Site of the Month: First Day of School Icebreakers

www.teachersfirst.com/firstday.cfm

Ah, the first day of school. For students, educators, and parents alike, it’s a remarkable occasion, loaded with excitement, anticipation, and, yes, sometimes even a tear or two. To help get things off to a good start, the Web site TeachersFirst has created “First Day of School Icebreakers.” On this page, 35 ideas in all span various topics and grade levels K–12, with each centered on a Web-based project geared toward establishing good rapport with a new group of students. Narrow down the choices by topic, grade level, and/or keyword.

For one, how about using transl8it!, an online tool for translating chat lingo, to introduce yourself to your students in “their” language? Another fun idea uses word cloud generator Wordle to kick off the school year by having students create “Wordles” about themselves.

Lifehacker offers its own set of “Back to School” tips. While geared primarily for college students, its suggestions on better note-taking and time management tools are applicable to high school students, not to mention teachers (and, for that matter, editors).