Today was the first day of school - always a great day! Every year I start with an ice breaker, and this year I did one I absolutely loved. And it involved...toilet paper! My middle school students were so curious as to what we were going to do!
I started off asking the students to take a few squares of toilet paper (over the course of the day, I figured out that 4-10 squares is a good number). Once they had their squares, I directed them to write a favorite thing on each square (food, color, sport, etc). Another tip: have them use pen or old markers.
Once they had completed their squares, I explained the game of dominos. It was great to see the light bulbs going off when they realized we were going to play "dominos" with the toilet paper favorites! And of course I played along.
Once they had completed their squares, I explained the game of dominos. It was great to see the light bulbs going off when they realized we were going to play "dominos" with the toilet paper favorites! And of course I played along.
We spent the next 10 minutes matching our favorites to each other. It did get a little close quarters, but most of the students liked exploring all of the class favorites. A few rules that helped - they had to hold on to their toilet paper and they had to get up and move. Check out one of the "domino boards" we created!
Once we were finished connecting (all but one of my classes were able to make one whole piece), we talked about the significance of the activity. I wanted to stress the importance of us being connected even though we all had our differences. It was great to see that despite the age difference, I also had things in common with my students.
I truly loved this activity. Maybe it would be helpful in your classroom too!
I truly loved this activity. Maybe it would be helpful in your classroom too!
Until next time...