The first week of school sets the tone and foundation for the rest of the school year. Relationships are the most powerful tool within the classroom, and I make it a priority to build those during the first and second week of school. And not only between me and the students, but between other students as well.
Attendance Brackets
Attendance brackets, or bell ringer brackets, are an easy and engaging way to hook students at the beginning of a class period.
I introduce this on the first day. and then each day, students vote on one piece of the bracket. By the end of the month, the bracket is complete!
This provides an opportunity for you to see what your students are interested in, what they like or dislike, and make connections with their peers. You can read more in-depth about attendance brackets here!
Name Tents with Feedback
You probably have done some form of a name tent in your classroom. I’ve done some in the past where students not only write their preferred name, but also draw a picture of something that starts with the same letter as your first name.
This gives a visual or mnemonic to help remember a student’s name.
The new part might be the feedback in the name tent. I learned this from the Academy of Best Practices conference this past summer.
Inside the name tent, I have students divide it into a 2 by 5. Meaning each side on the inside is divided into five sections. The top will be for them to comment on something we did that day or answer a short prompt. The bottom will be where I respond to them.
And yes, I took the time to respond to all of my students.
A to Z, Get to Know Me
This has to be the activity I look forward to the most! It’s a quirky way to build connections among your students.
In their groups, have students introduce themselves.
Starting with the first letter of their first name, they will answer the question that corresponds with that letter. Then the next person will go. Students continue to go around until all the name letters have been shared.
Here’s an example:
The “J” question is “Just so you know, my least favorite snack is ________ but my favorite snack is ________ .
“My name is Johanna. Just so you know my least favorite snack is grapes, but my favorite snack is cheese and crackers.”
Then the next student would go using the first letter of their name.
Overall, it’s a low risk activity done in groups of 3 or 4. You can read more about the A to Z, Get to Know Me Activity here!
Mystery Student
This is a fun thing I have students fill out at the end of the first day. On an index card, students will put their initials and answer three questions:
- What state were you born in?
- What is your favorite subject in school?
- What is one interesting fact that no one else in the class knows about you yet?
Then I collect them. Throughout the first couple of weeks, as time permits at the end of class, I will read one off. Here’s what that looks like:
Say the card answers the questions like this: 1. Oregon 2. Math 3. I went snorkeling with turtles in Hawaii
“It’s time for mystery student! Everyone stand up. Alright, remain standing if you were born in a state that starts with a vowel. Remain standing if your favorite subject in school is math. Remain standing if you snorkeled with turtles! Tell us about that experience.”
And then the student who is left standing will elaborate on their interesting fact. Its a fun way to get to know students in the class.
Download the printables here!
Today is when we can start easing in some expectations as well as more connection builders.
Start the class period off with the next attendance bracket vote!
Supplies Scavenger Hunt & Syllabus Puzzle
After day 1, this is when I start to introduce students to what the classroom has to offer them. I allow students to explore by having them search the room for where certain supplies are kept.
I try to do this as a race or escape room type idea. In addition, I got this idea that I plan on doing with this: a syllabus puzzle.
The 100 Numbers to Get Students Talking
Last year, my students had a blast with this activity! I won’t go into full detail here, only because Sara Van Der Werf does it so much better! You can read all of the details and find the printable versions for groups of 3 or 4 here.
Basically, every student in each group needs a different color highlighter or marker. Groups have 3 minutes to find all the numbers 1 to 100 in sequential order. They will take turns highlighting.
Students will do this in 3 rounds. After the first round, ask them to come up with a strategy to do better next time.
Then have them complete it again. After the second round, tell them their is a pattern to the numbers. Then have them complete the third round.
PLEASE read the full article here to make this the most beneficial experience possible.
Continue strong with the team builders. Set the tone for how students will work together to accomplish tasks.
Start the class period off with the next attendance bracket vote.
Cup Stacking Challenge
I recently was a participant in this activity. And it was hard work!
The goal of this activity is to have students stack 10 cups in a variety of ways without touching the cups. You will need 1 rubber band, 3-4 strings, and 10 solo cups for each group.
The video shows it differently than I have experienced it. With that being said, it gives a great example of how students work with it when you start at 0:45.
The way that I have done it is assign each student a role. Then pass out pieces of the puzzle based on their role. For example: Facilitator’s card has the rules. Resource Manager’s card has the supplies needed. And then Task Manager has what first level’s end goal is while Reporter Recorder has the reflection piece after the team completes the first round.
If you don’t use team roles, you can skip this step or just replace the names of the roles with Team Member 1-4.
Ideally you will have up to 4 rounds with various stacks for students to make.
Graph of Me
Along came the collaboration of math and art!
This activity is from Rise over Run on Teachers Pay Teachers. The way it works is students are given a list of statements in the form of True or False. Each item has a coordinate point. If the statement is true for a student, they then plot that point.
Once they have graphed all of their true statements, they’ll connect the dots. This is where the art part comes in. They get to color in the shape their graph made when they connected the dots.
Sometimes students will just color it in while other will make it into a picture! The best part is hanging them up in the classroom for other students to see.
Summary
Day 1
- Attendance Bracket
- Name Tents with Feedback
- A to Z, Get to Know Me
- Mystery Student
Day 2
- Attendance Bracket Vote
- Supplies Scavenger Hunt
- Syllabus Puzzle
- The 100 Numbers to Get Students Talking
Day 3
- Attendance Bracket Vote
- Cup Stacking Challenge
- Graph of Me
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