The first days of school can feel like a mix of nerves, excitement, and a hundred questions—especially the big one:
“Who are these students I’m about to spend the year with?”
If you’re anything like me, you want more than just names and icebreakers give you the icks.
You want to understand what makes your students tick, what they care about, how they show up when they’re challenged, and what kind of space they’ll thrive in.
You want to see them—beyond test scores and seating charts.
Over the years, I’ve tried lots of strategies to build early connections, but these four projects have become my go-to moves. They’re fun, flexible, and surprisingly revealing.
And best of all, they create moments of pride, belonging, and purpose that ripple out through the rest of the school year.
This guided activity inside Adobe Express invites students to dream big and visualize the person they’re becoming.
It’s a beautifully scaffolded experience that uses generative AI responsibly, allowing students to craft a personalized graphic about their future goals and dreams.
Best of all, it levels up a previous activity I did with students focused on “getting to know you.”
What I love most is how quickly this project reveals their values, hopes, and hidden talents.
It’s a powerful way to begin the year with imagination, confidence, and a sense of possibility.
This one’s loud, fast, and a little chaotic—and it’s also a brilliant way to see your students in action.
Each class period races to rearrange the room into different collaborative setups (Pairs, Trios, Quads, Oval, Half Moon) as quickly as possible.
Beyond the fun and competition, I get to observe how students think, lead, follow, and work together.
By the end of the week, we’ve built a shared muscle for smooth transitions—and a stronger sense of teamwork.
We start with a photo: a close-up of each student’s eyes.
Then we zoom in on something deeper—what they want to work toward.
Using the “Spheres of Concern, Influence, and Control” framework, students identify a challenge in their lives and reframe it into a goal for the semester.
I print their photos and display them with their goal statements on the classroom wall.
It becomes a visual reminder of each student’s focus—and a quiet anchor for our classroom community.
Instead of listing rules, I ask students: What kind of learning space do we want to create together?
We co-develop our class norms, emphasizing shared expectations, respect, and accountability. I always remind students that these norms apply to me too.
This subtle shift from rules to norms invites students into a more equitable classroom culture—one where everyone has a voice and a responsibility to the group.
These projects aren’t about creating the “perfect” first week.
They’re about showing up with curiosity, listening more than you speak, and letting your students know that this classroom belongs to them too.
The truth is, you’ll learn more in those first few weeks by giving students space to show you who they are than by telling them who to be.
These activities just help that process along—with some laughter, some reflection, and a whole lot of heart.
So if you’re looking for ways to start the year that feel human, creative, and real—pick one, make it your own, and give it a go.