Starting school can be a fun, yet stressful time for students and teachers alike. New schools, new people, new routines, etc. It is also a critical moment in the life of each class in terms of setting the tone for the rest of the year.
Research clearly shows that the more time and energy you invest in the beginning to build trusting and healthy relationships among your students, the more you’ll be able to amplify the results of your class, no matter your content.
Below are a sample series of 10, 25 and 45 minute sessions which are specifically designed to engage your students in the first weeks of returning back to school. The activities are all simple, universally appealing, require few if any props and – importantly – will help your students have fun and get to know one another better.
There are hundreds more activity ideas where these came from, all of which can be accessed on playmeo’s activity database (just login to your playmeo account, and click the embedded links below to get started.)
More activities can be discovered at https://www.playmeo.com/activities
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Play one or more of these 10 minute activities in the first weeks of your classes, to generate lots of energy, interaction & fun.
Integrate one or more of these 25 minute activity sequences into your established classes to invite lots of sharing and the opportunity to build trust and empathy.
Five Handshakes in Five Minutes
Stationary Handshake
Vortex
Partner Greetings
Fill Me In
ESP
Dedicate most or all of your class to one or both of these 45 minute activity sequences to invite many opportunities for your students to play, share, trust & learn.
Ice-Breaker Question Exchange
Clumps
That Ain’t Me Babe
Name Roulette
Categories
Psychic Handshake
Peek A Who
Paired Shares
Turbo Name Game
If you need help creating a custom-designed program that fits your particular population, please contact me today.
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Original post January 2018, last updated March 2024.