what fun things to do on the first day of class?

Question

like getting to know stuff...
don't want to get into the lesson right away
this is for teenagers

Answer 1

2 truths and a lie - students write down 2 true facts about themselves, and one lie - the class tries to figure out which is the lie (you can call it something else besides a lie - but teens get it and think it's funny).

Answer 2

Wow, my first day of teaching made me realize how important the first day of class is. It sets the tone for the rest of the semester/year. I think the best thing to do is create an in-class worksheet that covers some big topics you will do in the year, or things the students should already know coming into the course. This is really beneficial for three very important reasons:

1. Students can work together and get a chance to know each other.
2. You get an idea of how much they know about the course they're taking.
3. It shows you are taking the subject seriously without diving directly into teaching.

I think it's important to do something productive on the first day, otherwise students will think the class may be easy. However, no teacher actually wants to make the students do work. I think a worksheet is a good mix between fun and being serious.

Answer 3

There is a bingo type game you can use as an icebreaker for everyone to get to know about everyone else. You make bingo cards with the traditional 5x5 and a free space but instead of numbers you put in trivia that may apply to someone in the room. The cardholder has to find someone for which that statement is true, and then that person initials their card. You can't go back to the same person more than three times. The goal is to fill the card or maybe just get a regular bingo (depends on how long you want the game to last, and how hard your facts are).

For example, your card might include the statement: "I have been to a foreign country." The only people who can sign that square is people who have been to a foreign country.

Other statements?

"I have a tattoo."
"I am an only child."
"I was born in a place other than a hospital."
"I know how to drive a stick shift car."
"I have seen the movie Casablanca."

You have to come up with a lot of these and then mix them up on different cards in different places on each card, as well as having enough cards for every student, and yourself.

These are kind of unique or rare things for today's teens can say about themselves. After someone wins, have everyone share the most surprising thing they learned about another person in the room.

This may be overkill for your class because depending on the size of the school and number of new students to the school, you may have a lot of kids that already know each other. Is it YOU that has to get to know THEM?

You can always play word association games...you can have the kid tell their first name, and then list five words that apply to them that start with the same letter as their name. So if you meet Lisa you will have a cue to learn their name...."lovable, lively, lighthearted, loopy, library lover." LISA. It wouldn't even matter if it were true, it may give you a clue about their attitude, self-perception.

Answer 4

I've stopped doing the "getting to know each other" activities because in my district, most of the kids of been together since early elementary school--they already know one another!

Instead I set the tone by going over the policies/expectations (rules, respect) and procedures (coming into the classroom, turning in homework, what to do when we have a sub, etc). Rather than lecturing, I have the students develop their own role-playing activities to illustrate each point and then we discuss them. For example, one group shows how not to enter the classroom while another models proper behavior. Our discussion always helps them see for themselves why the rules and procedures are in place. Experiencing the points and then learning about them through their discussion (rather than having it all lectured to them) also makes the students feel a part of the classroom management process.

I also manipulate the language a bit as I never use first-person pronouns and always use third-person pronouns. It's a subtle trick that encourages community in the class, though I always feel guilty knowing that it is a bit of plain folks appeal propaganda (and the brighter students catch on when we cover propaganda later in the year :-). However, the policies and procedures become OUR policies and procedures instead of MY policies and procedures.

Answer 5

Well the thing I'll do this year is we will write together the class constitution or the bill of rights,we will discuss their rights and their responsibilities and then right them on a chart and then every student Will sign it.
I like the idea of (2facts and a lie)i thought about doing it.

Answer 6

I introduced myself (briefly, teenagers have zero attention span) and had them start off, straightaway, on interviewing each other with a worksheet I had planned.

They got to learn about their classmates, and I was able to learn about them; later on, I used their worksheets as a pre-brainstorming "fact sheet" and had them write biographies of each other (English teacher).

Answer 7

I always hated the first day because we
didn't learn anything. Please start teaching right away!! Then take a break and do something "get to know" stuff.

Answer 8

being a teenager, do nothing, bring in pop and get to know each other

Answer 9

Dont do anything that has to envolve them standing around in a circle and saying their names and what they like.
PLEASE DONT!
Its stupid, they hate it, and if they mess up they are ruined for life.
(I didnt mess up, i just hated it)

Answer 10

ummmmm