Games to Get to Know Students for the First Day of School
Mitigate nervous feelings and shyness by playing a few ice-breaker games to get to know your students on the first day of school. Whether a young child or older high-school student, many children may feel awkward meeting a new teacher and classmates. Take away that fear with guessing games or an activity to get students up on their feet and moving around. Before you know it, everyone in the classroom will have a cursory knowledge of each other. A comfortable environment makes an ideal place for knowledge to expand and grow.
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Famous Celebrity
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Break the ice by using famous people to help you get to know your students. Print out pictures of famous celebrities and give one to each student. Let each student tape the picture on the back of another classmate. Make sure the student who is being taped with the picture does not see who the celebrity is. Let each student ask questions to guess which celebrity is taped on his back. Once he guesses correctly, he must say the name and a characteristic or skill that closely resembles the guessed celebrity.
Candy Game
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Hand out a multi-colored selection of candy-coated chocolates to each student. Make sure there are several of each color. Instruct your students to answer questions about themselves based on the colors of the candies that they have received. For instance, students with red candies have to describe their favorite hobbies, or those with brown candies their favorite movies. Call out the color and have each student talk about the appropriate topic before eating the candy.
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Scavenger Hunt
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Hide treats in the form of pencils, stickers or small toys in each student's desk. Cut out shapes from construction paper, write the name of one student on each shape and hide them around the classroom. Assign each student with a desk. Give students a sheet of construction paper and craft materials to write their names and decorate the papers. Tape a name to each desk. Write on a slip of paper a "clue" describing the color or name of each hidden shape. Give each student a clue. Tell students to find another classmate and ask three things about that classmate including the student's name. Once they have finished, they hand each other the clues to find their appropriate shape. When they find the shape they then must go to the student's desk to find a prize hidden inside.
Tell the Facts
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Ask students to stand up one by one to describe five facts about themselves. Good examples of facts includes pets they own, how many siblings they have or favorite hobbies they enjoy. Once everyone has finished, describe at least 20 things about yourself. Then let students take turns in trying to remember all the facts that you listed. Tally up the marks for who correctly named the most facts and give the student a prize. Go around the room and list a fact about each student to demonstrate your memory skills.
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References
- Photo Credit students large group image by alma_sacra from Fotolia.com
