The first day of school is an important one for both teachers and students. That first day can also be a little nerve-wracking. When children come to school on the first day, they tend to be a little anxious for a number of reasons. They're meeting new teachers, in new classrooms, reuniting with old friends from last year, and feeling the pressure of making new friends this school year. As a teacher you need to be understanding about these first-day jitters and help students get to know one another. There are so many "ice-breaker" games and first-day activities out there to use at the start of a school year. Here are a few lesson ideas you might want to use in your classroom for the first day back to school.
The Human Scavenger Hunt: To play this game you'll need a set of index cards, one for each student in the classroom. Have the students write down some interesting little factoid about themselves on an index card. Then mix them up and have the students search for the person that matches the index card they receive. You could also write generic facts onto the index cards yourself. The cards could say "has been in a stadium" or "is wearing something pink" or "has a baby brother."
True or False: This is a great way to learn something interesting about one another. Begin the activity by writing three facts about yourself on the board or on an overhead transparency. Make two of the facts true and one fact false. Survey the students to see which fact they believe is the false statement. Go over all of the statements, adding information to the true statements and identifying the false one. Then, students get to write three statements about themselves on a sheet of paper, two that are true and one that is false. Go around the class and go through the same guessing process for each student.
The Teacher Test: Have the students take "the hardest test of the year" as soon as they get settled into class. Orally ask questions about yourself for this test. Some of the questions might be, "Where was I born? How many sisters/brothers do I have? How old am I? What's my favorite color? What's my favorite food? or What kind of car do I drive?" Make the test as long or as short as you want. This is a great activity for introducing yourself to the class. It also makes you appear more human to your class instead being seen as only an authority figure or subject expert.
The Classroom Book: Read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. This is a great book that tells the important things about different objects (a spoon, the wind, an apple, etc.). It has a repetitive form and your students should use that rhythm to create their own "Important Book." Each student should tell a little about themselves following The Important Book's format. Then you create a class "Important Book" by meshing together every child's final book page which reads "The most important thing about ____ is that he/she ____." Each child should have their own books to take home at the end of the day and you'll also have a classroom book that can be read throughout the year.
BINGO Scavenger Hunt: Make up BINGO cards for all of your students. Each square on the card has a description (similar to the index cards mentioned in the Human Scavenger Hunt activity). Students walk around the room and get the name of a classmate that fits the different descriptions on the BINGO card. The goal is to fill the entire BINGO card with classmates' names. You can set a time limit for the activity if it seems like it's taking too much time. Or you could shorten the activity's length by seeing who can make an "x" first or some other variation (up and down, four corners, etc.).
The Riddle Book: Students will create their own riddle books. They should write four or five statements about themselves, and the last line should read "Who am I?" Once all of the students have their statements down, read everyone's papers and have the class guess which student those statements describe. Let the student say whether the class is right or wrong.
Alphabetical Order: Give students their first assignment. They need to sort themselves in alphabetical order by last name within three minutes. This will get students talking and help them to recognize other classmates' names. For lower grades, have each student wear a name tag to make the activity less complicated.
Class Animals: This is a simple activity that puts a fun spin on dull introductions. Begin by giving the class your name and telling them that if you were an animal you be ____ and give the reason why. For example, you could say "Hi, my name is Ms. Jones, and if I were an animal I'd be a hyena, because I love to laugh." Give the students some time to think about what animal they want to be and why. Let the students give their animal introductions and try to repeat all of the children's names and animals in the order you hear them. This activity can help you to remember student names quickly while showing the class that their teacher isn't perfect (you will inevitably make a mistake).
Paper Bag Show-and-Tell: You should send a letter home to students, introducing yourself and telling them about the new school year before the first day of class. Send all of your students a paper bag along with this letter. Tell the students to fill the bag with four of five items that mean something to them or that describe them in some way. On that first day of school you can all sit around and have show-and-tell time. Each student will open up their bag and show the rest of the class their items, explaining why it is important or how it represents them as a person. Don't forget to bring your own goodie bag so that you can join in on the fun and let your students know a little bit about you.
Class Detectives: Give each student at "clue sheet" and go over all of the incomplete statements with the class. Have everyone find a quiet spot where they can fill in the blanks. Statements like, "My favorite hobby is ___," and "The most fun thing I did this summer was ____," could be used on the clue sheet. Once everyone completes their clue sheet, mix them up and distribute an anonymous paper to each student. It's time for the students to play detective. Have students move around and ask some questions to figure out whose clue sheet they have.
