Kick-Start Your Class
"My first priority in any class is to help my students believe in themselves and their ability to learn." --LOUANNE JOHNSON In Kick-Start Your Class, LouAnne Johnson (educational expert, long-time teacher, and author of the New York Times best-seller Dangerous Minds) offers a dynamic way to engage students that will get them on the road to learning with enthusiasm. The book is a collection of icebreakers specifically designed for teachers--quick, cost-effective, enjoyable activities that engage students from the very first minute of class. In addition to being fun, these activities serve a real purpose in the classroom. Research shows that effective academic icebreakers can increase student motivation, create a positive classroom environment, and much more. Using these inspirational icebreakers will help:
- Engage students' brains
- Promote critical thinking
- Improve behavior and cooperation
- Encourage creativity
- Unify the classroom community
- Create positive attitudes towards learning
The teacher-tested activities within may be used with students at all levels, and many of the activities include variations and modifications so they can be applied effectively with different groups. "An amazing gift for a student or a beginning or seasoned teacher, Kick-Start Your Class offers a rich compilation of multi-disciplinary, ready-to-teach classroom starters, concept-builders, and closers that will invigorate the culture and climate of any classroom."
--PAMELA PROSISE, thirty-year veteran teacher and literacy specialist, McMinnville School District, McMinnville, Oregon "LouAnne Johnson's book is packed with priceless lessons and activities for today's teachers. It doesn't matter whether you work in a regular day class or an after school setting; or whether you're a first-year intern, an instructional leader, or a life-long teacher, Kick-Start Your Class is a must-have resource for all educators."
--JIM VIDAK, Tulare County Superintendent of Schools, Tulare County, California
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Acknowledgments xiii About the Author xv
Introduction xvii
PART ONE: GETTING PERSONAL
Chapter One: Getting to Know You: Introductions 5
1. The Adjective Game 7
2. Autograph Collectors 8
3. Are You Kidding? 10
4. Business Card Creations 11
5. Flash Figures 12
6. Getting to Know You 14
7. I Have to & I Can't 17
8. I Never Would Have Guessed 18
9. Magic Eyes 19
10. Me in a Bag 2 0
11. Do You See What I See? 21
12. Name Cards 22
13. Right or Left Brain? 23
14. Wave Your Flag 26
15. Stand by Your Music 28
16. Would You Ever? 29
Chapter Two: Working Together: Assigning Pairs & Partners 31
17. Card Sharks 33
18. Animal Pals 34
19. Personality Matches 36
20. Comics Coworkers 38
21. Pick-a-Stick Partners 39
22. Puzzle Partners 40
23. Story Segments 41
Chapter Three: Body & Brain: Kinesthetic Activities 43
24. Beanbag Topic Toss 44
25. Birthday Circle 45
26. Brain Boosters 46
27. Find Your Folder 47
28. Keep It Up 48
29. Hello, Stranger! 50
30. Make Your Move 51
31. Meet and Greet 52
32. Name Game Ball Toss 53
33. Name Tag Search 54
34. Shall We Dance? 55
35. Symbol Search 56
36. Slow, Fast, Slow 58
37. Verb Mania 59
Chapter Four: How We Do Things: Routines & Rules 61
38. Class Chant 63
39. Call-and-Response 64
40. Crazy Quiz 66
41. Cleanup Time 68
42. Give Me Three 69
43. Noise-o-Meter 70
44. My Kind of Class 72
45. Rules Bingo 73
46 . Seat Scramble Signal 74
47. We're Going Reading 75
48. You & Me Pact 76
