Advisory Idea II: “Getting To Know You”
The first week of school can an awkward encounter for
first-year middle schoolers. Typically, they are meeting a new crop of students
in an unfamiliar setting. In most cases, several elementary school graduates
are being funneled into a middle or intermediate school. New faces, new
teachers, new surroundings, new expectations can be intimidating and daunting
for these early adolescents. Here is a twist to a familiar “ice breaker”
activity that allows students to introduce themselves to their classmates. It
also has students interact with each other, tell funny stories and move about
the classroom.
1.
Pass out index cards to each student. Have them
write their name at the top and list three (3) facts about themselves (middle
name, birthplace, favorite vacation destination, life ambitions, school year
goals, hobbies, sports, describe personality, etc.)
2.
Gather all the cards and shuffle them up. Select
four and call those students to the front of the room.
3.
Select one of the four cards and read the three
facts about that person. Do not read the student’s name. That is for the class
to figure out.
4.
Call on students to guess who is profiled on the
card. Once the correct student is picked, he/she then selects another card from
the deck and that student goes to the front of the class.
5.
You again have four cards and four students at
the front of the class. Mix those cards together and have the student profiled
from the previous round read the card and repeat for the entire class.
6.
To advance this activity, match pairs or trios
of students together. Have them talk to each other about what is on their
cards, elaborate and explain the facts on the cards. Re-group if time allows.
This way students spend the maximum amount of time interacting and getting to
know their peers better.
7.
A further advancement would be to have students
pair up with one another and write a paragraph profiling their partner.
