EduCareer StaffBlog"Rinjin Blog" | "EduCareer"Supporting your career in English teaching in the Japanese school system

Ideas for Back to School

2011/08/11

Even though September is the middle of the school year, for some people it is the start of a new year as they move into a new contract after summer vacation. Here are some ideas to warm up the class for the new year from ilovethatteachingidea.com.

Class Bingo:

"I make up my own BINGO grid with such things written in the boxes as, "Has Long Hair" or "Is Wearing Blue" or "Read a Harry Potter Book This Summer." My students then walk around the classroom and have their classmates sign their names in the boxes that apply. They can only use the person's name once on their BINGO cards. Then we all play BINGO. When a BINGO is called, that student must stand up and tell which spaces were part of his BINGO by saying, "Jenny has long hair, Skyler is wearing blue and Miguel read a Harry Potter book this summer," and so on. When those students' names are called, they stand up and wave "hello" to their classmates. And those 5 students are all winners, too!"

Beat the Clock:

"Beat the Clock" is a team-building activity that is great for the first day of school and throughout the year. Each student receives at least one slip of paper with a silly instruction along with what the person before them does. For example, "After the teacher says 'go,' CLAP YOUR HANDS 3 times." Another student would receive a slip of paper that says, "After someone claps their hands 3 times, STAND UP AND DO TWO JUMPING JACKS." and so on. The instructions are not numbered to encourage students to pay attention to their classmates to determine when it is their turn to go. Each time you do this activity use a stop watch to time it. Be sure to record how long it takes somewhere where students can see. Then next time students participate in this activity their goal is to "beat the clock" or work together to decrease their time. This activity often provides opportunities to discuss what students can do to work together better as a team, such making encouraging!"

Brown Bag It:

"As a way of introducing yourself on the first day of school, bring a brown bag full of items that tell about yourself. Share these with your students. They could be things that tell about your family, an embarrassing moment, a hobby, etc. Then as a homework assignment for the first night, give each child a brown lunch bag,

Have children bring their bags full of 5 items to share with their classmates the next day. This is a fun way to get to know one another and find common interests!"

Hopefully these ideas work well for you or you come up with some great ones on your own! Good luck with your new classes!

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