Fourth and Fritcher: Back to School Getting to Know You Activities

back to school ideas elementary classroom

Building a strong classroom community is vital at the start of the year. But, how can we be sure to include those students who view public speaking as torture? If the goal is to get students more comfortable with one another and their new classroom, it is counterproductive to force students into scenarios that make their skin crawl. What are some ways we can get the students mingling without placing a huge spotlight on individuals?

Below are some ways you can “break the ice” without breaking your students.

Line-up

This task works on ice breaking without anyone speaking. I line the students up randomly and tell them they need to get in a specific order without speaking a word. We brainstorm some ways that they can communicate without using spoken words. There are many variations to this, but my favorites are lining them up from tallest to oldest, by birth dates, or ABC order by their names or favorite cartoon character. I have printed number and alphabet cards to also use as tools to have them put themselves in order. Playing cards work just as well. This is a great way to see how they can communicate without words.

Rock, Paper, Scissors War

This game is low stress and always brings smiles to any room. The students start playing with friends that they are comfortable and as they win the group gets smaller. The others that haven’t advanced sit back and watch the war progress. The last one standing is the winner. Getting them moving helps make those first days go faster for everyone!

Many of the icebreakers that students dread are the ones when they have to go around asking each other questions. These tasks do get them moving, speaking and listening, and learning names, but how about some other ways to learn each other’s names?

All About Me Creations

Name tags, cubes, collages, and a variety of shape templates can be a perfect canvas for everyone to express themselves. Some may want to present their creative products, but others will be fine displaying them for others to read from a bulletin board or table.

Name Tags

Creatively drawing their name is a great way to start this project. I have encouraged the students to add 5 number sentences that help describe them. For example maybe the student has 4 siblings. The student would write an equation that 4 is the answer (100-96= 4) This is a nice way to incorporate math and they differentiate on their own by the math operations and equations they choose to use.

Paper Collages

I have the students create their names as well as 5 details about them. But they can’t draw them with any writing tools. All of the shapes and words must be cut or torn out of colorful construction paper. I have the students glue their shapes onto black paper so the colors of their collage pop. These collages are a great way to decorate the room for the year as well. It helps the kids have ownership in their new classroom when they are helping to decorate it!

Class Word Puzzle

I create a puzzle with all of the students’ names. This is a quiet morning warm-up that gets the students knowing the names of their new classmates. It can be done on their own or in a small group.

Here's an easy to use website:
Discover Education's Puzzlemaker: Word Search

Name Bingo

Another way to familiarize others with the names is Bingo!. You can create a blank template that the student choose names from a word bank to add to their board. The teacher then randomly picks the names and the students cross off their matches on their boards. The winner can be challenged to identify the students on the winning board for an extra prize.

Any task that helps build classroom community also helps you learn about the kids in your classroom - icebreakers aren’t just for the kids! They are great to see the personalities come through and how they will all fit together.

STEM Challenges

I love to give the students simple materials and challenge them to create something new. We have created tall towers of index cards, straws, marshmallows and toothpicks and the kids have loved every minute of it. Make sure to create explicit expectations and let them create. Throw a little math into it at the end while they measure their towers and graph the class results.

One easy challenge is to ask students to create a STEM project that demonstrates a rule for the classroom. Student creations are a great way to give a visual to the expectations!

I used this FREEBIE from Teachers Are Terrific:
STEM Challenge Back to School Rules FREEBIE

STEM Prep:
I used random craft supplies that were laying around in a cabinet.

Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak

Movement Makers

Kids on that first week want nothing but to get outside and enjoy the sunshine they are missing. Why not grab some plastic spoons and ping pong balls and make a class relay race. Beach Balls from the Dollar Store also make for a great relay challenge between the boys and girls of your class. All the learning doesn’t have to happen in the classroom. Human Chain is a fun cooperative game that doesn’t require any props. The students form a small circle of 5-6 and connect hands with different peers across the circle without letting go of the hands the students must untangle themselves.

The first few weeks are so important in the success of the entire year. I firmly agree that putting the time in early on these foundations pay off big rewards later on! Make sure you are thinking of every kind of kid you might have in your classroom. Not every kid enjoys putting themselves out there. But having a variety of opportunities will help make those first days memorable and wanting them to come back for more!