My Favorite First Day Activities

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! First day of school! 

You were supposed to read that like Nemo from Finding Nemo. Did you get that? 

Honestly, there is nothing more exciting than the first day. Even as I enter my fourth year as a teacher, I still feel the magic every time. We all know that it sets the tone for the rest of the year. The first day is a great time to start with an atmosphere of community, collaboration, and creativity. There are countless different getting to know you activities, so I'm going to share three of my favorite ways that I've gotten to know my students in the past.

1. 6 Word Memoirs- My first way I love is to let students share their life story through pithy creativity. I give them a few different examples of my own 6 word memoirs, before encouraging them to create their own. I also ask them to decorate them as a way to get to know them better. Despite it being a short assignment, you can use it learn more about your students' humor and creativity. 
2. Where I'm From Poems- I was driving to school on the first day last year when I heard Kwame Alexander talking about these type of poems. I immediately made a lesson based on it. It's one of my favorite ways to REALLY get to know my students from the first day, not just who they are now, but what has shaped them into the person that they are. Honestly, some of these were so beautiful they took my breath away. You can find my worksheet at a FREEBIE here.
3. Theme it to the Class- I've been teaching Mythology since I started and I love to use it to kick off the year by thinking about how myths are created. So, I let my students imagine themselves into a myth via the "If I Was a God" worksheet I created. I truly love seeing how creative students imagine themselves into Gods and Goddesses. You could theme this to any class you are teaching. For example, if you are teaching a class on True Crime, your student could create their "Detective Persona" for the first day. Use your creativity and create something special.

This year... I tried something new! Inspired by Keeping the Wonder workshop and by the latest bitmoji trend, I let students design a mini-classroom to show what their ideal classroom would look like. I asked them to add inspiring images, favorite books, and anything else they wish they had in their classroom. They were really cute and a great way to get to know my class this year. Plus, they had a lot of fun making and sharing them!

What are your favorite ways to start the school year? Tell me more!