School has been back in session for almost a week now, and I know it has been a while since I last posted. I am sorry about that- I've been busy trying to get all of my ducks in a row. Now that they are, I am going to fill you in on all of the back to school happenings. Today, it is my favorite community building and get-to-know-you games for 5th and 6th grade.
Community and Respect Chain
I started doing this last year as a way to help give the students a visual representation of our classroom community. I am a strong believer that students who feel a part of the classroom environment will misbehave less and help each other more. That way, I have much less work to do later in the year because they take on a big part of keeping the classroom running smoothly. When we get new students, the other kids show them around and help them learn our routine. When there is a substitute, they help each other stay on task and follow directions. I'm sure I picked this up from my childhood, where growing up with four sisters meant that we all chipped in to take care of the younger ones. My mother made sure we understood that family was the most important, and I want my students to feel like we are a family in our classroom.
(picture to come)
On the first full day, we talked about my three rules. Afterwards, we had a discussion about what respect and community means. Each classroom gives slightly different answers, and it is always encouraging to hear the different perspectives that 5th graders bring to the table. After we talk about it, each child receives a strip of construction paper that has been cut to about 2 inches wide. (Thank you, thank you Frankie Hill for donating your old paper cutter. I keep it in my cabinet and use it almost daily!)
I put sentence starters on the board that say "Respect means..." and "community means..." They choose one to write in their strips. Then, I go around the room with a stapler and each student reads their statement. I add each strip to the paper chain throughout the day. I make a point when we are done to tell the class that the chain is a symbol of our community, and by adding their statement to the chain, they are making a promise that they will be a positive part of our community. For older students, I would probably let them staple the ring themselves, but 5th graders' operation of a stapler is not a quick endeavor and I didn't want this to take all day.
The finished chain is now hanging on the wall above the rules. It is bright, colorful, and a nice reminder that we all belong in math class.
The Name Game
Now, I know that The Name Game could really mean just about anything, but the particular game I am describing involves a ball (any type, but a beach ball or soft little kid's playground ball work the best) and the kids standing in a circle. The teacher starts off by saying, "I am Ms. ____ and I am going to throw to ____." That students says, "Thank you, Ms. ____. I am going to throw to _____." The students continue to thank whoever threw them the ball and say who they will throw to. The last student throws back to the teacher. I do this once a day or every other day for the first two weeks, and then throughout the year when we have a few minutes left in a class period. (We almost never have a few minutes left, but sometimes it happens.)
Variations:
I like to have them go around once at first without being times, which usually takes a while the first time as they learn the names. Then I will start to time them. They have to throw to the same person each time. Other kids help people remember names or who they threw to, so it encourages helping each other. I challenge each class to get the fastest time.
Kids put their hand in front of them before they get the ball and put them behind their backs afterwards to help them keep track of who had the ball already.
After they get good, I will have them go around in reverse or start with a different student. They still have to throw in the same order, or reverse order. This makes it very challenging.
Truth, truth, fib:
For this activity, each student receives an index card. They are given directions to write two things about themselves that are true and one that is made-up. The goal is to trick the class so that they can not tell who wrote which card. They will want to pick true facts that people might not know about them. The made-up statement should also be hard to guess.
After they are done, the teacher collects the cards and shuffles them. Then, the teacher reads each card and has the class try to guess who wrote it. (I usually take an informal count without going through a well-counted vote; it's more a general consensus type of vote.) Then, after the class has figured out who wrote it, they vote again on which one was the fake fact.
I usually go through a few cards a day for the first week or so instead of trying to read them all in one day.
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