This activity is for first-year junior high students and first-year teachers. You and your students will reflect on the good experiences and positive accomplishments from your years in middle or elementary school. Ask the students to write down their three biggest accomplishments or three favorite memories during middle or elementary school. The experiences do not have to be directly related to education, so long as they occurred during those early school years. Students will then briefly present these experiences to the rest of the class. You can start things off by telling the students about your favorite memories and accomplishments from that time.
If you want to really break the ice and allow your students to get to know each other, you can host a get-to-know-you party. For this party, you would conduct several ice-breaking activities. One activity would involve splitting the students into pairs and having the two students learn about and introduce each other to the class. Another activity involves creating a list of 30 descriptions such as "wears glasses, born in January and born in another country" and have each student find as many other students meeting those descriptions as they possibly can. You can also bring some snacks and treats for this get-together.
You can also start off the school year by conducting a few activities designed to make your students look ahead to the end of the year and beyond. These activities can work equally well with students at any junior high grade level. You can ask your students to write out and share three goals that they wish to accomplish by the end of the school year. As the teacher, you should also write and share goals. To stretch the previous idea further, you can have the students share three goals that they want to accomplish by 30. You can also lead the class in making a mock yearbook showing things they expect to happen by the end of the year or by the end of their junior high experience.
You can also conduct fun activities related to the subject you are teaching. For example, if you are a chemistry teacher, you can start off the year by having students conduct a quick chemical experiment that produces a surprising reaction. For literature teachers, you can ask your students to write a short poem or story about their time before junior high school or what they expect from junior high. For art teachers, you can lead your students in creating a quick collage about junior high or some other theme. For music teachers, you can play a selection from your favorite musician for the class.