During the first few days of school, a fun way to get your class to meet each other quickly and easily is to give them tasks they need to accomplish together. On the second day of school, I have my students arrange themselves in order by their birth dates from January to December in a circle around the room. I set a timer and they need to have it done within a minute and forty-seven seconds. They frantically shout out the months of their birthdays and then quickly arrange themselves in numeric order in their month groups. After the timer goes off, we go around the circle and make sure the order is correct. There is always a pair of students that share the same birth date and everyone in the room is amazed to see that such a special day is shared with another person in the room. I use this order for the daily seating chart. Since classes usually aren’t balanced for the first couple of weeks of school the seating chart can be fluid and changes daily while I learn about my students.

I change the task and the seating chart daily. This change provides an opportunity for students to meet and collaborate with other students in the room. Another task option is to have the class arrange themselves by height. I also enjoy having them arrange themselves like a rainbow based on the colors of their shirts. These daily tasks allow the class the opportunity to work together, have fun, and get to know different students every day. After a few days, everyone has worked with everyone else in the room so they feel more comfortable in the classroom and we are ready to learn together.