First Day Activity
In most of the classes that I teach, we have many training aids. I like to set several of these on the desks before beginning the first day of class. As students come in and I am meeting-and-greeting, taking roll and putting together my seating chart (I am lousy with names) they can pick up and touch and hold these in their hands and this will spark a curiosity in most of the students. I will then briefly discuss each part and let them know at which point in the class we will be going in-depth on each part.
Another first day activity I stole from another teacher (we encourage ‘stealing’ ideas from other teachers here) is to write several key words or terms specific to the upcoming course and have the students write, on paper provided, what they think each word or term means. Even a wrong guess can become a powerful mnemonic for the student.
Have fun
John
Sounds interesting John, I like the visual aids thing and early references to the terminology that they will be hearing on a regular basis, I refer to "PAY ATTENTION" alot...
I try to start my classes with some training aids as well. I found out that by getting my students to try and get involved the first day, they not only think "money well spent",they also think that there must not be any time to waist.
John, I love both of these ideas and think you must be such a fun teacher. Tactile and visual. Cool!
Cheryl
On the first day of class ,I give the students a questionare called a "Fast Track", this gives me some insight as to 1) why the student chose this particular school, 2) what made them chose the program that they did, and 3) what do aspire to obtain once they have completed the program. This opens up a very interesting and informative discussion in the class. It also starts to create a bond among the student in the calss with each other.
I usually start off with an ice breaker to help students get to know one another and be comfortable. I usually have about three handy so that if the students already know one another, I could facilitate a more in depth activity. Then we distribute a pre-assessment and inform the students that this is so we can measure their level of knowledge prior to the course. This also provides the instructor with knowledge of the students so that materials and activities can be slightly adjusted accordingly
