Getting to Know Your Students: Engaging Activities and Ideas

When a new school year begins, teachers face the exciting challenge of meeting a classroom full of new students. Making a strong first impression is crucial, and the initial days are vital for learning names and faces, establishing relationships, setting expectations, and fostering a positive classroom culture. The following activities and ideas, gathered from experienced educators, offer effective ways to welcome students, set the tone, and learn about one another, creating an invaluable foundation for the school year.

Welcome-Back-to-School Activities

1. Play a Getting-to-Know-You Game

Icebreaker activities can be invaluable for helping students remember names and creating a relaxed atmosphere. Fifth-grade teacher Stacy Salter begins her year with a "getting to know you" game. Students sit in a circle, and the first student states their name and something they like. For example: "My name is Jasmine, and my favorite color is green." The next student then states their name and something they like, repeating the information from the previous students. For example: "My name is Alex, and my favorite food is pizza, and her name is Jasmine, and her favorite color is green." This continues around the circle, with each new student added to the list. The teacher goes last, remembering all the students’ names and likes.

This activity teaches the importance of active listening, eye contact, and equal sharing time. According to Stacy, it is an effective introduction for the class and a lesson on paying attention and remembering details.

2. Create Classroom Decorations

Building a classroom community starts with connections between students, but a structured and comfortable environment is just as important. Elementary teacher Kitty Donohoe believes in incorporating mindfulness into her daily teaching. She involves students in decorating the classroom, having them write their favorite subjects on sticky notes and adding them to a poster.

Student-crafted décor can also stem from reading lessons, turning the creative process into a meaningful welcome activity. For example, Kitty's class creates collage self-portraits for bulletin boards using colorful paper and materials, inspired by the cover of "How to Read a Book" by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. She also uses "Being the Change" by Sara K. Ahmed for lessons.

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3. Involve Students in Creating the Classroom Culture

Camyrea Barnes, a middle school math teacher, initially jumped straight into teaching at the beginning of the year, having students solve math problems on the whiteboard in front of the class. She noticed that students were afraid of being wrong and being called out by their peers. To change this, she now spends the first two weeks discussing growth mindset and creating a classroom culture where mistakes are seen as part of the learning process. During these weeks, she focuses on building a supportive environment rather than teaching math.

4. Ask Students What You Should Know

In 2015, elementary teacher Kyle Schwartz tweeted an image of a student's note that read, "I wish my teacher knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework." This was in response to Kyle’s question: what is it that you wish I knew about you? The unexpected and revealing answers allowed Kyle to start the school year with trust and empathy. She sent pencils home with students who needed them and created a supportive space for students to share their experiences.

Kyle shared, "I really wanted to connect with kids. I just wanted to find out what was happening in their lives." The "I Wish My Teacher Knew" lesson went viral, and Kyle continued to use it each year to open a dialogue with her students. For this activity, students can remain anonymous to their peers and share their responses only with the teacher.

5. Write Yearlong Goals

It's helpful to reflect on the goals set during the early welcome-back activities as the year progresses. Middle school teacher Bianca Cole has a routine that connects the first and last days of the school year.

“On the first day of school, I like students to create a time capsule of their school-year goals,” says Bianca. “I pass out a note card, and they list one academic goal and one personal goal. Bianca collects the notes from her students and seals them in an envelope with the words “Do Not Open Until [DATE]” on it. The students vote on the exact day during the last week of school they want to open the envelope together.

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More Welcome Back-to-School Ideas

Interactive Learning

Engage students with interactive lessons that encourage movement and collaboration. Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc., suggests various activities to get students moving while learning. Making class interactive can start even before students enter the door. Writing the agenda on the board or screen and giving students a discussion question sets the tone.

Interactive Roll Call

Turn roll call into a game by asking a question related to the subject matter. The first student to answer correctly wins a small prize.

Card-Based Activities

Give each student a card with a fact or number and have them line up in a specific order based on the information on their card.

Dancing

Play music and have students move to different corners of the room based on their agreement with discussion topics.

Exit Activities

End class with a small, interactive activity that students complete before leaving.

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Activities to Develop Self-Awareness and Purpose

Get-to-know-you activities shouldn't be limited to the first weeks of school. Celebrating students’ unique experiences and identities can strengthen connections and improve engagement. Students with a deeper sense of self are better able to define and pursue their goals.

Laws of Life Essay

Inspired by philanthropist John Templeton, this assignment asks students to reflect on the values and principles that guide their lives. Maurice Elias, a psychology professor at Rutgers University, recommends asking students to reflect on their past experiences and the people who have influenced them. Students then discern key characteristics and craft an essay or multimedia project focused on their guiding "laws." Question prompts like "Who do you admire? List three of their admirable traits" and "Describe an incident or event from which you learned a lesson ‘the hard way’" can help guide students.

Identity Portraits

Middle school teacher Shana White helps students explore their identities by defining identity and discussing visible and invisible characteristics. She shares photos of friends and has students guess their "identity characteristics" before revealing the true details. Students then draw "identity portraits" showing both visible and invisible aspects of their identities.

"Who Am I?" Activity

Facing History and Ourselves recommends this exercise for middle school students. Students discuss factors like religion, gender, and geography that influenced the identities of historical or fictional characters. They then read "My Name" from "The House on Mango Street" and discuss how names reveal cultural details.

