Sometimes you find an activity or technique and you can see all of the wonderful benefits but aren't sure how to implement it within your classroom. When I taught high school I was getting deeper and deeper into teaching using the C.I. method. C.I. stands for Comprehensible Input and was a language learning technique first promoted by Stephen Krashen. 

​Within the constructs of this method, many other educators began promoting a simple and effective way of implementing CI within their classroom called FVR or Free Voluntary Reading. FVR, also from Krashen, links itself to the CI method by allowing students to be exposed to the target language through reading books of their choice in that language for a short period of time each class without the restrictions of worksheets or multiple questions about what they have read. It encourages a love of reading in a second language and doesn't bog it down with activities and expectations. At the high school level I simply required students to read at the beginning of class for 5 minutes and provided an ample library for them to choose from. The only requirement was for them to log the books they read. 

At the elementary level I gave FVR a quick rethink and decided it would work well with K-5 too. The big adjustment was simply not requiring them to keep track of what they read and to organize my books into bins that could be placed at each table instead of one singular table full of books for students to collect their book selections from at the beginning of class. I do provide 3rd-5th grade with a focus while reading though. During their reading time I ask that they look for a word that they did not know before reading but figured out based on context clues and record it on a cognate recording sheet (can be found in freebies). After reading time is over, students can volunteer to share their word with the class. I included this requirement after first explaining what a cognate is and how they can help students gain meaning from what they are reading along with looking at pictures.

This week my third, fourth and fifth graders finally got to create their suitcases and passports for our "trip"! Just like any class, the first few days aren't quite as fun as you would like because we have to establish procedures and expectations. So, they started out learning about the Spanish language, the various countries that speak it and it's origin. That meant that getting to exercise their creativity today was all the more fun! 
We began the lesson reviewing content from the previous days including greetings, colors, numbers and Spanish-speaking countries and then got to work filling out our passports with the correct information (in Spanish of course!) and then decorating and creating our suitcases. If you want to create suitcases with your students or learn more about my Passport to Spanish units you can find them on TpT.

Everyone is in uncharted territory this year when it comes to teaching. Hybrid, simultaneous zooms while teaching, asynchronous videos, all in-person! There are so many variables and things to take into account. With all of the challenges and obstacles that we are dealing with this year, getting to know your students seems like an epic challenge. So, here are a few ways to conduct ice-breakers and get to know you activities with your students, no matter the situation in which you find yourself teaching.

2 Truths and A Lie
This classic game can be transferred to our virtual situation by using video! Flipgrid (mentioned later as well) allows students to record a video and respond to videos with their own. Post the directions and record your own 2 truths and 1 lie. After all videos are posted, go through them with the class and decide which is the lie together!

Bitmoji Lockers/Hydroflask/Computer/Room
These are all the rage right now and can be a great activity to get to know your students and for them to get to know you! Grab a copy of one of the templates in the folder linked at the bottom of this page, add your about me content and then share the document with students. For them to edit you will have to allow them to create a copy just like you have. 

Jamboard - My Interests
Jamboard is an awesome resource for many different kinds of lessons. It is a collaborative whiteboard that will allow students to work simultaneously no matter their location. To conduct an interests jamboard you have to open jamboard and share the link with your students. Then, you can ask a student to share something they are really into right now. Once a topic has been selected, it is the focus of the jamboard. You can give students a few minutes to use the tools provided on the jamboard page to contribute their thoughts on the topic! You can always expand the discussion afterwards by asking questions and sharing your own thoughts.

Selfie Scavenger Hunt
This activity is perfect for virtual classes. Make a list of selfies the students has to take and give them a time frame to capture them. Then, have your students start their hunt.
 
Word Art Selfie
Have students share information about themselves through text with this activity. Direct students to a word cloud creator like wordart.com where they can upload their image for the words to be shaped to fit. When they're done adding words describing themselves they will end up with an image that looks like them made up of words! Check out the directions and template in the folder linked at the bottom of this post.

Flipgrid Videos
Flipgrid is an amazing resource for student created videos. They can respond to a video you post and respond to each others videos. Kick off the activity by posting your own video and let students record and post theirs. Once everyone has contributed you can go back and review videos together with the class and have a class discussion.

Would You Rather?
You can create a presentation with various "Would You Rather" questions, share your presentation screen and conduct a discussion with your students. Additionally, you could make this asynchronous by posting questions using a google form, jamboard or google slides presentation for students to answer on your own. Add audio to make it even more interactive.
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Question Wheel
There are various sites where you can customize a spinner with your own content. Use this to create questions to ask your students. Spin the wheel for each student and then they answer the question on which the spinner stops. This spinner is a great choice!

Design Your Own Mask
Students can share a lot about their interests and personality when given a creative task. This icebreaker takes advantage of our current circumstances by allowing students to decorate their own face covering. You can give specifics or just let them go crazy. Find the template in the Ice Breakers folder shared at the bottom of this post.

The Class is Lava!
Students are dividing into teams and must complete 10 different activities before the end of class. The best part is that ALL of the activities are setting them up for learning in your room like joining google classroom, bookmarking your website and other tools and more! They get comfortable with each other by working together in person or in break-out rooms AND they know how the class functions! Genius! Get the template from the folder and read more about it here.
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​​What other ideas do you have? Please share in the comments and good luck on the first week back!