It's That Time of Year
First Day Ideas for Back to School
It’s that time of year again, when summer is winding down and my mind turns to plans for the upcoming school year. At the top of my planning list is always an activity for the first day. It has to be something fun, engaging, and community-building.
I want to see who my new students are as artists, and I want them to start to make friends. The first day is often mind-numbing for high schoolers - full of sitting and listening to the syllabus being read. I save my syllabus review for later in the week, though I do share it with parents before the first day, and focus on what I feel is of paramount importance: making a room full of tired children feel connected and engaged.
Here are four first-day activities I’ve tried in the past and loved. An explanation of each is linked on the underlined title.
This photography-based activity is something I developed during online teaching, and I loved how much I learned about students through it. It is based on the work of Zaretta Hammond, whose book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain I highly recommend. If I were to do it with a class now, I’d ask students to take the photos at home to share the next day. I would use class time to introduce the activity and have students start planning, then share ideas with a small group.
This is a short, game-based, one-day project that tests creativity and art-making skills.
Pick 3 Mini-Project (longer version)
The longer version of the Pick 3 is fun but gives students more time to investigate their ideas. I also use it to introduce the types of work I teach my students.
This project lasted a few days and, at the end of the year, multiple students shared that it was their favorite thing we did. I asked students to interview peers and combine things that each one liked to make a work of art in any media. Disclaimer: I did this activity with a small class of advanced students. I think it would work well with any secondary level!
What activities do you use to start the school year? Share in the comments below!
I’ve been asked about mentoring recently by a few different teachers who are looking for support making the switch to TAB or who are already TAB teachers looking to get feedback and support. Is mentoring something you’d like to see me offer? Let me know.