Getting To Know You Activity Helen Myers, Teacher

"Just thought I would take the time to share a first day of school activity. It can be done with just about any grade level on the first day of school. I cut out pictures from a magazine / newspaper of someone or something famous that all the kids at that age know. I have students come up to the front of the room and tell the class one thing they did that was interesting over summer. As they are speaking, I tape the picture to their back.

When everyone is done speaking, students look at each other's pictures and can ask one yes/no question to each student. We then reconvene and each student tries to guess who is on their back. It's a quick and painless way to have the class feel comfortable with one another."

Two True - One False Game Pamela Evenson, Teacher

"This is a game I like to play as soon as I get a new class. Break students into groups of 5 to 6. Each one in the group must make three statements about themselves. Two of the statements are true and one is false. The group has to agree on which one is false. It can be done as an entire class as well, but it does use up a tremendous amount of time in that fashion."

First Day Of School Tory Benson, Coordinator of Teaching and Learning

"To help make the first day of a new school year a little easier and a bit more fun, I play a game of pass the parcel with the class. With each layer that is unwrapped there is a note with a question. The child who unwrapped that layer reads the question aloud and then answers it. I have found that this is a fun, non threatening way for the students to get to know their class mates. The final layer is unwrapped to reveal a treat for the whole class to share. This provides the springboard to then have a discussion about class expectations / rules."

First Day and Picture Roster Kathryn D. Hawley, Teacher

"Teaching in a High School and having over 160 students in my classes and over 125 teachers and staff, learning names can be a nightmare. Each year I buy a Yearbook. It is not only a way to support your school but a great source for names! During the summer I copy the pages with pictures of Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Staff. When I get my roster I cut out the pictures and arrange them by class, guidance, athletics and offices.

As I greet the students the first day, I am able to refer to my "Picture Roster". Imagine their amazement when I already know most of their names. Usually I have 75% of their pictures. The first day we take digital pictures for a "Class Poster" so everyone can get to know each other. This is put on the wall and stays there for the year! Then I take the pictures of students I didn't know and add their pictures to my picture roster.

When finished this stays at my desk and is a great reference for a substitute or anyone visiting the class! If I have to go to guidance or the office I take a quick glance at the pictures. Everyone is flattered that I remembered their names. All this takes about four hours. There is no way I could learn over 250 names in four hours.

HINT: Every year invest in a yearbook. It supports your school and at the end of the year the students are extremely pleased when they ask me to sign their yearbook and I say "Only if you will sign mine!" The smiles are so rewarding and well worth the money spent for a yearbook! Hope this helps! "

Digital Roster Jared Rodgers, North Jakarta International School

"In the first week of school, we organize to have digital photos taken of every student in the school. This can be done in the computer classes, in the homeroom class or by the counselor. These digital photos are then saved with this first and last name of the student and then organized based on homeroom class. After the completion of these folders of pictures they can be stored on the school's Intranet for later access. They can also be printed in a contact sheet in Microsoft XP's Photo Printing Wizard, with 25 - 35 pictures fitting on one page. This is a wonderful resource for specialist teachers who teach hundreds of students and great for substitutes.

We have also taken these photos and placed them in a Word document chart with a big blank space to the right of each picture. These documents can then be printed for use by the classroom teacher for running records and observations in class. I personally use these charts on a clipboard and write observations about student behavior and progress as I am helping the students. We store these templates on the school's Intranet as well. The blank space on the Word document chart can be filled in with indicators to make a checklist for use during a lab or activity. I find the blank charts or the one with indicators extremely valuable when I am writing report cards or preparing for a parent conference.

This is a big project depending on the size of the school; however, even our headmaster and admission's office has used these contact sheets of pictures as a reference. The uses of this resource are varied, but it all starts with the initial effort of taking the student's picture. In fact, it is a great way of making a connection with each student in the school."

Getting it "Write" the first time Allison Shore, Teacher

"Last year, I made a great discovery. On the first day of class, I have students write a 3-4 paragraph writing sample on a what they did this summer. When I reviewed these samples, I learned more about each and every students' talents, weaknesses, goals and ambitions than I ever have before. To me, this is one of the best ways to get to know your students quickly on all levels.

On the day that followed, I went around the room and told all of the students briefly what each individual student did for the summer. This helped create a bond and really helped kick off the year on a positive note. I would highly encourage using this technique."