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I’m sure that as a child many of us had our picture taken on the first day of school. I know my brother and I always had to pose together in front of the house on the front steps. And now that we are adults we are repeating this first day of school activity with our own children. After all, the first day of school is exciting for children and adults.
When I first started teaching I decided that I was going to take first day of school pictures of my students. Part of me knew my sixth graders would cringe, but another part of me knew there were some students of mine that would not have had their pictures taken at home.
Make a Plan on the First Day of School
The first day of school is just hectic! Find a spot in your room that you can quickly usher each student to in order to take their picture. I like to put them in front of the white board. This spot has to be accessible at the end of the year as well, so choose accordingly.
Get the Pictures Printed . . .Quickly!
After the first day ended I had their pictures developed at the one-hour facility near my home. Now, I was free to go through the pictures at my leisure and work on memorizing names. This helped me figure out who I definitely knew, and who were the quieter ones that I would need to work on.
After day one I quickly sent their pictures out to the one hour print place in my area. After I picked them up, I spent the evening sorting my 60+ students into groups of students into names I knew and names I needed to to learn.
Print First Day of School of Pictures & Post Them
On the second day of school, take those pictures and post them as quickly as possible. If you already have a bulletin board ready, incorporate it into that space. The point is to show students they are part of the classroom community and they belong in this space.
The Second Part of the Plan
After about a week, put their pictures away and don’t talk about them again. The point is for the students to forget you took them.
Mark your calendar for the last week of school. That time of year is just as hectic as the beginning of the year. Here is what you will need to do:
- Find that exact spot where you took the original picture.
- Get your students and retake their pictures
- Get those pictures printed
- Find the original pictures from August/September.
- Sort them so each student is side by side.
- Put the pictures up on the board/bulletin board for the students to find when the come in the next morning.
Last year, I simply made a sheet with September and June on it, then glued them to orange poster paper. I wanted to hang this from my whiteboard because it was the largest area for the students to get a good look at the pictures.
When the students walked in the next morning, I encouraged them to check out the photos and see who changed, who didn’t change, etc. The kids had such a great time looking over their pictures! They love to see what they were wearing back in September, how their hair has changed, among other things. It really is amazing to see how much they change over the span of nine months.
Click on the sample page on right to download.
Plan an Activity Using Their Pictures
I also decided to make this into a fun activity by making up some silly survey questions like:
- Who grew the tallest?
- Who’s hair changed the most?
- Who stayed exactly the same?
- Who gave the best smile?
It will be fun to go over the results with the class!
Ready to Try this? Tips for Implementing this First Day of School Activity in Your Classroom
- Choose an area with good lighting, or go outside.
- Opt for a background that will show growth of your students, or add a yard stick in the background.
- Find a store in advance that can develop pictures in one hour. Or print them yourself if you can.
- Spend the first evening memorizing name of your students. On day two, greet them each by their first name as they enter the room.
- If time allows, have students draw and color a sign with their name to hold up for the picture. It is helpful for memorization on the first day.
- Don’t wait until it’s too late to take their second picture. Enter into your calendar as soon as you take their first pic!
I hope this idea helps make you first day and last days of school fun!
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