Teacher Swap

I was supposed to post this yesterday, but we were packing all day, so I am a bit late. I am very excited to participate in Jen's idea of a teacher swap because I think one of the best things about being a teacher is collaborating with other teachers and sharing ideas!

Something I usually do at the beginning of the year is called a People Search.

People Search is a strategy designed to promote collaboration among the students in your classroom. It uses an interview technique for implementation and helps create interest in one another as it increases students' motivation to learn more about each other. Additionally it supports social interaction and helps foster positive attitudes towards learning. This interaction among students is a source of enjoyment and is an excellent way to begin a new year!

I do this with my first graders by providing them with a sheet of paper that has the words "Find Someone Who..." written at the top. Below that, there is a list of several (about 6-10) statements relating to first grade kids.

It might look something like this:

Find someone who......

Can tie his or her shoes _________________

Can count by 5's to 100 _________________

Can sing the alphabet _________________

Went on a vacation this summer _________________

Knows how to say "how are you?"

in Spanish _________________

Has an older brother _________________

Has a pet _________________

The idea is that the students mingle and use the statements to ask each other questions. If they find someone who can/does/has whatever the item is, that person writes their name on the line. Because most first graders are not yet reading, I use a picture to go with each statement and we review all of the statements in a whole group before they go off to ask each other and get signatures.

After they have about 10 minutes to circulate, I call them back to the rug and we have a discussion about what they learned about other people in the class.

This can be altered to fit any grade level and can also be used for content area as well. At the end of the unit students can use a list of questions related to what they learned, finding out who knows the answers to the questions.

Some other great activities to do at the beginning of the year are biopoems and I am from poems which I have posted about before. Each of those is a great way to get to know your new students as well as a way for them to get to know each other. They can be adapted for younger students and work great for older students who can write independently!