Family and Consumer Science 4 Exciting First Day of School Ideas
The first day is coming sooner, rather than later. Woof. I teach semester long courses, so I feel like there are two first days in a school year with brand-new kids.
One perk? I have the fall semester to try something out and the spring semester to tweak it.
Having taught elementary for over ten years, I know the power of building relationships and holding a strong claim that the first few days, or even a week, should be spent on building relationships and a classroom climate that is friendly, accepting, and fun.
My students will still quickly learn my expectations and I hold my expectations high because I’ve taught long enough to know that high expectations will always be met when my students know I am consistent, firm, and I truly care for their best interest.
There are four things I start on the first day to make sure my students begin building relationships and get a feel for the vibe we have in the classroom.
These four things are top-notch and seem to capture attention quite well. If you’re looking for fun activities to use in your Family and Consumer Science classroom, I would happily recommend.
Attendance can be tricky trying to pronounce names properly. I had a tough maiden name and it certainly was butchered year after year with secondary teachers trying to quickly call attendance and move on. This food focus icebreaker game allows my students an opportunity to move around and then share their name with me to take attendance on the first day.
FCS Icebreaker – How it works
I print the cards in color and laminate for longer lasting cards. (I’ve taught elementary long enough to know I’d rather not spend every August cutting new laminated cards)! Afterwards, I place one card at each desk. If you’ve spent any time with junior high or high school students lately, you know the saying “it’s the ___ for me”, well the same thing works for these cards. I play music and students walk around looking at the cards. When the music stops, students find the card that matches their vibe, such as “It’s the pizza for me”.
When students share their card, I also have them share their name. This gives me a chance to write how to say the name or a nickname.
I also use these cards with an interior design focus and apparel and textiles to start each of those two units.
Family and Consumer Science Get to Know You
After the icebreaker and taking attendance, I use the Family and Consumer Science Get to Know You pages. I have used plenty of great back to school pages, but none were specific or focused on Family and Consumer Science. These are fun, engaging, and get students talking and sharing, which is just what I want to begin building relationships.
There are multiple fun pages to students to mark their preferences. They are fun to share and see who we have in common as a class. I use these throughout the week and also the pages about each of the FACS units I teach throughout the semester. This gives me a better idea of what experience my students bring to class.
Daily Attendance Questions
As a closer to the first class, I explain how the daily attendance question works. THIS is the real relationship builder in the class and it lasts all semester. A new question each day at the start of class and the students absolutely LOVE it.
If there is anything I can suggest for you to implement this year, it’s attendance questions.
I have a daily slide on my projector screen. It states the agenda for the day, daily attendance questions, reminders, bell schedule changes if necessary, etc.
Students look forward to entering the room each day and checking out the question. I always start with my expectations and will continue to give reminders about expectations throughout the year, especially if students are rude, “funny”, or disrespectful.
Here are a few of the expectations I hold in my classroom:
There are no right or wrong answers. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Students are expected to remain silent while I take attendance and also to show respect to give everyone a chance to speak.
Read more about how I implement daily attendance questions on this blog post.
The fourth thing I do in my FCS classroom to start the school year is to explain expectations.
I am a Swiftie and proud of it. I use my Bitmoji and my favorite T Swift lyrics to create a list of expectations to share with students.
Not only does this help get my point across, but it shows a personable and relatable side. Think about how fun it would be to use FRIENDS one-liners, or Gray’s Anatomy, or even The Office. One of my former co-teachers wasn’t a fan of Taylor Swift, but she loved Prince. She choose her favorite songs and created her own set of expectations.
Make the first few days fun and build relationships before you start your curriculum. I promise you won’t regret it and neither will your students.