Hi, I teach at a one-room rural school. This will be my fourth year at the same school, with many of the same kids. I've found that I have to "reinvent" myself a little each year so that the students at least have some new things to look forward to. So, I'm looking for some ideas on first-day activities (since the kids know each other and me, that narrows it down a lot). Also, I'm trying to brainstorm ideas on how to structure the day. This year I'll have 1 first grader, 1 third grader, 2 fourth graders, and possibly, maybe a 6th grader. Any ideas welcome! Thanks!
My school's in ND. Come to think of it, Alice, we did do a time capsule last year, I think...or the year before, but I don't think we ever opened it!!! I'm sure it's in my desk somewhere....but they'd probably enjoy doing that again! Something else I think I'll try is the whole BINGO thing where it's like, "find someone who loves reptiles." "Find someone wearing pink socks," etc. Even though they already know each other, I think I could maybe come up with some stuff...
How about '2 truths 1 lie', where the students write down 2 truths about them self and one lie and the class has to work out which is the lie. It would work well with a class who already know each other if you encourage them to use abstract things they may not tend to share with classmates!
