And I want my students to know each other as well. I'm surprised that after spending the past 6 years together (in some cases... not all...) many students still don't know others in their class.
Today for bellwork, I handed them a seating chart, and gave them a quiz over the names of the other kids in class. Very few were able to complete it. Not that I'm judging them. I didn't get a 100% on any of them either.
I wonder how many of them realized that this was also a social studies activity. We're going to spend a lot of time this year looking at maps. That's what a seating chart is: a map of the classroom.
We also tried an ice-breaker activity where students asked each other questions that I'd come up with over the summer. They took a note card, introduced themselves to another student and read the question on the note card. Then they took turns answering the questions, exchanged cards, and went to ask someone else.
I participated in this as well. It was nice, because I got to know the students a little better. The students may not have realized this, but they were also getting to know me a little bit better, too. Even if they didn't come up and ask me one of the questions, they were still reading a question I'd asked. For instance, here's a question "Why can't I win a fight in PokemonGo?
Have you played PokemonGO? Why or why not?"
By crossing out a fake, question and leaving it their for the students to read - that says something about me.
You should know we also took a real quiz today over the continents and oceans. If students didn't do well, they may retake the quiz.
Students can get extra credit by reading and discussing this blog with an adult. If they've done that, they should write at least 3 sentences about the discussion, then have the adult they discussed it with sign the paper. Students, make sure your name, date, and hour are on the paper and turn it in on Monday. It goes in the extra credit tray.
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