a quick check-in. Model answering “I feel excited!” Hold the talking stick to demonstrate turn taking.

Main Sharing Activity

• Pass the talking stick around the circle
• Each student picks one prompt question to answer
• Speak for about 10–15 seconds
• If we run out of time, share with a partner next!

Remind students to keep answers brief (10–15 seconds) so everyone gets a turn. Monitor pace and gently guide students if they go over time.

Cool-Down & Reflection

  1. Place the talking stick in the center.
  2. Say one word about how you feel now.
  3. Teacher shares positive feedback.
  4. Let’s end with a clap or chant!

Invite each student to say one word about how they feel now. Praise their listening and sharing. End with a class chant or cheerful clap to transition.

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Warm Up

Feeling Scale Check-In

Duration: 3 minutes

Materials: Feeling Scale visual (1–5 icons from very sad to very happy)

Objective: Quickly gauge how students are feeling to inform your tone and support as the day begins.

Instructions:
1. Display the Feeling Scale visual where everyone can see it.
2. Explain each number/icon:
• 1 = Very sad or upset
• 2 = A little sad
• 3 = Okay or neutral
• 4 = Happy
• 5 = Very happy or excited
3. Ask students to show their feeling by holding up the matching number of fingers or pointing to the icon on the board.
4. (Optional) Invite 2–3 volunteers to briefly share why they chose their number.

Use this quick check-in to notice who might need extra support and to celebrate those who come in feeling great!

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Cool Down

One-Word Reflection

Duration: 3 minutes
Materials: Chart paper or whiteboard; Marker; Talking stick (optional)

Objective: Students share a concise reflection by naming one word that captures how they feel after today’s meeting.

Instructions:

  1. Display a chart or whiteboard titled “One Word Reflection.”
  2. Explain: “I’d like each of you to share one word that describes how you feel after our All About Us Chat.”
  3. Pass the talking stick (or marker) around the circle; when it’s your turn, say your word and watch me write it next to your name.
  4. After everyone shares, invite volunteers to read aloud a few of the words they see.
  5. Celebrate the variety of feelings (e.g., “I see lots of excited and happy!”), give positive feedback on listening, and close with a group clap or chant to smoothly transition to the next part of your day.
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