The first day of school lays the foundation for the entire academic year, setting the stage for learning, classroom culture, and teacher-student relationships. In this article, we’ll explore some creative activities and ideas for the first day of school that can help build connections, create a positive atmosphere, and foster a love for learning:
1- Get to know your students:
Teachers should be able to get to know their new students fast. To initiate this process, teachers can break the ice by have their students fill in a questionnaire. Here is an example of questions you can use:
- Name:
- Grade/Class:
- Age:
- Birthday:
- Favorite Subject:
- Who are your friends in this class?
- What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
- What are your hobbies ?
- What was your favorite class last year? Why?
- Is there something interesting or unique about yourself that you’d like to share?
- What are your educational goals after high school?
- How do you imagine yourself in the next 5-10 years?
2-Learn your students’ names fast using this fun game:
The primary goal of this icebreaker game is to facilitate the quick and enjoyable learning of your students’ names while introducing them to adjectives. It’s an engaging way to kick off the school year and foster a positive classroom atmosphere.
3- Find someone who :
“Find Someone Who” is an engaging icebreaker game that encourages students to interact, get to know their classmates, and kick-start conversations. It’s perfect for the first lesson and back-to-school scenarios.
- Begin the first lesson with a warm welcome and introduce the “Find Someone Who” game.
- Explain that the purpose of this game is to help everyone get to know their classmates better and discover common interests and experiences.
- Mention that each student will have a worksheet with questions, and they need to find someone in the class who matches each question.
4- Name it right to fly :
- Begin by telling the students that you’re going to play an introduction game. Note that it’s ideal for young learners.
- Start the game by saying, “I’m the captain of a spaceship, and I’m going on a trip to the moon. Who wants to join me, and what are you bringing?”
- Write this sentence on the board for the students to use: “Hi, my name is… and I’m going to bring a/an/some…”
- Keep the rule a secret: Students can only join the “trip” if the item they mention starts with the same letter as their name. Do not explain this rule to the students.
- Invite the first student to stand up and introduce themselves using the sentence on the board.
- Listen to what the student says. If the item doesn’t start with the first letter of their name, say, “I’m sorry, you can’t go on the trip,” and move on to the next student.
- If a student correctly mentions an item that starts with the first letter of their name or figures it out, accept them and write their name on the board.
- Continue with each student, one at a time, following the same process. Encourage creativity and imagination.
- Keep the game going until most students understand the rule and some are accepted on the “trip.”
- Optionally, after their introduction, you can ask students to share more information about themselves (e.g., their age, hobbies) by adding to the text on the board.
5-Mystery Game: “Guess the Secret”
This fun mystery game is designed to motivate students to ask questions and learn interesting things about each other on the first day of class.
- Begin by explaining the game to the students and emphasizing that it’s a great way to get to know their classmates.
- Ask each student to take a piece of paper and write their name on it. Then, instruct them to write down a secret about themselves. This secret could be a talent, skill, hobby, or something interesting that they’re comfortable sharing.
- Collect the slips of paper from the students, making sure to mix them up.
- Randomly choose one slip from the container. This slip should have an interesting secret written on it.
- Invite three students to leave the room temporarily. One of these three students should be the person who wrote the secret you selected.
- Share the secret with the three students who left the room and explain that they must all claim to have that secret when they return.
- Bring the three students back into the room and have them sit in front of the class. Make sure they don’t reveal the secret to the class yet.
- Tell the class the shared secret and explain that the secret belongs to one of the three students sitting in front of them.
- Instruct the rest of the class to ask the three students Wh-questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why) to determine which student is telling the truth and which ones are pretending.
- After a few minutes of questioning, stop the discussion and have each student vote for the person they believe is telling the truth.
- Reveal which student actually wrote the secret and ask each student to raise their hand if they guessed correctly. Each student who guessed correctly scores one point.
- Repeat the game by choosing another secret slip and following steps 5 to 11.
- Continue this process for as many rounds as you have time for or until all students have had a chance to participate.
- At the end of the game, tally up the points for each student. The student with the most points wins the game.
- Congratulate the winner and encourage students to share more about themselves during class discussions in the future.
6-Letter to Future Self:
Begin by explaining the purpose of the activity. Tell your students that they will be writing a letter to their future selves to express their expectations, goals, and hopes for the upcoming school year. Emphasize that these letters will be collected and returned at the end of the year for reflection.
7- Writing prompts:
The following prompts can help students express themselves, reflect on their experiences, and set positive intentions for the school year. You can choose prompts that best suit the age group and interests of your students.
- If I could go anywhere, I would…
- I learn the most when the teacher…
- I learn the most when I…
- After high school, I will probably…
- My ideal job would be…
- Three adjectives others might use to describe me are…
- One thing I’m really good at is…
- …
Download a compilation of these activities as a PDF document in one file only for $1.50