Student Inventories

Use student inventories to quickly gather details about students' interests, culture, memories, and family. Ask students to list their favorite musicians, songs, sports, activities, games, or food. You can also use thought-provoking questions in one-to-one conferences.

Passion Blogging

Allison Berryhill offers an exercise called "passion blogging" where students write about topics that interest them. Students start by drawing "heart maps" filled with illustrations and words representing their passions. They then select topics to explore further and find related articles, images, and videos. Berryhill provides lessons on attribution of sources and shares mentor texts to guide students’ writing. Students also read and evaluate their classmates’ blogs.

Documenting Life Through Photography

Wendy McElfish taught a lesson on Dorothea Lange’s photography from the Great Depression and had her students take photos documenting their lives with themes like "life outside your door," "through a window," "different life inside," and "porch photos of your family."

Quick and Entertaining Activities

Trevor Boffone asks students to submit their favorite song at the start of the year and plays music at the beginning of each virtual class. Cathleen Beachboard includes activities like show-and-tells and theme days. She also uses a practice called "Three Cool Things I’ve Seen" to recognize students for their individuality.

Continuing to Get to Know Your Students

It's important to continue get-to-know-you activities throughout the school year. Here are 20 activities to help you connect with your students:

Act Out a Scene From a Book: Have students act out scenes from books they are reading to reveal their interests and personalities.
Name History: Discuss the history and meaning behind each student’s name, involving families if necessary.
People Bingo: Students find classmates who fit categories on a Bingo card, such as "born in the summer" or "has a brother."
"All About Me Bags": Students bring in items that represent them in a bag to share with the class.
Student-Designed Bulletin Board: Choose one student per week to take over the bulletin board with pictures and information about themselves.
Post-It Note Interviews: Students interview each other and compile the responses into a list.
"First to Last": Students order items within a category from their most favorite to their least favorite.
Reading Inventory: Assess students’ reading interests and habits with a reading inventory.
Dreams Discussion: Read aloud books about following dreams and have students detail their own dreams.
Tangled Web: Students share something about themselves while passing a ball of yarn around the circle, creating a tangled web.
Magazine Collages: Students create collages with phrases and images that represent them.
"Three Things": Students write down three facts about themselves and classmates guess who the card belongs to.
Acrostic Name Poems: Students create acrostic poems using adjectives that describe them.
"Food for Thought": Students say their name and a food item they enjoy that starts with the same letter.
Dice Questions: Students answer questions based on the number they roll on a die.
Autobiography Presentations: Students create presentations or reports about themselves.
"Agree or Disagree": Students agree or disagree with statements by moving to different sides of the room or using thumbs up/down.
Daily Check-In: Use daily check-ins to monitor students’ mental health and well-being.
Gratitude Journals: Students write down three new gratitudes each day and share them with the class.
1:1 Conversations: Have individual conversations with students during lunch or scheduled conferences.

Games and Structures That Infuse Laughter and Joy

Teachers can beat burnout by focusing on what gives them energy and creating joyful moments in the classroom. Responsive Classroom prioritizes safety, belonging, and fun. Games create shared experiences and help students attach positive emotions to learning.

Academic Games

These games enforce academic learning and serve as formative assessments.

Show Me…: The teacher calls out "Show Me…" and a word or concept, and students act it out or create it with materials.
Simon Says: Students perform movements related to vocabulary words when the teacher says "Simon Says."
Whiteboard Reveal: Students write answers on whiteboards and reveal them simultaneously.
Charades: Students act out vocabulary words or concepts.
Toss the Ball: Students pass a ball around and say something related to a category.
Concentric Circles: Students form two circles and discuss questions or prompts with their partner.
Line Up, Line Up: Students line up in two lines and discuss prompts with their partner, then move to a new partner.
Statues/Tableaus: Students create statues or tableaus to represent scenes or ideas.
Stand Up/Sit Down: Students stand up or sit down based on whether a fact or statement is true.
Musical Meet Up: Students move around while music plays and then pair up to discuss questions or prompts when the music stops.
Human Scale: Students use their bodies to represent numbers or scales.
Sculpt It/Draw It: Students draw or create clues for a vocabulary word or concept for their partner to guess.

Seating Charts and Classroom Jobs

Seating charts can facilitate learning by strategically placing students next to each other. Assigning classroom jobs to every student promotes service and responsibility.

Supporting Special Needs Students

Sing the same hymn every day and use hand motions to help non-verbal students participate. Create a prayer book to guide students during prayer. Pair students with special needs with buddies who can adapt activities for them.

First Day of School Activities

Minimize anxiety on the first day by planning activities that showcase your teaching style and procedures.

Word Search Buntings: Students create word search buntings using old books or dictionaries to represent their past, present, and future.
ELA Worksheet: Use a fun ELA worksheet to review concepts and learn about students.
Digital Visual Resumes: Students create digital resumes to familiarize themselves with digital resources.
Stations: Use stations to make the class active from day one.

Relatable Activities

Incorporate get-to-know-you activities into units throughout the year. For example, when teaching Beowulf, have students form their own mead halls based on interests.

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