The beginning of the school year in the primary classroom is all about establishing rules, routines, and relationships! Taking the time to establish all of these is so important for the success of your year! If you need a fun and easy activity to build relationships with your students then you’re going to love this getting to know you first week of school activity!
How To Use The Getting To Know You Show & Tell Bag Activity:
This getting to know you show and tell bag activity is one of my favorite activities to do with my first graders! It’s perfect for the first and second day of school! It is so easy and so fun to do! Plus, I’ve included an editable freebie for you to use!! Here is how you can use this activity with your students this year!
1. Do A Getting To Know You Teacher Bag On The First Day:
For the first day of school put together a little getting to know you bag. Include a few items in it for students to pull out to get to know you!
I usually put about 3-4 items in the bag. I liked to do an item about my family, an item about something I enjoy doing, and my favorite book. For example, I would put a picture of me and Mr. Foxwell for the students to get to know my family. Then, I would put a spatula because I love to cook and bake. The last item would be my favorite book, because I love to read. I liked to include the Elephant and Piggie book, “There Is a Bird On Your Head.” This would then be the first book I’d read to the students on the first day. Read with voices of course!
Elephant and Piggie is a must have for me in the primary classroom! They are SO FUN and they get students hooked on reading from the start!
Often I would also include a previous class picture in the bag as a fourth item, because I also love to teach!
Pulling items out of bags is such a great way to engage students in learning! Your kids will love learning about you as items are pulled out of your getting to know you teacher bag!
2. Send Home The Student Getting To Know You Show And Tell Bags For Them To Bring Back The Next Day:
Then, you’re going to tell students that now that they’ve learned about you it is the class’ turn to learn about them! Show them the Getting To Know You Show & Tell Bags. Explain that they will need to put one thing in the bag to bring to school the next day for show and tell that will help the class get to know them!!
You can brainstorm a list of some items together that they could bring! For example, they could bring a picture of their family, a favorite toy or stuffed animal, or something that is special to them. My rule was that it had to fit in the bag and not be alive! That way students don’t try to bring in their favorite giant stuffed animal unicorn to school or their pet snake!
You will send home the brown paper bag with the instructions note attached with your students. Tell them to bring it back to school the next day (or on a date that you decide) for them to share!
I’ve put together an editable note for you to be able to use to make your bags! You can grab it for FREE by clicking HERE!!
3. Have Students Share Their Bags For A Special Getting To Know You Show & Tell Time:
Students will bring their bag back to school on the second day (or another day of your choosing) for show and tell.
I love doing show and tell on the second day of school! It’s a great way to get to know your students and begin building that positive classroom community! Show and tell is also great for listening and speaking skills!
For this first show and tell, it can take a little long to do the whole class at one time. So, you can always split it up throughout the day by doing 5 students here and 5 students there.
Also, set your students up for success by going over the expectations for show and tell. This goes back to taking the time during the first weeks of school to establish the rules and routines of the classroom!
For me that meant bags had to be behind their backs and not played with or touched unless it was their turn to share. One of our classroom rules and core values was to “Be Respectful: Treat Others The Way That You Want To Be Treated.” So, that meant when a friend was sharing it was our job to give them our eyes and ears. Just like we would want others to listen to us share when it was our turn.
You will probably have a student or two that forgets their bag and that is totally ok! You won’t make a big deal about it, you’ll just tell them “No worries at all! We’re going to put on our imagination caps today and use our imaginations to picture the item in our heads as you describe to use what you would have brought in!” Have students close their eyes and the student who forgot to bring something in will start sharing what their item would have been. You will probably need to help prompt this by saying things like, “What item would you have brought in your bag today? Oh, very cool! What color is it? What shape is it? When did you get it? Oh, I can see that! What a neat ______!” Play into it and your kids will too!
A FUN Getting To Know You First Week Of School Activity!
You and your students are going to love using this Getting To Know You Show And Tell Bag Activity! It is such a fun and easy way to build relationships and get to know each other during the first week of school!
Grab The FREE Editable Getting To Know You Note
I’ve made an FREE editable note for you to use and attach to your bags!! I can’t wait for you to use this activity during the first week of school to start building positive relationships with your students!!
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