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5 Great Ways to Start the School Year

By Biljana Pipoic! Grammar School "Stean #a$oljeic" in %lasotince

&irst published in 'xford (agazine ) 'xford *niersity Press +spa,a

-ey wordstime capsule! hand! collage! math! imagine

/he new school year has just begun. Some studentsare excited to ta$e on the new

experiences of meeting new friends! new teachers! new enironment but some need a gentle

push. /herefore! it is important that teachers get to $now their students! students get to

$now their teachers and students get to $now each other.

1 $now that some teachers jump right into classroom rules and instruction. /hey find getting)to)

$now)you actiitiesa complete waste of good instructional time. 2ot me3 1 loe getting)to)

$now)you actiities3 /hey enable me to build connections with and among my students. /hey

reeal who the class leaders might be! what s$ills and special abilities students possess! and

how well students might wor$ together. 1n this way the classes get more personal. 1 also loe

them because they ma$e students comfortable. /hey get them going 4 ma$e them spea$

+nglish by encouraging them to spea$ about themseles and the things they li$e and $now

about.

uring my 67 years of teaching 1 hae used many classroom actiities as a fun and non)

stressful way to get the school year started on the right foot. 8ere are my top fie3

6.Bac$ to School /ime 9apsule

Students are gien:ll about me wor$sheet which includes their faourite colour! boo$! /%

show! sport! animal! school subject! etc. 'nce they hae each completed one! they fold it up

and seal it! and it goes in a box with a label /ime 9apsule. 1n (ay! students will complete a

similar form and then they"ll open this one and compare their answers. Students then hae the

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opportunity to reflect on that many things hae changed oer the course of eight months.

/ime 9apsule 4 pdf

;. (y handWho am 1. 9ollage 4 /his is (e3

Students get a large piece of poster board and cut pictures out of magazines depicting the

things that they li$e to do! and that they feel would gie someone else an idea of who they are.

/he images that they clip can be in different shapes! if they li$e. 9ollage images are oerlapped

until the entire poster board is coered. Students prepare the posters at home and bring them to

school. /here is a class display and students tal$ about themseles and the things or people

that ma$e them who they are.

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?. (ath about me

Students write the sentences about themseles that contain numbers. /he teacher gies some

examples

/here are > people in my family.

(y daughter turned 6@on Saturday.

1 hae been wor$ing for 67 years.

1 own >>@ boo$s.

1 hae been to Greece 5 times.

5. 1magine you areA

an inanimate thing! e.g. a ring! a dictionary! scissors! a plastic bagAC /his is a fun spea$ing

actiity where each student in the group chooses an object from the bag blindly. /hen they

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simply in turn! tal$ about their Dlife" as the thing in =uestion whilst others hae to guess for one

pointC what the object is. :s a follow)up actiity in class! you could hae a short discussion with

each student Dplaying their gien role". : homewor$ option could be to get students write a

composition! e.g. D(y life as a teaspoon."

E/he author certifies to hae the right to publish the photographs ta$en during the eent! with

participants" permission.

/han$s to Biljana for these icebrea$ers3

EEEEE

Biljana Pipoic is an +nglish teacher! born in Fes$oac! studied in

2is! employed at Grammar School "Stean #a$oljeic" in %lasotince!

Serbia with wor$ing experience of 67 years. She has also been

wor$ing as a language instructor in priate schools for nine years

teaching teenagers and adults of all language leels! both general and

Business +nglish. Since ;7 she has been a mentor to talented

students! the members of the Hegional /alents" 9enter in %ranje and

three times award winner at the Hepublic 9ompetition for /alented Youth. She is the author and

a teacher trainer of two seminars recognized as a form of professional deelopment by the

(inistry of +ducation in Serbia! trying to ma$e teachers change their approach to teaching!

showing them that ariety is the spice of +F/. /he accredited seminar %ariety as the Spice of

+F/ intends to proide some guidance on this interesting and challenging idea. 8er present

interests include teaching &9+! 9:+ and 9P+ exam classes! international school projects!

classroom interaction and wor$ing with gifted students in a mixed)ability classroom.

&irst published in 'ctober! ;G6>

I I I I I

Borrowed from 'xford (agazine Spain! courtesy of +wa -ic$a and 2ina Fauder who

welcome classroom ideas and suggestions from teachers worldwide. Prepared for +F/:

2ewsletter by (aja #er$oic.

httpJJwww.oxfordmagazine.esJ;6>J6J6J5)great)ways)to)start)the)school)yearJ

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