I love the first week of school because it’s a clean slate. The room is clean and perfectly organized, the year-at-a-glance plans are written, name tags are on the desks, and your supply cabinets are filled with unbroken crayons.
Now the butterflies in your stomach begin to flutter madly. What do you actually do with your kids during the first week? Getting to know your students and establishing a kind and caring community is a must for the first week of school. I have a few ideas to share with you in the next few weeks that will help tame those butterflies.
Daily Would You Rather Question
Here's a quick and fun way to get to know a little about your students. You've probably heard of the game Would You Rather. It's a set of questions that ask the player to choose between two items. Sometimes the choices are two things you'd really want and sometimes they're things you don't want at all!
My version of the game asks kid-friendly questions. They're meant to get kids engaged in interesting discussions as they get to know each other.
Preparing for the activity:
On the first day of school, take a headshot photo of each student. (These photos will come in handy for many projects throughout the year.) Then digitally crop the photos so just the head and shoulders can be seen. I like to crop them into a circle before I print them. You can laminate them before you cut them out. That way you can use them for other projects. If you plan to use them on a magnetic whiteboard, you can attach a magnet to the back.
Now you can get your display ready. I created a set of labels you can download and print for your display. This is a PowerPoint file, so make sure you have that program before you download it.
Would You Rather Freebie
This file not only has the editable labels, but it also has a few Would You Rather question cards you can use with your class.
New! I've just added a digital version of the Would You Rather questions. The download has a link so you can add it to your Google Drive.
Ready to go!
Now you’re ready for the question. I like to use questions that help me get to know my students and lead to spirited discussions. The questions should not have right or wrong answers. It's okay if the kids have a hard time choosing just one response. Making difficult choices really gets the students to join the discussions.
Have the question displayed and the two choices on the Would You Rather board. After you introduce the question, let students place their photo on the side for their choice.
This type of question is also an excellent writing starter. You can have students explain their choice in their writing journal. Or, assign it as part of your homework for that week.
If you'd like to have more Would You Rather cards and other back-to-school ideas, check out this Ultimate Resource Bag. It has 10 activities to use the first week of school to get to know your new students and begin setting the tone for a kind and caring class.