First Day of School Activities

Rules: Grade Any Get your students off on the right foot. I ask my students write the school rules and classroom rules. We do this together rather than me just telling them and posting them. Getting them involved in doing this seems to make them feel in a way that they should not break the rules they made themselves. Of course the rules are the ones I would have posted anyway. Submitted by: Theresa Youssef Peek into Summer Divide a bulletin board into "window panes," using white strips of paper. Create one window pane for each child in your class. Assign two children to bring in some object each day, such as a shell, that represents what they had fun doing this past summer. Put the items in small zip-lock plastic bags. After each presentation, mount the plastic bags on each child's "window pane." This makes a great back-to-school bulletin board and provides children with opportunities to talk about their summer. Judy Isphording, Sope Creek Elementary School; Marietta, Georgia Alphabetical Roll! After introducing yourself, create some chaos. Tell students they have three minutes to complete their first assignment: "Sort in alphabetical order by last name." 11

After the initial shock and after they succeed, remind them how capable they are to handle their first day, and every day, by asking questions, getting help from others, working together, trying and evaluating strategies to "just do it"! Whatever "it" might be, they can do it! Rene Kehau Schofield. Westmont High School; Campbell, California Sentence Strip Unscramble This activity is great to use the first day kids walk in, while you greet new students and their parents. Type a short letter attached to an envelope inviting students to unscramble the sentence you have placed in their envelope. Sentences like: Welcome to 3rd grade! Its going to be a great year! Im glad you are here! Be sure to cut between the words like a puzzle. The students job is to place the sentence in order. S. Crenshaw

Get to Know You Activities

How Do You Do?

Games, level: Elementary Materials Required: none Activity Time: 15-30 min Concepts Taught: Learning the Names of Classmates

12

Play this game outside. It resembles Drop the Handkerchief. Have the children make a large circle and remain standing. Choose one child to start. Have the game starter walk around the outside of the circle and stop behind one person and say, "Hi, I'm ____." The other child turns around and says, "Hi, I'm ____." They then shake hands saying, "How do you do, how do you do, how do you do?" Each then runs in opposite directions around the one to introduce him/herself to another. The game goes on.

Shout Out Those Names!

Students will learn each others names affirm those names by shouting them out. Materials Needed: a soft ball, bean bag, or Hugg-A-Planet. Have the students stand in a circle. Toss a Hugg-A-Planet or other soft ball to a child. When a child catches it, the whole group shouts out the childs name. The child then tosses the ball to another child, and so on until everyone gets a turn. Youll be surprised how quickly this activity helps you and the students learn each others names.

Find Someone:
Tell the students that they are going to play a game to find out things they may not know about each other. Youll tell them whom you want them to find and theyll walk around to find the person. When they find a person, they will shake hands and say their names. When they hear a 13

signal from you, they will freeze. By freeze, you mean they will stand absolutely still and stop talking. Tell them what the signal will be (for example, ringing a little bell, turning off the lights, or simply saying Freeze!), and have them practice freezing in response to the signal. Now the game can begin. Ask the students to find someone who is wearing the same color as they are. Give them a short time (no more than 30 seconds) to walk around the room (or the rug) and find someone. Give the signal and wait till they all freeze. Ask, who found a person wearing the same color as you? Call on a child and ask, What color is it? Ask the child and person s/he found to please say their names. Repeat the process with other attributes. Keep the pace quick and involve as many children as possible in the group sharing. Make up your own findsomeone-who items. Here are a few suggestions: Find someone who has a brother or a sister. Find someone who has a pet. Find someone who likes ice cream.

Whats something you learned about a member of your class?

14

Icebreakers
"Pass the Toilet Paper" This can be an amusing first day activity. It also helps your students learn more about each other. On the first day of school, I pass around a roll of toilet tissue. I do not tell them what they will be using it for but explain that they should tear off as much as they need. Later, we count the amount of squares and then in a group, each student tell us one thing about himself for each square of toilet tissue. This is a great "ice-breaker" and the students get a laugh out of it! Submitted by: HALARADA

Stringing Conversation Together

Cut string or yarn into pieces of different lengths. Each piece should have a matching piece of the same length. There should be enough pieces so that each student will have one. Then give each student one piece of string, and challenge each student to find the other student who has a string of the same length. After students find their matches, they can take turns introducing themselves to one another. You can provide a list of questions to help students "break the ice," or students can come up with their own. You might extend the activity by having each student introduce his or her partner to the class. Stacy Moore, Garrison Mill Elementary School, Marietta, Georgia

15

Team Building Activities

A Tangled Web Gather students in a circle sitting around you on the floor. Hold a large ball of yarn. Start by telling the students something about yourself. Then roll the ball of yarn to a student without letting go of the end of the yarn. The student who gets the ball of yarn tells his or her name and something good about himself or herself. Then the student rolls the yarn to somebody else, holding on to the strand of yarn. Soon students have created a giant web. After everyone has spoken, you and all the students stand up, continuing to hold the yarn. Start a discussion of how this activity relates to the idea of teamwork -- for example, the students need to work together and not let others down. To drive home your point about teamwork, have one student drop his or her strand of yarn; that will demonstrate to students how the web weakens if the class isn't working together. Amy Henning, W. C. Petty School, Antioch, Illinois

Chain Gang
Begin by asking students "Who can do something really well?" After a brief discussion about some of the students' talents, pass out paper and ask students to write down five things they do well. Then provide each student with five different-colored paper strips. Have each student write a different talent on separate paper strips, then create a mini paper chain with the strips by linking the five talents together. As students complete their mini chains, use extra strips of 16

paper to link the mini chains together to create one long class chain. Have students stand and hold the growing chain as you link the pieces together. Once the entire chain is constructed and linked, lead a discussion about what the chain demonstrates -- for example, all the students have talents; all the students have things they do well; together, the students have many talents; if they work together, classmates can accomplish anything; the class is stronger when students work together than when individual students work on their own. Hang the chain in the room as a constant reminder to students of the talents they possess and the benefits of teamwork. Kimberlee Woodward, substitute teacher, Waterford, Michigan

17