FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ICEBREAKERS

1. STUDENTS GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER WHILE YOU ASSESS SOME BASIC SKILLS: . Pick a topic for students to brainstorm about which is fun. Topic I usually pick is Summer. . Have students in groups of 3 or 4 on piece of chart paper create as many graphic organizers that cover this topic. You may want to mention briefly some graphic organizers they are familiar with such as web, flow map, or cause and effect. . Students should come up with at least four of these in a group. . This activity allows students to recall the use of graphic organizers (assess for future lessons with new class) as well as get to know other students in class they may not have known. . Best used in Grades 3 -5 2. GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER ACTIVITY: . Tell the students 3 things about yourself. Two of these should be true and one should be false. See if they can figure out which is false. Discuss the differences between true and false. . Give each student an index card and have them write two true facts about themselves and one false statement. . After enough time go around room and have students guess what statement is false. . This helps students remember each other from last year or think about what could be a made-up statement. This lets students get to know other things about each other, i.e. family members, where they were born, where they went on vacation, etc.

3. WRITE A CLASS CONSTITUTION . This is particularly helpful in Grades 4-5 when initiating class rules. . Write constitution with class on chart paper that can be hung in classroom for the entire year. . Start constitution as U.S. constitution. For example, We the people of class _____ . After intro paragraph, come up with a few class rules to list below. . Sign Constitution and have each student sign as well. . This can be referred to all year as you are discussing class behavior especially when there are conflicts between students. 4. STUDENTS DECIDE ON INDIVIDUAL GOALS FOR YEAR . Read Oh, The Places Youll Go by Dr. Seuss . Have students write a list of at least 5 goals they have for school year. . Put their lists in folder and put aside. . Tell students they will see them again at end of year and theyll see if they reached their goals. . This is especially good for 5th Graders anticipating graduating from elementary school. 5. SUMMER TREASURE: . Have students bring in something to share with class that reminds them of their summer vacation. . Each student should talk about why it is special and why it is part of their summer vacation memories. . Have students create a graphic organizer of information about their summer treasure. . This can lead to a writing piece which is a good first assessment of writing . This can be used for all elementary levels.

6. INTERVIEW A PARTNER . Explain to students that they will be interviewing another student. . Talk about what an interview is and what you want to learn about each other. . Make a list of sample questions. Have students copy them down and add two or three more to the list. . Explain that in the interview they will be thinking about how their partner is similar to them as well as different (compare/contrast) . After they interview each other, they should use a graphic organizer and compare/contrast to themselves. . This can lead to either a writing piece or each student can speak briefly about what they learned. . Students can write a positive note to their partner for homework. 7. ACTION PLAN FOR BEHAVIOR . After students have written Class Constitution, discuss with students some ideas for rewarding good behavior as well as for consequences for not following class rules. . This Action Plan should be posted near Constitution for reference throughout the school year. . Keep simple so that it will be easier for students to remember as well as to administer

8. MAKE CLASSROOM CHILD FRIENDLY . Color code notebooks by subject. Have chart displayed that reminds students what each subject looks like. This helps students stay organized and keeps work in correct notebook. If you use folders you can use the same color coding by subject. . Collect supplies and put in labeled bins for easy access. 9. MATH FUN WITH DICE: . This is a fun game that students can play all year. As they play you will be able to do a simple assessment of their knowledge of basic math facts. . For lower elementary grades (1-2) you can assess addition facts. In upper grades you can assess multiplication facts. . Start off with 2 dice per pair. . Each student rolls dice and then writes math fact in notebook. For example, if they roll a 3 and a 5, they would either write 3+5 = 8 or 3X5 =15. . Then their partner does the same thing in their notebook. . When first student rolls again, he or she will add their new total to the old one. For example, their second roll is 2 and 4, they would write either 2+4=6 or 2X4=8. Their totals would be either 14 (addition) or 23 (multiplication). . Depending on level you can tell students that game is over when the first player reaches 100 or for upper level students use a timer and then see who wins the round. . This is a game that students can play all year round when they are done with math work. For more advanced students as year progresses you can have them use 3 dice and have them add 2 digits + 1 digit or multiply 2 digits X 1 digit. Very advanced students can try 4 dice. Students love it.

10.BULLETIN BOARD DISPLAY FOR OPEN SCHOOL NIGHT: . Writing samples that have been edited can be displayed from above activities such as Summer Treasure or Interview My Partner. . Each student can make a large picture of themselves (caricature like) or you can have a template. They should color in picture depicting them, while accenting something they like to do. For example, boys could be holding a soccer ball or girls can be in a ballerina outfit. This is a fun way to show everyones interests. . If writing pieces were not done for above activities, students can write a short poem or essay about their picture to hang underneath.

Hope you found these first day activities helpful. Have a good school year.