As new elementary students enter the classroom, greet them with a sticker name tag and a marker. Ask students to write their names on the name tag and place it in a prominent spot on their shirt. When all of the students have arrived and are wearing their name tags, ask them to work together to line themselves up in alphabetical order. This game will have the students talking and working together to get the job done. They will also remind one another of their alphabetizing skills.
Get to know a little about each student in an upper elementary class by asking him to create a personal timeline of his life. As an example, draw a horizontal line across the board. Put a tally mark on the left side of the line and write the year you were born. Your students will enjoy listening to the highlights of your life as you think aloud creating your own personal timeline. Following the same process, have your students create their own personal timelines. Allow each student time to present her life history to her classmates.
Your upper elementary students will enjoy learning new facts about a partner and creating a fun game with the information. Divide the class into partnerships. Each student will need an index card and a pencil. The students will take turns interviewing the other and learning about who their partner is. Each interviewer must write three facts learned about the partner on the index card. They will also write one sentence about the partner that is not true. It can be silly or believable. When everyone has taken a turn as the interviewer, invite students to introduce their partners to the class by reading the three facts and one fictitious statement on their index card. Have the class guess which statement was made up.
Some students charge confidently into their new classroom at the beginning of the year and make themselves right at home. Other students feel awkward and hesitant to ask where things are in this new, unfamiliar room. Help elementary-age students become more comfortable with you and their classroom by writing a list of things to find throughout the room. You can include the obvious, such as the pet cage or drinking fountain, and include the harder to find, such as the picture of the blue bear in the purple anthology or a stuffed green giraffe hiding somewhere in the classroom. When most students have completed the list, talk together about where each item could be found.