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First Day Jitters Activity Guide
Defining Our Class; Student Dictionary
I found this idea on
ProTeacher
from a user named UrbanTEacher. If your students
could have their own dictionary entry, what
would it look like? This activity will let them
express themselves using definitions, synonyms,
and even pronunciation and pictures! Click
HERE
to download the form. You can make a bulletin
board from these dictionary entries, or even
create a "Student Dictionary"!
Math About Me
Students create Math About Me posters. The Math
About Me information might include birthday,
address numbers, phone number, sports number,
favorite number, number of pets, number of
people in the family, etc. When the students
gather together to share their numbers, they see
what numbers they have in common with their
classmates, and everyone learns a little bit
about one another. I take a snapshot of each
child for the center of the poster. Then the
kids design the math facts in a colorful,
interesting presentation.
The Important Book
-
We read The Important Book by
Margaret Wise Brown together. This book
follows a pattern through the story, and
focuses on different objects and their
importance. Take students pictures, and have
them create their own "Important Book" as a
class. Each student will have their own
page, with their picture at the top, and
will follow the pattern of the book.
"The most important thing about Brad is that
he's responsible. He's caring, smart, and
lovable, but the most important thing about Brad
is that he's responsible."
Take a class picture for the front cover, and
bind it together. I always put it on display for
Back to School Night. This book is always a big
hit with the kids, as they love looking at their
classmates' pictures and learning more about
them.
The Perfect Classroom
Ask students to write a paragraph that
tells what they think the perfect classroom should be
like. (This is not fiction/fantasy writing; they should
describe the atmosphere of an ideal real
classroom.) Arrange students into groups of four. Ask
each student to underline in his or her paragraph the
"most important words or phrases." After students have
done that, they should pass their papers to the person
in their group who is seated to their right. Students
should continue passing papers and underlining important
words until the original writer has her/his paper back.
At that point, students will share with the group some
of the important words and phrases in their own writing;
a group note taker will record the words and phrases
that might best describe a perfect classroom. Group
members will review the list and decide on five words or
phrases to share with the class. When the class has a
fully developed class list of words and phrases, they
will use some of those words and phrases to write a
"class statement" that will be posted on the wall for
all to see. When things are not going "perfectly," it is
time to review the class statement.
Get To Know You Graphing
There's always the default "Birthday Graphing"
activity that you could do, or....my
favorite...as a class, brainstorm questions that
they'd like to know about each other. (You
usually get questions like favorite ice cream
flavor, favorite sport, favorite food, etc...but
you can always make up the questions for them
and be more creative) Each child (or small
groups of children) will be assigned one of
those questions and must go around and interview
everyone in the class with that particular
question they were assigned. They will use tally
marks to collect their data. Then, as a group or
independently, students will create a graph that
shows their collected data, and then present it
to the class.
A List of Misc. Things I do on the First Few Days
-
My name is _____, and if I
were an animal I'd be a _____ because....
I demonstrate for my students: "My name is
Mrs. Gold, and if I were an animal, I'd be a
turtle," I say, "because I'm always rushing
around. Sometimes I wish I could slow down."
Then students repeat those who went before
them. Finally, draw pictures of themselves
as that animal.
-
Class Names Word Search
(a great Do Now on the first day of school)
-
Teacher Test:
Tell students that they will be taking their
first test. Pause to hear the cheers and
boos. Then, tell them it's a test about you,
to see if they can guess different facts
about you, your life, and interests. Then,
go over the answers. They love seeing if
their guesses were right! As a follow-up,
allow students to create a 10 question
multiple choice quiz about themselves. Then,
have them switch with a new friend!
-
ABC Order Sort:
On the first day, students wear nametags
with their first and last names printed on
them. I have them get in ABC order by their
first names, and then a second time by their
last names without talking! They must
use their nametags to sort themselves. This
is a great exercise in dictionary skills, as
well as a cooperative learning activity. The
best part...it's silent!!
-
Sticker Partner Venn
Diagrams/Interviews:
I give each child a sticker. Each sticker
has a match, somewhere in the room. They
must find their match, and then complete a
Venn Diagram, showing the things they have
in common with each other, and where they
are different. As an alternative option,
students can do an interview of each other.
Back to School Checklist
&
Procedures List
Share Your Garbage
Fill a brown bag with things that tell about
yourself. Some examples from a teacher might
include a receipt from Barnes and Noble (she
loves to read), a wrapper from a chocolate bar
(she is a self-confessed chocoholic), an empty
yeast jar (she enjoys baking bread), and a few
crumpled pieces of paper (she likes to write).
She sends students home to pull together their
own garbage collections, which they share on the
second day of school.
