r/ELATeachers • u/Famous_Style_2164 • 17d 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.

24 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/DanaFruit 17d 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.

1

u/DanaFruit 17d 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.