I cannot believe it is already August. School will be here before we know it, so for those of you already thinking about how to spice up your first day of school, here are some ideas!
Day one is all about having fun and building relationships. Create a fun, engaging classroom environment on the first day so that your students are looking forward to coming back on day two and every day after that! Here are some ideas that work for me. What does your first day of Spanish class look like?
La Tomatina
Come up with a bunch of get to know you questions in Spanish – ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿Qué es tu comida favorita? ¿Prefieres chocolate o vainilla? You should have one for each student in the class. Print them out in big print on red paper. Pass one out to each student. Have them crumple it up and let them have a food fight, just like in Spain at La Tomatina! After a minute, everyone should pick one up and find a partner. They must both ask their question and discuss answers in Spanish. Then, toss the tomatoes again and keep the conversations going!
Come up with a bunch of get to know you questions in Spanish – ¿Cómo te llamas? ¿Qué es tu comida favorita? ¿Prefieres chocolate o vainilla? You should have one for each student in the class. Print them out in big print on red paper. Pass one out to each student. Have them crumple it up and let them have a food fight, just like in Spain at La Tomatina! After a minute, everyone should pick one up and find a partner. They must both ask their question and discuss answers in Spanish. Then, toss the tomatoes again and keep the conversations going!
Would You Rather
I’m not a huge fan of icebreakers, but I find this to be one of the less boring ones, as students are given creative questions that they most likely aren’t seeing in every other class on the first day of school. You can do a speed dating format where students are seated across from someone, you throw the question up on the screen, they discuss, and then one side moves down to get a new partner. You can download cards for different proficiency levels here and these could be passed out or even hung around the room to generate conversations.
I’m not a huge fan of icebreakers, but I find this to be one of the less boring ones, as students are given creative questions that they most likely aren’t seeing in every other class on the first day of school. You can do a speed dating format where students are seated across from someone, you throw the question up on the screen, they discuss, and then one side moves down to get a new partner. You can download cards for different proficiency levels here and these could be passed out or even hung around the room to generate conversations.
Get to Know You Activity – for the teacher!
I give them a mini quiz on my life before I even present myself to them. It is short, maybe just 10 questions, all multiple choice. Of course, they won’t know the answers, so they will be guessing! Some answers they may find around the room if you have your college diploma or pictures from places you’ve visited. After everyone is done, I go over the answers with pictures on a PowerPoint. The student with the most correct guesses wins! (Be sure to tell them there is a small prize involved and you will see active participation skyrocket.) Surprisingly, they are more interested in learning about me when they have a competition involved 🙂
I give them a mini quiz on my life before I even present myself to them. It is short, maybe just 10 questions, all multiple choice. Of course, they won’t know the answers, so they will be guessing! Some answers they may find around the room if you have your college diploma or pictures from places you’ve visited. After everyone is done, I go over the answers with pictures on a PowerPoint. The student with the most correct guesses wins! (Be sure to tell them there is a small prize involved and you will see active participation skyrocket.) Surprisingly, they are more interested in learning about me when they have a competition involved 🙂
Passport Activity
Now students get to share a little bit about themselves. Since this is a world language class, I like to keep that in mind when creating first day activities. Each student will get a Passport paper to fill out, with basic personal info, places they’ve visited this summer, and school goals for this year. They can be creative in making stamps for the places they visited. Download the template here.
Now students get to share a little bit about themselves. Since this is a world language class, I like to keep that in mind when creating first day activities. Each student will get a Passport paper to fill out, with basic personal info, places they’ve visited this summer, and school goals for this year. They can be creative in making stamps for the places they visited. Download the template here.
Classroom Expressions – Frases útiles
Students need access to Spanish class survival phrases from day one. Can I go to the bathroom? I don’t understand. Can I go to my locker? Make sure you have posters up in your room. Download some colorful, comprehensible input posters here. Then, play games with the kids… charades, pictionary, or matamoscas work really well for these phrases.
Syllabus/Expectations
I know this may sound boring and obvious, but your expectations should be laid out on day one (or at most day two). Your students need to know what is expected of them when they walk in your door. If you wait too long to introduce this information, they will not take you or your class seriously.
I know this may sound boring and obvious, but your expectations should be laid out on day one (or at most day two). Your students need to know what is expected of them when they walk in your door. If you wait too long to introduce this information, they will not take you or your class seriously.
Buena suerte on your first day back to school!
