What do your shoes say about you?

First week of school activity!

Write a paragraph on who you think your teacher is based on her shoes. This can be creative and fun for students. I plan on giving them 20 minutes for this, once they are done writing their paragraph, they will share it with a partner and then I will have students volunteer to read some of their paragraphs. At the end I will pick a pair of shoes and tell a story about myself using the shoe as a prop.

If there is lots of time left over, I might have the students write about a pair of shoes that describes them personally maybe even using figurative language.

Introducing yourself to your students!

One of the ways that I enjoy introducing myself to my students is using a power point that has some background on me. It seems a little weird at first to be so open with your students but it actually saves you from some of those awkward moments. You know those random moments when your trying to teach and suddenly your kids want to know everything about you. Introducing yourself to students ahead of time will answer their questions and be a great way to connect with interests.

The link below is an example I have used! I got this idea last year from two awesome science co-teachers.

Getting to know your teacher!

First week of school! Day 1

The first week back to school is usually the most jam packed week for teachers. We are trying to establish rules, classroom community, while trying to learn all every students name. I remember as a new teacher printing all sorts of activities, so that if I had time left over, I could have the students do something else. With only two years now under my belt, I like to have the students get to know me, as well as get to know each other...hopefully while establishing rules.



Below are some fun activities I use the first day! If anyone has some ideas they would love to share, please post a comment.

The first document is a questionnaire for each student, this a great way to get to know your students personally.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/61948406/First-Day-Questionnaire

The second document is interview questions. I have students partner up and interview each other. After the whole finishes interviewing they come up and present what they learned about the student. **Highly recommend this activity the first day of school!**
http://www.scribd.com/doc/61948284/Interview-Questions

The third document is a find someone who activity, each student has to go around the room and find someone who has a pet or is an only sibling. I usually give 10-15 minutes and then go over each box with the whole class.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/61948215/Find-Someone-Who