Chapter Five: Teamwork: Building Classroom Communities 79
49. Find the Teacher 81
50. Team Classroom Concentration 82
51. First-Day Feelings 84
52. Finish the Story 86
53. Juggling Teams 87
54. Our Class Puzzle 88
55. Multi-Balloon Float 90
56. Paper Turnover 91
57. Team Trivia 92
58. Unusual Measures 93
PART TWO: STICKING TO THE SUBJECT
Chapter Six: Mathematical Possibilities 97
59. Balancing Act 98
60. Count My Fingers 100
61. Matchstick Puzzles 101
62. The Number Game 102
63. People Shapes 104
64. Rhythm & Words 105
65. What's My Number? 106
Chapter Seven: Scientific Suggestions 107
66. Critter Connection 108
67. It's Elemental 110
68. Is That a Fact? 112
69. Mail Call 113
70. Recycled Animals 114
71. Tower Builders 115
72. What Is This? 116
Chapter Eight: Language Arts Starters 117
73. Analogy Anchors 118
74. A Picture Tells a Hundred Words 120
75. Canine Connection 121
76. Contraction Cutters 122
77. Foreign Phrases 124
78. "I Am" Poems 125
79. Meaningful Matches 126
80. Lick a Slug 127
81. Mirror Writing 128
82. Musical Words 129
83. Pictographs 130
84. Poetry-Picture Match 132
85. Proofreading Pairs 133
86. Quotations 134
87. Six-Word Summaries 136
88. Wacky Wordies 138
Chapter Nine: Rev Up the Reading 141
89. Back-to-Back 143
90. Book Swap 144
91. Fishing for Sight Words 146
92. I Can See Clearly Now 147
93. Three-Story View 148
Chapter Ten: Social Studies Scenarios 149
94. City Search 150
95. Birthday Customs 152
96. Local Geography Bingo 153
97. Name That Flag 154
98. State Silhouettes 156
99. Our World Map 158
100. Time Stretchers 159
101. World View 160
Chapter Eleven: Techno Tasks 161
102. Add a Sentence 16 2
103. Map Your School 163
104. Sell a Subject 164
105. What We Know Slideshow 165
106. Wordle Teams 166
Chapter Twelve: Artistic Experiences 169
107. Animal Figurines 171
108. Artists & Art 172
109. Head & Shoulders 174
110. "Me" Collage 175
111. Partner Silhouettes 176
112. Newspaper Hats 178
113. Tinfoil Sculptures 179
114. Window on My World 180
Chapter Thirteen: Musical Moments 183
115. Beats Me 184
116. Music-Picture Match 186
117. Musical Moods 187
118. What Color Is This Song? 188
119. Song Switch 190
Chapter Fourteen: Swell Ideas for ELLs 191
120. Body Parts 192
121. Let's Talk 194
122. Noses to Toes195
123. School Shoppers 196
124. Picture Pairs 198
125. Take a Note 199
PART THREE: FORTY WAYS TO WRAP IT UP
Chapter Fifteen: What We Learned Today: Daily Closure 205
1. ABCs 206
2. Ball Toss Recap 207
3. Big Banner 208
4. Board Bingo 210
5. Cartoon Quotes 211
6. Connect the Dots 212
7. Countdown: 3, 2, 1 213
8. Flash Cards 214
9. Fractured Phrases 215
10. Learning Tree or Garden 216
11. Little Whiteboard Review 217
12. Missing Words 218
13. Pair Shares 219
14. Paper Airplanes 220
15. Question of the Day 221
16. Quiz Questions 222
17. Rate the Lesson 223
18. Roger Recap 224
19. Sentence Starters 225
20. 60-Second Recall 226
Chapter Sixteen: Recapping the Course: End-of-Term Closure 227
21. Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 229
22. Class Portrait 230
23. Create a Quiz 232
24. Dear Me 233
25. Dear Future Student (or Dear New Kid) 234
26. Digital Scrapbook 235
27. Draw & Discuss 236
28. Famous Quotations 237
29. I'm the Expert 238
30. I Used to Think 239
31. Learning Tips 240
32. Paper Quilt 241
33. Scrapbook 242
34. Self-Assessment 243
35. Six-Word Memoirs 244
36. Story Time 246
37. Twenty Questions 247
38. Who Wants to Earn an A? 248
39. Words of Wisdom 249
40. Write a Book 250
APPENDIX: We Want More! 251
Index 255
