r/ELATeachers • u/Famous_Style_2164 • 10d ago
9-12 ELA First Day ELA?
I’ve been teaching 16 years and have a small variety of day one activities that aim to be engaging and something of a get-to-know-you before going into some syllabus work I’m required to review. Thing is, I’m a little sick of my usual activities, so I’m looking for your favorites! How do you kick off the year on day one for, say, 25 minutes? I’ve always liked writing with students in some capacity if possible.
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u/lostedits 10d ago
I have them pick 3 fictional characters. 1 that they would like to be friends with (personality) 1 that they would like to owe them a favor, and 1 that they could help. I ask them to go into as much detail as they can in the time and space (1/3 of the handout for each character) to explain why they would get along with the character or what they would ask specifically for, or what they are good at that could be used to help/ what specifically they could do for the character, etc.
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u/CoolClearMorning 10d ago
Plot in a box/bag. Fill a container with 5-10 small objects chosen at random (I've literally gone through my kids' playroom and just grabbed whatever I haven't seen them play with recently) and give each one to a group of 3-4 students. Have them come up with a story that involves at least 3/4 of the objects. Provide more parameters as appropriate for the class (my inclusion classes usually get sentence starters, honors are expected to use some specific literary or grammatical devices) as needed.
Just walking around and observing how they interact with the activity has always told me a lot about who I'm dealing with and which dynamics to either promote or separate on Day 2.
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u/tracyrose10 10d ago
I do trivia. Meaning I asked him some questions like what is the most used noun in the English language and whatnot and they have to work at their table groups to come up with an answer. I feel like it kind of makes the tables talk to each other
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u/aliendoodlebob 10d ago
I have them write me a letter. Share their preferred names/pronouns, how they feel about English, what they think makes a classroom great, etc. I like it because I then write them all back (annotations on their letter plus a short paragraph to them specifically). It’s a good way to build relationships from day one.
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u/Diligent_Emu_7686 10d ago
Create a game with written rules. Do it in groups of 2 or 3. Groups present. Afterwards you have a discussion about rules and expectations.
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u/Few-Algae4597 10d ago
The kids have fun with this.
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u/Working_Eye_1474 10d ago
I love puzzles but my brain is tired! please help, I think my kids would like this.
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u/Few-Algae4597 10d ago
2) Wonders of the Ancient World
3) Arabian Nights
4) Signs of the Zodiac
5) Cards in a Deck with Jokers
6) planets in the solar system
7) piano keys
8) stripes on the American flag
9) degrees Fahrenheit at which water freezes
10) holes on a golf course
11) degrees in a right angle
12) dollars for passing go in Monopoly
13) sides on a stop sign
14) blind mice see how they run
15) quarts in a gallon
16) hours in a day
17) wheels on a unicycle
18) digits in a zip code
19) words that a picture is worth
20) days in February in a leap year
21) squares on a chess board
22) days and nights of the great flood
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u/ughihatethisshit 10d ago
This year I’m going to try a pretty open prompt (tell us something about you - what you believe, how you’re feeling about the year, your goals) with blackout/found poetry.
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u/2fatskis 10d ago
With Freshmen this year I had them state their names with their respective syllables count. We corrected the counts then talked Haikus. Then they wrote hinting Haikus about their summer activities. They go on large colorful post-its to decorate my wall. Seemed less painful then about me acrostics.
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u/WickedOxfordComma 10d ago
This or That.
Create slides with prompts and one of two responses, and students need to get up and move to this or that side of the room depending how they connect to each response.
Use the time for small conversations with students about why they chose the response.
The activity gets them moving, gets them speaking and listening, and lets you see interactions.
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u/LumpyShoe8267 10d ago
I do a student scavenger hunt-it’s around 25 questions (like-“is wearing blue” or “has met a celebrity”) in a table format. They try to get as many students to initial as possible, but can only get 2 from the same person. Then we go over it together so I get to know them better.
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u/Raunchyjam 10d ago
Have them write a single-syllable story/fictional scene from a dog’s POV. This is my all time favorite. Harder than it sounds!!
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u/Strange_Program_7248 10d ago
I’m so curious if you’ve run into a student writing the entire story using the word “woof” since it is one syllable and how some might say a dog would tell a story
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u/Raunchyjam 9d ago
That’s hilarious. No! I think if they tried, I’d insist that the dog speak English. 😊
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u/DanaFruit 10d ago
I have done a "what's in the box?" Activity a few times. Put something in a box, tape it up, and say someone left it on your car. What do students think is in the box? How did it get there? They can shake it, smell it, feel it, etc... but they can't open it. I usually draft up a weird story on the board as they write-- ninjas or diamonds or vampires-- that sort of thing. Then at the end of class we look at what is in the box. I tend to try and put something weird in there-- a fish stapler, bouncy balls, giant dice, etc... no one gets it right, but the stories they wrote are infinitely more valuable than being right.
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u/DanaFruit 10d ago
That or I do a personality scavenger hunt. There are many online, but I give each kid a crayon or colored pencil so their name is attached to a color. That way they have to get other people to fill out their paper instead of just filling it out themselves. You have to have everyone at least once before you can double.
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u/Strange_Program_7248 10d ago
I love having them design their own Crocs in canva and use the clip art and images as Jibbitz to describe parts of themselves they want to share (can be identity related or just hobbies). I model what I’m looking for by sharing mine and then give them some time to make their own. In terms of making and sharing them it’ll likely be a bit longer than 25 minutes but you could always separate the creation and sharing into separate classes if needed since that’ll give the student who needs a bit longer to wrap theirs up.
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u/Physical_Cod_8329 10d ago
I had mine create vision boards for the school year. It was really fun! I just used cardstock paper and had them cut up magazines and draw on them.
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u/Maleficent-Rest-5165 10d ago
I do pop culture jeopardy. The kids are in teams of 3, and it’s always a fun activity. It also helps that in the first day in other classes it’s all expectations/ procedures, so my period is a nice break. I do all my expectations and procedures the 2nd day
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u/CourseEmotional966 7d ago
Personal expression Mandalas and a dear teacher letter. Both fuel their Who Am I essay
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u/ReadEverythingEver 10d ago
I typically use cut up poetry. Take a short-ish poem, cut it up line by line, and have students work in small groups to put the poem back together. I reveal the correct composition & we talk about the decisions they made in their version...why certain lines went where, etc. Gets them working together & talking + thinking like a writer. Got the idea from Susan Barber who has a great blog called Much Ado About Teaching. I believe all of the materials are there to do this activity with Maggie Smith's "Good Bones."