Getting To Know You Game

Getting to know your students is number one, but what if you could do that while practicing phonics, reading, and writing?

The beginning of the year is A LOT, right? So much to do, so many emails, and unstructured time. Every year I am astounded that I must recreate everything again. I have the first 9 days covered for you here if you are interested.

In first grade writing is SOOOO hard. They all come in at different levels and because it is the beginning of the year and you are going over so much, sometimes it gets pushed to the side. I have a name game that covers phonics, reading, and writing in a 15-20 minute block. I got the idea from MxM phonics book I purchased a few years ago and tweaked it a little to make it short and sweet, but still meaningful. This is a perfect get-to-know-you activity and also incorporates skills they need to practice. This is perfect for that unstructured few weeks.

 Phonics

Each day I pick a student and write their name on the board. Depending on how many students you have you might need to pick 2 a day to complete it in 2 weeks. I write it on the smart board and another whiteboard that stays up, you could also use an anchor chart. Please do not do this ahead of time, it is meant to do with the kids during the activity.

Here is the layout for phonics:

Writing

After we do the phonics part they come up to my chair and we ask 4-5 questions we want to know about that student. I record the answers quickly then we complete shared writing together. I have students come up and write certain words, and talk about how we tap out words to sound them out (if you are interested in this, check out my phonics block post for daily practice of decoding and encoding that helps with reading and writing!)

Here is the layout for writing:

 Reading

The last part of our game is reading what we wrote together. Usually, I read it first then we will choral read or they can read it at the same time. The student then gets to take the paper home. You can also save it and make a class book!

Here is the layout for reading:

Back to school is exhausting and random. This is my way of having a little bit of structure, getting to know my students, and practicing essential skills. Hope you have the best year ever! 1 week down for me 35 more to go!