Beginning of the year activity -- turned test prep strategy!

At the beginning of the year a few years ago, I decided to play 4 corners with students with get to know you questions. I put up a slide-show with questions and the 4 possible responses. I set out the rules (no running, must choose one of the answers, keep within your own space, etc) and labeled each corner. When they made their selection, they could talk with another person or in a small group, why they choose that answer. Then they could share if there was another one they would have picked. If only one student was at a corner, I would go over and talk with them.

What I realized a few weeks in was that I could also do this with math multiple choice questions for practice (I taught primarily math at the time, but you could do it with other subjects too). Students then had to show their work for the answer or explain how they got it. I occasionally would throw in a question that had multiple right answers and would share that up front with students. They then could discuss in their groups if they thought any of the other answers were correct and how they knew.

From the elementary school lens: one of my favorite beginning of the year brain-break/ice breaker activity is the idea of Stand Up-Sit Down. You put a statement on the board: Stand up if: I have pet. Students then get to see who in the class has a pet and who doesn't. You can allow students to share with a partner or the whole group about their pet or if students don't have one, what pet they might like to have. This helps students move and also get to make connections with others in the room! I usually create a slide show presentation with some statements and use them throughout the first week. That way students don't get bored and gives time for discussion if that's what you want to facilitate!

Are you able to have live classroom pets? What are some good suggestions for classroom pets?

We are not able to have any pets with fur due to allergies, other than our school therapy dog. Several of our teachers have fish or turtles.

Do you use desk pets? How do you organize them and how do your students earn them?

Have you found any good strategies that keep your absenteeism rates lower?

We introduced a school wide award that is awarded to the classroom in each grade level with the highest attendance rate each month. When our individual classes have attendance above 95% on a daily basis, we get a postcard with our mascot on it to display outside our classroom door (with the date earned). When our classroom earns 10 of them, we get a visit from the Woot-Woot wagon and each student gets to pick a treat!

How do you welcome new students to your classroom when they arrive 2-6 months after the school year has started?

As I was reading an educational article recently, I saw this idea, and I loved it! I will definitely implement it at the start of next year:

Have students write down (or tell you if they are little ones) what they want to hear on hard days. Collect those notes and hand them back out to students when you feel like they need to be reminded.

What are some ways you help students persevere on hard days?

One of the things I've heard so frequently in my teaching career: "Kids love you. How do you do it?"

Students want a relationship with someone. They want to know that the people who they spend all day every day with care about who they are. I read a quote recently that said, "There's nothing to lose by giving a student a second chance. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. There's only the possibility of strengthening a relationship, demonstrating the power of empathy, and instilling a glimmer of hopeful recovery." --Teacher, Justin Tarte

This describes perfectly how I build relationships with students. Do I have high expectations? Yes. But do I also demonstrate that you can make mistakes and learn from them. Giving a student a second chance allows them to be exactly who they are, a child.

What are some ways you build relationships with students throughout the year to build them up?

What are some ways you celebrate the end of the year countdown with your students?

In my school, our kindergarten students have an ABC countdown for the last 26 days of the year. Today was letter B day and we celebrated by reading books, wearing blue, and playing with bubbles!