First Day of School Back to School Ice Breaker Activity with Writing Prompt

Here it is: the PERFECT Ice Breaker to start the school year. Don't know what to do to get to know your students? Print out this fun Back to School All About Me Ice Breaker Activity for the first day or week of school, or share the Google Slides™️ with your students. Ideal for use in Every type of classroom and grades 6 - 12. Comes with complete instructions for students AND complete, easy-to-follow "How to Post to Google Classroom" instructions for you.

Using terms that teens can relate to, this visually appealing “selfie” allows students to share some info about themselves in a way that they’ll truly enjoy, but is not intrusive or overly personal (like some surveys or inventories.) This activity also does double duty by including a writing response that allows students to choose the topic from the front that they would like to write about on the back. Their response provides you with a succinct snapshot of your new students and a formative assessment without sentencing yourself to hours of reading lengthy answers or long essays. (Who needs that during the first week of school?)

What's Included:

PRINT:

⭐ "Selfie" pages in bright colors (and also in ink-friendly grayscale)--all of the same design but each with a different header:

• My Selfie
• My 6th grade Selfie
• My 7th grade Selfie
• My 8th grade Selfie
• My Freshman Year Selfie
• My Junior Year Selfie
• My Sophomore Year Selfie
• My Senior Year Selfie

⭐ EDITABLE headers in color and B&W. Make your own titles: "My Selfie for Mr. Allen's Class" or "My Algebra 1 Selfie", for example.

⭐ Writing Prompt pages in bright colors and grayscale that you can copy onto the back of the Selfie page that you select. The prompt goes with the Selfie: "Select one of the responses from your “Selfie” and elaborate on it in a detailed paragraph that begins with a topic sentence." You'll get a snapshot of your students' writing ability, but only one paragraph per student to read!

DIGITAL:

⭐ 11 Google Slides™️ with a variety of headers, appropriate for all types and levels of classes and grades 6 - 12.

⭐ Slide with Directions for Students

⭐ Slide with Writing Response

EASEL:

This resource is TPT Easel approved, so if you would like to use that format, it is ready to go. If you prefer print or Google Slides, you can skip the Easel activity completely - no problem!

FEATURES:

✅ Printable: No Prep -- Just print and Use!

✅ Digital: Ready to Post in Google ClassroomTM or share in Drive or other LMS's.

✅ Student Instructions: Additional slide with complete instructions (so you don't have to take the time to write them yourself!)

✅ Step-by-Step Teacher Instructions: "How to Post this Resource in Google Classroom" (Easy to do!)

✅ Project the color version to add visual interest to the assignment.

✅ Can be used year after year (or semester after semester!)

✅ Grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 included!

⭐ PERFECT first day or week of school activity.

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✴️ You may also like:

Teacher Tools for Back to School

A Freebie! Ten Things in Common Back to School

Snazzy Sentence Starters: Varied Beginnings for Sentences

Poetry Lesson Tarantulas on a Lifebuoy

Thank you for stopping by my store!

All the best to you!

Maryann Saylor,

Secondary Strategies

Keywords: Back to School, First Day of School, All About Me, Ice Breaker, Writing Prompt, Writing Sample, Writing Response

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