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 By Valentina Gonzalez, 2024 Much like a first impression, the first few days of school lay the groundwork for the rest of the year. They help to create a foundation and atmosphere. Traditionally these days have been used to set up the “rules” and for compliance. But instead, I offer you a few more community and relational techniques to start the year with students. You can adjust these to meet your students’ age level, but mostly they can be accommodated to fit K-12. These were chosen because they keep a focus on multilingual learners’ needs by building community, encouraging interaction, lowering the affective filter, and they can be used later in the year for more academic lessons. 1. Scavenger Hunt
A good old fashioned scavenger hunt is a great way to get kids moving and help them get to know one another. You could create a scavenger hunt around finding things in your classroom, for example the “Turn in assignment tray” or the folder for absent work. You could also create a scavenger hunt based on your syllabus or the textbook. Students could work in groups or pairs to find important dates, chapters, etc. One more way to use a scavenger hunt at the beginning of the year would be to find peers. For instance, find a classmate with similar shoes, or find a classmates born in the month of September, etc. 2. Padlet If you enjoy using technology or you want to try implementing tech in your classroom, Padlet might be your thing! It’s a flexible platform for students to express their thoughts in writing or drawing or share a quick video recording. You assign a topic for discussion, and students write, comment, draw, record their replies, and can view and respond to their classmates. I’ve found that students who are shy tend to like this type of interaction as a way of expressing their ideas instead of having to raise their hands in class. The tool empowers student voice. At the beginning of the year, assigning students to share who they are, how to correctly pronounce their name, and something we wouldn’t know by looking at them or a fun fact works well. Be sure to share your own so students have an example and get to know you as well. FYI, I used to use Flipgrid but it is no longer available. 3. It’s in the Bag Bring a bag to class filled with 10 objects that tell something about you. This will help students get to know you and build connections. In my bag, I might bring a book because I love to read, a fire truck toy because my husband is a firefighter, a tiny globe because I travel and love the world, etc. Then ask students to bring a bag filled with 10 objects that represent themselves. Over the next few days, provide time for a few students daily to share. Throughout the year, It’s In the Bag can be repurposed for content learning too. Students can bring in objects related to a specific unit of study and share in groups why they belong. For instance, if the class is learning about basic geometric shapes, students could bring a bag of objects that are shaped like a circle, square, triangle, rhombus, pentagon, hexagon, etc. If the class is reading self-selected books, students could fill their bags with items related to the book they are reading. One student may be reading Refugee by Alan Gratz and could fill a bag with items including a miniature trumpet, a ship, a lifejacket, a Star of David, a map, and a Cuban flag. 4. Heart Map This was one of my favorite activities at the beginning of the year and my students loved it too. I learned about it from Georgia Heard who wrote a book on the topic called Heart Maps. I provided students with a black line heart on white paper and inside they drew and illustrated all the people, places, and things they love. I shared with them my example as a way for them to learn more about me and my experiences. But I also showed them examples I saved from former students. If you don’t have examples from years passed, you can probably google and find some! After creating their Heart Maps, students shared them with their classmates too. Heart Maps (HM) continued to be used throughout the year for writing inspiration. Students looked back at their HM to decide on topics they wanted to write about. For instance, one student drew a picture of her grandmother. Later that year she wrote a biography of her grandmother, a story about a time she and her grandmother made special Mexican cookies together, and a how-to take care of your grandmother. This link will take you to some handouts and more directions on Heart Maps. 5. Read Aloud There are many wonderful choices for a first day read aloud. Reading aloud to any age group of kids is beneficial. Even secondary students can benefit from a teacher reading aloud to them. Read alouds, especially on the first day, tend to create a calming atmosphere as well as build community. Here are some popular first day read alouds: Here are some additional first week activities that I won’t go into detail about but are popular and worth mentioning: Learner Surveys, Social Contracts, Time Capsules, Bingo, Tic-Tac-Toe, 2 Truths and a Lie. The goal is to build community from day one and then to sustain it. If we want students to learn, think, and get along, then creating an atmosphere that breeds those qualities is key. Feel free to leave a comment with a first week of school activity that you love! Comments are closed.
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