The first week of school is crazy. From the first day of school through at least the first week, we have schedule changes, assemblies and all the chaos! I mean my class is nuts. I needed a first week of school activity I could do with kids that would get them interested in my class in a meaningful way.
We all need an activity for the first week of school that goes beyond the normal “get to know you” games.
If you’ve taught social studies classes long enough, you know that that some students come to class with a great deal of knowledge, while others don’t know much at all.
This activity gives students a chance to show what they know. It also gives me a chance to give them an introduction to my class in a non threatening way. They really “get into it” and the discussions are great – week one of school!
So how does it work? There are 2 versions to use – you make that choice.
Easier Version
- I put students in small groups – 3-4. Each group gets a recording sheet.
- I give them one “slide” (hard copy – in sleeve protectors) from the powerpoint and a recording sheet.
- Students work on their page to see if they can identify the content of each image. If they can, they write it on their recording sheet.
- They then try to come up with a “title” for the page. In other words, what do all the images on the page have in common? They write that title on their recording page.
- After a few minutes have passed, we pass the images around to the next group. And repeat.
More Challenging Version
- It works the same way as the easier version with a slight change.
- 3 images on the page are dealing with the same topic and one is wrong. On the recording page, they will identify all images, but put a “STAR” by the image that is wrong.
- They then put a title for this page on their recording sheet that summarizes the common three.
- They pass the images until all images are completed.
To wrap up the activity
To wrap the activity up, I project the images on my screen and we orally go over it. The “answers” pop up on the screen. I usually ask questions like, “What made you think that image was during World War I?”
I always end the activity with a quick timeline of our course, which gives students an overview of what we will learn during the year.
What do I love as the teacher?
From a teacher’s perspective, it’s a “prep once” and you can use it year after year. You just have to reprint the recording sheet each year.
I love that we are “doing history” the 1st day of school. In fact, I usually leave my “class rules and expectations” (such as my cell phone policy) to later in the week. Why? Every teacher in the building is doing it day one. I want my class to be different. Always,
After this activity, I know which classes are a little more advanced than others. I also know who my “history nerds” are – on day one. And I LOVE my history nerds! I also know which students are more interested in football or being an Instagram influencer.
If you are interested in this activity, I have it created for both 8th US History and 11th US History.
Seriously, this activity rocks.
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