Getting
to Know Your Students on the First Day Lisa
Kihn
The first day of school should be
a high energy and exciting day for you and your students. The following
activities are great ways to get the ball rolling and get to know
your students right off the bat.
BINGO FRIENDS
Grades: 3 - 8
Materials: pencil, Bingo sheet
Time: 30 minutes
Give your students enough time to chat with each member of the class
and to learn new names. When everyone has filled in his/her Bingo
sheet, bring the class together and ask for volunteers to share
some of their findings. You are sure to stimulate a class discussion
and get to know several interesting stories!
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
Grades: 3 - 8
Materials: pencil, Getting to Know
You sheet
Time: 15 minutes (or assign for homework
the first night)
I like to assign this for homework and then spend time reading them
the next day. I make small notes in my grade book about each student
based on the information they give me. I try to touch base with
every student the next day and mention something interesting that
he/she wrote on the homework sheet. This really helps me get to
know the students as unique individuals.
Another fun idea is to save these sheets
until the last day of school and then read the answers aloud
and ask your class to guess who wrote each one. My students have
really enjoyed doing this. They are often pleasantly surprised that
the other students in their class know them so well! |