First Day Activities
Notecards
I like to pass out notecards to collect some information about students. I can use these to learn a little about my students and prompt short discussions. For instance, I can pull a card out of the pile and say "John recommends the movie "Transformers". Then I can find John and prompt him to speak by asking "what did you like about it?" or "what was it about?". Specifically talking to the student will also help me remember their names by associating them with some tidbit of information. I prefer my questions to be very nonpersonal to avoid students becoming anxious about the question. Also, if you ask big personal questions like "what is your biggest fear" students will take too long thinking about it, which is not the point of this exercise.
The other thing I do is start off by answering the questions myself, so the class can learn a little about me also.
Name:
Birthday:
Name a movie you would like
to recommend:
Name a book you read this summer:
What kind of pets do you have? (What kind of pet would you like to have?):
Who is your favority celebrity?
What TV show do you always watch?
What is your favorite restaurant?
The
Name Game
This one will take a little longer, but it is a good way to learn students' names. Basically you start with a student and have him give his name and something he likes to eat that starts with the same letter as his name. For example: "Greg like grapes.". The next person has to repeat each of the ones before him, so that it keeps adding up. I'm the last person on the list so I have to name everyone's food in the class. You can also have them name something they -don't- like to eat if they are stuck... ex. "Mary hates mushrooms".
True or False
This is another meet-and-greet icebreaker that can be used in small classes. In this activity, students are asked to write down three things about themselves, two of the things must be true and one thing must be false. They read the three statements to the class and the class has to guess which is the false statement. Start this one out by doing the three statements first, try to pick something that will surprise the students. Example:
1) I have a half pit bull, half pug dog. 2) I broke my arm over the summer while skateboarding 3) I was a boy scout.
Small Group Project - Listmania
Students compile information as a group based on predesignated categories. This activity helps classmates to get to know one another and work as a group. You can print out pages with the lists on them, or just have the students write them on notebook paper.
| LISTMANIA - name as many things as you can for each group. | |
|
Types of Cars
|
Wild Animals that Live in Your State (not in zoos)
|
|
Countries of the World
|
Disney Characters
|
|
Professional Football Teams
|
Dog Breeds
|
Small Group Project - The Tower
Students get a stack of notecards and a specified length of masking tape and their task is to create the tallest freestanding tower. You can even give prizes to the winning group. This is an excellent project for learning how well your class will cooperate.
Group Quiz
Similar to listmania, though the questions are more specific and science related, students work as a group to see if who can come up with the correct answers. Can be graded in class and the winning team can receive a prize. You can either print a page, or ask the questions orally.
1. What is the longest bone in the body?
2. What is botany?
3. How long does it take for the earth to make a complete orbit around the sun?
4. How many legs does a spider have? How many legs does an insect have?
5. What scientist is associated with the equation E = mc2?
6. What is the scientific name for a human?
7. Where does a panda bear live?
8. What is the molecular formula for water?
9. What are the colors of the rainbow?
10. Name all of the planets in the solar system, starting with the one closest
to the sun.
*Tiebreaker question: What is the current population of the world (or the U.S), be specific. Closest guess wins the tie. (use a popclock to find the answer to this one).