Mystery Friend
On the first day of school,
assign each student a "mystery friend." (Only
you know that the students are actually paired;
each student's mystery friend has them for a
mystery friend!) Tell students that they may not
reveal their mystery friends to anyone --
including the mystery friend. Each day, give
students a few minutes to write a short note to
their Mystery Friend. The note should include
something they observed about their Mystery
Friend, something they like about them (a
compliment), a question about them, and finally
a clue about themselves. I've made up a letter
format that they can just quickly fill in. You
can download it
here.
The "Me" Book
Adapted from
http://www.teachers.net/lessons/posts/1310.html
Assignment 1: YOUR
BIRTH
1. Homework: Ask your mother or father
about the day you were born. How much did you
weigh? How many inches long were you? Where were
you born? In what hospital? At what time
exactly?
2. Write a birth announcement or newspaper
article announcing your birth.
Assignment 2: EARLY
LIFE
1. Remember your childhood. Tell someone a
favorite story from your childhood.
2. Write a poem about many childhood memories or
a single childhood memory.
Assignment 3:
FAMILY
1. Use a web to describe one family member to
whom you are close.
2. Write a character sketch describing that
family member.
Assignment 4:
SIBLINGS
1. Homework: Use a Venn Diagram to
compare and contrast yourself to a sibling. If
you are an only child, you may compare yourself
to a cousin, parent, or any other family member.
2. Using the information from the chart, write a
comparison/ contrast paper.
Assignment 5: I'M
BUGGED
1. Make a list of things that really bug you.
2. Pick one to elaborate on. Create an
advertisement to stop that behavior that bugs
you. Use color and an original picture to make
your ad creative.
Assignment 6:
SPECIAL TIMES
1. Write a short story narrative about a special
time in your family.
Assignment 7: I'M
UNIQUE
1. Use old magazines, scissors, and glue to
create a collage. Make a collage that
illustrates you and your personality.
Assignment 8: THE FUTURE
1. Draw a picture of what you predict your
life will be like 20 years from now. Will you
have a family? What will your job be? Where will
you be living?
Shades of Summer
This is an easy activity that students enjoy
doing, which also serves as a chance for the
teacher to get a quick indication of students'
writing abilities. Each student draws a
self-portrait, but instead of eyes, the student
draws a large pair of sunglasses. In the
sunglasses, the student draws something he or
she did over the summer...a trip, activity,
etc...Attach a paragraph about what is reflected
in the sunglasses. This is an opportunity to
review the characteristics of a paragraph. I
always like to focus on topic sentences early in
the school year. This makes an instant bulletin
board, too!
(By - Jodi Pomerleau)
Profiles of Our Class
Students
use the overhead projector projected against the wall to
have a partner trace their profiles on black paper. They
cut out their profile and glue it onto white or cream
paper to set a deep contrast. Then, they write a "Bio
Poem" inside of their profiles. There are several
formats to writing a bio poem. Here is mine:
I, (your name)
4 adjectives that describe you
(daughter/son of, or sibling of) ______________
Lover of (3 things)
Who feels (3 things)
Who needs (3 things)
Who fears (3things)
Who would like to see (3 things)
Am a resident of (town)
welcome you to my poem!
If you don't want to
have kids trace their heads, click
HERE for printable
silhouettes!
Wrinkled Wralph
Choose
a student, in which the kids will trace his/her body and
create a life sized cut-out. Decorate to look like a kid
(Ralph). Then, brainstorm all types of mean things that
kids could do to hurt each other. Write these things on
Ralph, and each time something is written, wrinkle that
part of his body. Discuss how Ralph's body has changed
after all of the mean things have been done to him. Ask
the kids to try to smooth him out, and come to the
conclusion that even though you can make him look a
little better, the wrinkles will still be there and
won't go away- which is a great analogy to hurtful
things kids can do to each other Hang Ralph in the
classroom as a reminder of what can happen when you hurt
other's feelings.
We Fit Together
I buy
posterboard and cut it up into pieces, one for each
member of our class. The pieces are shaped as "puzzle
pieces" and all fit together. I give each child a piece
of the puzzle on the first day, and they decorate it
with things that symbolize them. Then, I allow the kids
time as a class to put the puzzle together.
We
have a discussion before they put it together, about
what some problems could be that they might run into
while putting the puzzle together. They are usually good
about bringing up kids who might be bossy and try to do
everything, as well as kids who may stand back and let
everyone else do the work. We discuss ways to handle
these situations, and how kids who are bossy can make us
feel, as we're trying to work as a class. Having this
discussion before actually doing it really helps to
prevent these things, as well, and shows the kids how to
handle the situation if it does come up. They're more
aware of the children in the background, letting
everyone else do the work, and I hear lots of children
saying "Come here Sara...why don't you try?" After the
puzzle is put together, we have another discussion about
the "lesson" of the puzzle and the fact that we'll need
to work together this year. It also is a representation
of the class...and how without one piece, we wouldn't be
complete!
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