Icebreakin' Activities Too! Electric Boogaloo!

                                               

Truth:  I can barely remember anyone's name.  Seriously, people say their names, I hear it, then it's gone.  I'm horrible at it which can make for awkward endings to conversations.  I've tried to get better, but it's a process.  Consider it part of my social awkwardness or consider it an issue that too many of us have.

For many of us, the year is beginning or will be soon.  This means there will be new faces, too many meet and greets, parent conferences, and thousands of students running through the halls.  I can almost feel myself forgetting every single name I hear too.

This year my students will be creating journals about every single student that walks through the classroom door.  This is from a project I created called Hello My Name Is... and it's based on my own inabilities and how we (I) can counteract them.

I wanted something fun and funny that would work across most grade levels, plus it includes drawing self portraits of other students.  In my little world it is the perfect solution to break the ice and build relationships.  Maybe I should have teachers do this during inservice days.

Students will sit and talk with each other, ask questions (which are on the sheets), and even draw pictures (hopefully appropriate) of one another (including their own teachers).  By the end of it students will have met with one another, found common interests, had a couple of laughs, and possibly even have found a new friend.

We know how difficult being in a new environment can be so just imagine the tolls it takes on our students.  That's why so many of us take concentrated measures to make sure students feel so well from a social and emotional standpoint.  Just think about how we all felt as new teachers...

On my first day as a new teacher the gym teacher threw me in a locker and stole my lunch that mom packed.

On my second day as a new teacher the students threw me in a locker and stole my lunch money.

On my third day as a new teacher the principal threw me in a locker, stole my lunch money, and bought pizza for the gym teacher and students.

Yes.  Boy Meets World.

I've created a freebie version to try out.  You can pick it up here.  It comes with a blank face and page for students to tell about themselves and another page for them to interview someone else in the class.

If you want to check out the whole thing click here or on the image below.

Good luck this year!