I know most of us are enjoying our summer break so back-to-school resources sounds scary, BUT what are your favorite activities to do with students on the first week back that help you build relationships and set routines?
I like to do a dice game to get to know my students. I have a large dice that each student gets the chance to roll each day. The number on the die gives them a question to answer. For example, 1 - tell me about your pets, 2 - your favorite movie, 3 - something that you are proud of, 4 - something that you collect or a hobby, 5- a favorite place, 6 - you choose what question to answer.
The next day, we do the same thing, but I have new prompts for each number.
I forgot to mention that I take notes on students' answers. Then I ask who in our class has a favorite place of their treehouse or who has 3 goldfish and 1 dog. I also answer each question.
My favorite activity is the All About Me Project: Students create "All About Me" posters to share their interests, families, and hobbies. These projects are displayed in the classroom, celebrating each student's uniqueness and helping us learn more about one another. As for building routines I have daily routine practices. We practice daily routines such as morning meetings, transitioning between activities, and end-of-day procedures. Repetition and consistency help students understand and internalize these routines, leading to a smoother school year.
We work on morning meeting activities that include having the students learn everyone's name. I also have a packet of worksheets with activities that include hundreds charts, addition, subtraction and writing to see what my students know. I also do an all about me worksheet.
