FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL
Before any learning can take place in a new classroom, students need to feel welcome. Welcome in their new environment; welcomed by the teacher, welcomed by the school, and welcomed by their peers with whom they will be spending the next 9 months. In order to foster this sense of belonging, the first week of school will be focused on helping students familiarize themselves with the norms and routines of the classroom, as well as with each other and myself.
Spending the first week doing this will open insight for me about your children, and will enable me to better cater to all of their physical, academic, and social-emotional needs throughout the year we are together.
"WOULD YOU RATHER/ WHICH DO YOU LIKE MORE?"
This is a wonderful way for students to learn about common interests with their peers to form the basis of young friendships.
I will have the classroom labeled with different numbers (1, 2, 3, 4), which present options for students to choose. Then, I will provide a simple prompt such as: would you rather...
color/draw
play outside
watch tv
play with toys
..while at home. The students would then go to their designated spot and then talk with a new "friend" about why they chose this, and something they do while they do that activity. For example: "Goes to color/draw, "I like to paint with my fingers"
BUILDING WITH MARSHMALLOWS AND PASTA.
This is a wonderful activity that begins the essence of teamwork and cooperating together, building social-emotional competence.
Materials:
small marshmallows
thin spaghetti noodles
The idea is to make a sculpture using the materials within an alloted time. The students would be grouped in pairs of 4: two boys and two girls. The goal is to make the a tower by working together with weird materials. Awards would be given to groups that had the tallest, longest, most creative, and other categories (the key is everyone is a winner).
A GREAT WIND BLOWS...
This is another game that helps students find commonalities with each other, but also gives them the change to practice good sportsmanship/being ok with not winning.
Like musical chairs, there are a circle of chairs set up, with one less than the number of students present. However, the chairs are facing inward, and there is one student standing in the middle while the rest of the students are sitting in a chair.
The teacher (me) will state a prompt for a characteristic that would apply to most if not all of the students. Those that apply to it have to get up and rush to a new seat, opening an opportunity for the student in the middle to steal a seat. The student that is the one who doesn't get a seat is "out" and helps me come up with new prompts.
SOMETHING’S NOT QUITE RIGHT
This activity helps build social-skills with cooperating with peers, creative thinking and reasoning, as well as tests whether student have been paying attention to detail.
After a week of going over routines, norms, and the overall layout of the classroom, on the last day of the first week I will change my room set up slightly, move items to incorrect places, etc. The students will then be tasked to work with their group members to determine what in the classroom doesn't seem quite right. They will then have to re-right it after explaining to me what is wrong.
QUESTION WEB
This activity allows the opportunity for building communication skills, as well as creates a sense of belonging and sense of partnership for the school year. Also, helps all students learn each other's names.
The students and I would sit in a circle. Starting with me, I would explain the game and unravel a small ball of yarn so that I can grasp the end of it. Then, I would come up with a question and throw the ball of yarn letting it unravel to a student, saying their name so that they're aware that it will be their turn next. They catch the ball (as best as they can), and answer the question. Then, they call out another student's name and ask another question (they can use the same one as before or make up their own).
Each student gets to go and then we will examine the "web" that the class created, explaining that when we are all here, we create something beautiful and sturdy.
If you have any other ideas for ice breaker/team building/getting-to-know-each-other activities that I can use, please don't hesitate to let me know by phone or email!