All About Me Posters: Students are to draw and color their name on a large sheet of paper or on a piece of poster board. They should add things about themselves, like birthdays, favorite colors, and any hobbies or interests they have. Display these "All About Me" posters around the classroom. For a different take on this idea, have the students draw self portraits instead of their names. Or instead of making posters, have the students create "All About Me" desk plates.
Dear Me Letters: Have students write a letter to themselves on the first day of school. In this letter, the students should discuss their feelings about starting a new school year, what they liked or disliked about last year, and what they expect out of this school year. Come up with your own requirements for the letter. Collect the letters and put them in labeled envelopes on the first day of school. At the end of the year you can pass these letters back out and let the students read what they wrote at the beginning of the year. This is a great way for you to get to know your students a little better. You'll also get an idea of what they expect from the new school year from day one.
First Day Advice: This may not be something for this school year because it requires some early planning, but you can think ahead for next year if you like this idea. At the end of the school year, have your class write letters to next year's students. In the letters the student's should offer advice on how to be successful and what to expect in your classroom. Read all of the letters to your new class on the very first day of school and let them know that they will one day get to write their own letters for your future students.
Picturing Rules: You should always introduce the rules and classroom expectations on the first day of school. Make the rules fun by getting students to model appropriate behavior instead of simply reading the rules from a pre-made list. You could take a picture of your students acting out your rules and post them on the wall to reinforce their meaning. If you can't take pictures, have your students create drawings to represent the classroom rules. They could use them as their own self-made student handbooks to look back to when they need reminding.
The Circle: Get the students to sit in a circle with everyone facing one another. Introduce yourself and tell the class one fact about yourself. Go around the circle and have the students in the class do the same. Once all of the students are finished with their introductions, go back around the circle and have students try to repeat the information (names and facts) about other students. Those students can say whether the information is right or wrong.
Time Capsules: On the first day of school, have students make their own time capsules. You can use shoeboxes or small cardboard boxes, with students' names decorated with glitter, markers and paint. The students can put pictures of who they want to be, a list of their friends, a copy of their handprints, a story they wrote, and a sample of handwriting in these time capsules. Let the students come up with ideas for what they want to store in their time capsules. Store them in a safe place or hang them from the classroom ceiling. At the end of the year you can bring these capsules back out and let the students see how they've grown over the past school year.
Animal Scramble: Write the name of an animal that makes a familiar noise on a slip of paper. Create five to 10 slips for each animal you decide to use. Good animal choices include a cow, duck, chicken, dog, cat, goat, or snake. Give your students a slip of paper and tell them that they have to keep their animal a secret. After everyone has their animal paper, the students must make the noise of the animal and try to find the other students that are making the same animal noise. Continue with the game until all of the student animals find "their kind" and get into animal groups.
Data Processors: This is a good activity for older students but can be adapted for younger classes as well. Divide the students into groups. Use your own judgment when determining group size. The larger the group, the more difficult and time consuming the activity will be. The idea here is that the students will process data about themselves. You could give prizes to the first group that correctly processes their data. Examples to use for this data processing game include arranging group members by first name (alphabetize), height (get some measuring skills in there), birthdays, shoe size, length of hair, or number of letters in last names. Get creative with the data you choose to use for this activity, and adjust for the different grade levels.
Icebreaker Beach Ball: Why not throw a ball around in class? This can be a lot of fun for students going back to school. Get a large beach ball and use a permanent marker (fine or medium point) to write down a whole bunch of "get to know you" questions. Once you create this icebreaker ball you'll be able to reuse it every year, so the time put out making it will be worthwhile. Have the students stand in a circle and throw the ball around to different students. The person who catches the ball has to answer the question touching his or her right thumb.
Catch Me if You Can: This is a really fun game that gets students to interact with one another on the very first day of class. Pair up two of your students. Make two lines, with partners directly across from one another. Students should take about 30 seconds to look very closely at their partner, taking in as many details as possible. Tell the two lines to face away from one another once the 30 seconds ends, and give one or both lines time to change something about their appearance. The change should be something very subtle. The student might take off a ring or belt, switch a watch to the other wrist, or part their hair on the other side. The goal here is to try and stump your partner on what's different about your appearance. The change made has to be visible but discrete. Give the students 20 to 30 seconds to alter their appearance. Have the students turn back around and give them another 30 seconds to figure out what is different about their partner now.
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Buy what you need for the first day of school but don’t buy too much for the rest of the year. Some items, such as pencils and pens, might be useful to stock up on if there is a great sale. But since many stores overstock on items, you may actually be able to find some bargains by scanning for sales after the back to school rush is over.
