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!