First day WOW activity needed

[Zumbanut]

I've been teaching for 26 years but am brand new at blogging! I would like a new first day WOW activity. I want the first day to be more than just gathering forms, fees, discussing rules and procedures. Here are some of the things I've done in the past: classroom scavenger hunt, First Day Jitters interactive read aloud, self portraits which I keep for the cover of each child's writing portfolio.
Anyone with something new??

 

[Iluv2talk]

I am doing a ME bag and a getting to know you necklace. The ME bag is just where the students put five things in a small paper sack to bring to school that shows the things they like. Ex. If they like baseball they could include a picture of their team, a baseball, a favorite baseball card, etc. I do one too. We then spend a couple of days sharing them. I have done this for the past 4 years and my students really enjoy seeing what others bring.

Getting to know you necklace -Its sort of like a glyph. You give them a sheet that shows them what beads to picked based on their information. After they have gotten all of their beads they make a pattern and make a necklace. Next they get to walk around and find other students that let's say have one sister or two pets. I've never done this one before but it sounds like fun. Can't wait to try it. If you are interested I will give you the questions and the sheet showing which beads to pick (the directions). I'm sure I found this great idea somewhere on PT.

 

[imafive]

Me bags and glyphs

http://www.mrsvandyke.com/backtoschool.htm

I love her site! I do the me bag the first day, show them mine, talk about me, then they take home the instructions and a bag and bring them in.

The child glyphs are fun and make a great display!

 

[FMT]

Thanks for a wonderful website. It is so kind of you to share ideas and materials.

 

[Zumbanut]

thanks

I send home a "Getting to Know You" bag on the first day and we share items brought in on day 2.

The glyph necklace sounds great! I'd love more details. Do you think the boys will like it too?

 

[COLT2]

ME Bags

I have done the ME bags in the past and they were a great hit. One difference was that we decorated them to look like us in class (using yarn, paper, etc.), then they brought them home to fill. It made the bag more personal.

 

[KarenE]

I have also done the ME bags but with a little twist. I ask the kids to bring in 5-10 items that pertain to them in a closed brown paper bag-any size. They are told to keep the contents a secret and not to label the bag with their name. This is the first days homework assignment. Then on the second day I choose a bag and I pull out items one by one, after each item the kids guess who it might belong to. This serves two purposes: reinforcing the rule "to raise your hand" and to work on the skill of catagorizing (if I pull out a frilly pen it belongs most likely to a girl, etc.). I do a few each day and have learned something about each child by the end of the first week.

 

[Iluv2talk]

I love the twist you do on the ME bags. I might try that this year. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Iluv2talk]

Here is more information on the Getting to know you necklace. I know I found this on PT but I can't remember where. Thanks to the original teacher for sharing.

 

[glad2bme]

Start a class wiki!

And get your students writing on it the first day!

Our principal told us that she wants us doing lots of things that we intend to do all year long. We have to be reasonable--because we know that there will be interruptions and we must teach routines, but I think this is something I would try to squeeze in, because my students wrote so much more on the computer than they did on paper last year!

 

[Zumbanut]

thanks

Thanks for the glyph necklace directions. I'm going to do it!

 

[StaceyD]

glad2bme

How do you have a class wiki? I am guessing that it is a class blog? Can you tell me some information on what this is, how you set it up, and how you use it?
I like to try new things.

 

[sherbert]

Fab site!

What a fantastic site! The ideas for first day back are great - I'me definitely going to try some.

 

[msamyb]

necklace

I like the necklace idea. Thanks for posting the attachment.

 

[ASDT]

Class Wiki

I would be interested in hearing about a Wiki too. I'm not familiar with this term.

 

[ASDT]

Lucky Charms

On the first day, I always give out the lucky charms bag and poem. On that day we sort and record our information. The next day we graph that information.

 

[Iluv2talk]

What do you do with the lucky charms?

 

[Raygin]

I would love the directions!

Please post the directions and questions for the necklace idea!

 

[Iluv2talk]

Raygin
I posted the link for the necklaces in an earlier link. Try scrolling up and see if you can open it. It is called GETTING TO KNOW YOU NECKLACE. Let me know if that doesn't work. I can't wait to make them with my students tomorrow.

 

[bostonsmom]

Backpack pull

Like the glyph necklace, I have the students make pulls to attach on their backpaks (I got the idea from PT last year).

Here are the directions I use:

 

[Iluv2talk]

Great Idea

This sounds like fun too. What do you use for the pulls.

 

[bostonsmom]

pulls

I have the students tie their string onto the round metal keyring circles- then they attach them to their zipper