This activity helps students to feel proud of their names…and familiarizes them with the names of their classmates. It even provides an opportunity to practice essential math skills with a colorful bar graph!

Begin by asking students to think about their names. What’s special about their name? Were they named after a family member or a close family friend? Ask them how they would feel if someone called them by the wrong name.

After you’ve discussed a little bit about why everybody’s name is special to them, read the story Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Ask students to describe how Chrysanthemum’s feelings changed throughout the story. How does she feel about her name at the beginning of the story? What about the middle? How does she feel at the end? Why did her feelings change? Then, ask students to count the number of letters in Chrysanthemum’s name. On a piece of posterboard, make a classroom bar graph of the number of letters in each student’s name. Who has the most letters in her name? Who has the least?

Children can learn a lot about their new classmates with this fast-paced activity for 2nd–5th grade classrooms. Start by printing a copy of the Getting to Know You Scavenger Hunt list for each student. Pass out the lists, and let students know that they will have fifteen to twenty minutes to approach each other in hopes of filling in the entire list. Some of the items on the list are physical traits such as finding the tallest person in the class, but others will require that students ask each other questions. For example, students must find “someone who went camping this summer.”

When students find a match, they fill that person’s name in the blank. The first student to fill in all the blanks “wins,” but you may want to continue the game until many students have completed their scavenger hunt lists.

For preschool and kindergarten classrooms, write these questions on butcher paper or chart paper. Meet together on the rug and fill in the scavenger hunt together as a whole class.

The sooner students feel comfortable in the classroom, the sooner they can take advantage of all your great classroom resources. Help familiarize students with their new classroom through this fun map hunt.

Draw a map of your classroom. Don’t worry about your artistic ability, just make sure to include all the important classroom features, centers, and furniture you want your students to be familiar with. Your map will probably include things like: listening center, library, student tables, teacher’s desk, math center, sink, door, student cubbies, pencil sharpener, turn-in-your-work area, and so on. Consider using grid paper—it makes it easier to get the size relationships right.

At the bottom of your map, include a list of directions. The directions should draw students toward the classroom features. Your list of directions might be something like this:

1. Go to the place where you would listen to a book.
2. Go to the place where you would pick up your mail.
3. Find the place where you would turn in your assignment.
4. Find the place where you would sharpen your pencil.
5. Find your seat.
6. Go to the place where you would find a book to read.
7. Go to the place where you could wash your hands.

Before you give each student a copy of your map, provide a tour of the classroom. Point out everything on the map, and explain (if necessary) why these features are important to their classroom experience. Then, pass a map out to each student. Give students 15-20 minutes (depending on the length of your list) to find all the places on the list. When they find a place, they should put an x next to it on the list. When the time is up, go through the list with the entire class.

Begin the school year by encouraging students to think about the gifts they bring to their classroom community. During the first week of school, find time to read Shel Silverstein’s classic, The Giving Tree. Ask children to describe the gifts the tree in the book shared with the boy. Why are they special? Then, begin a group discussion about the gifts each class member brings to your classroom. For example, maybe Eric knows how to make people laugh. Sarah always has something nice to say. Mitch is very good at sharing, and so forth. You may want to write these gifts on a chart or a big piece of paper. Once the ideas are flowing, provide each student with a copy of the My Special Gift printable. Explain that students should write their special gift on the lined area of the paper and draw a picture of their special gift in the picture box. Once everyone has finished, display these pages on a wall or bulletin board in the classroom.

This kid-pleasing activity has students hunting for their own names—and those of their classmates—as they complete a word search created just for them! To get started, you need a list of all the students in your class. You then take those names and put them into a word search. Try using grid paper to properly line up the letters. You can even provide an extra message within your word search, such as “have a great school year.” Puzzle-making can be tricky, so consider using this website for assistance: www.puzzlemaker.com.