Creative Back to School Get to Know You Activities
Engaging and creative activities can help students feel more comfortable and connected with their peers on the first day of school. Here are some fun "get to know you" activities:
Two Truths and a Lie: Each student shares three statements about themselves: two truths and one lie. The rest of the class tries to guess which statement is false. It's a great icebreaker and can lead to interesting conversations.
Interview a Classmate: Pair up students and have them interview each other with a set of fun and insightful questions. Then, they can introduce their partner to the class, sharing some interesting facts they learned during the interview.
Name Acrostics: Have each student write their name vertically on a piece of paper and come up with adjectives or phrases that describe themselves, starting with each letter of their name.
Emoji Introductions: Provide a list of emojis and their meanings. Each student selects a few emojis that represent them or their interests. They can present their choices to the class and explain why they chose those specific emojis. Emojipedia
Create a Collage: Give students magazines, newspapers, or access to images online. Ask them to create a collage that represents who they are, their hobbies, and interests. They can present their collages to the class or small group.
Classmate Bingo: Create bingo cards with different traits or hobbies, such as "plays a musical instrument," "has a pet," or "loves soccer." Students move around the room, asking their classmates if they fit any of the descriptions to fill out their bingo card.
Jigsaw Puzzle Introductions: Divide students into small groups and give each group a jigsaw puzzle. As they work together to assemble the puzzle, they share information about themselves based on the prompts provided. My local dollar store has small inexpensive puzzles perfect for this activity.
Interactive Question Wall: Prepare a bulletin board with various questions like "What's your favorite book?" or "If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?" Students write their answers on sticky notes and stick them to the board.
Create a Class Playlist: Have each student suggest a song that represents their personality or feelings about starting middle school. Compile the songs into a class playlist and play it during breaks or transition times.
Team Building Challenge: Divide the students into small groups and give each group a challenge or problem-solving activity. It could be building a tower with spaghetti and marshmallows or designing a paper airplane that flies the farthest. This fosters teamwork and cooperation among the students while they engage in a fun activity.
Here are some team building challenge suggestions to get you started.
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Would you like to know the best way for you to get to know your students better? No matter how many kids you see in a day? Read my previous post on this very topic.
