Morning Message Idea: What Do You Know?

Use a message like this one to tap students’ prior knowledge and engage them in their learning.

(7+5)/(30–10)/(2020–9)

Good Morning, Geometry Greats!

Today, we are going to begin having fun with geometry. Do you know the mystery word that solves this puzzle? We’ll fill in the answer together during Morning Meeting.

Mystery word: __ __ __ __ __ __ __

HINT: It has something to do with geometry and this message.  ☺

What other words come to your mind when you think of geometry? Write them below.

Working With the Morning Message:

1. Have students use mental math to solve the date math problem on the message (The answer is 12/20/2011). Invite a student to read the message aloud.
2. Briefly discuss what students know about geometry. For example, ask, “Based on the words you wrote, how would you define geometry? What do you like about geometry? Dislike?”
3. Call on students to guess a letter of the mystery word (hexagon). Fill in letters as they guess. Once the word is spelled out, everyone counts to three and says the word. Then discuss its meaning.

Tip for Success:

• Before a student reads the message, ask the rest of the class, “What will your job be as the audience when [student’s name] is reading the message?”

Skills: geometry, vocabulary

Variation:

• Use this format to help students access prior knowledge in any content area.