Kick-Start Your Class

The New York Times bestseller author of Dangerous Minds has a new way to engage students

LouAnne Johnson's newest book is a collection of fun and simple educational icebreaker activities that get students excited and engaged from the very first minute of class. These activities are great to use with students at all levels, and many of the activities include variations and modifications for different groups. Research has shown that the use of icebreakers increases student motivation by creating an emotional connection between the student and school. In as little as five minutes, a creative icebreaker can engage students' brains, encourage critical thinking, and much more.

• Includes a fun-filled collection of icebreakers that get students thinking and keeps them engaged
• Written by LouAnne Johnson, a teacher and acclaimed author of eight books
• Contains ideas for promoting creativity, unifying the classroom community, preventing disruptive behavior, and creating positive attitudes towards school and learning

No matter what your students' age group this book will give you the tools you need to create a classroom environment that promotes learning.

Acknowledgments xiii

About the Author xv

Introduction xvii

PART ONE: GETTING PERSONAL

Chapter One: Getting to Know You: Introductions 5

1. The Adjective Game 7

2. Autograph Collectors 8

3. Are You Kidding? 10

4. Business Card Creations 11

5. Flash Figures 12

6. Getting to Know You 14

7. I Have to & I Can’t 17

8. I Never Would Have Guessed 18

9. Magic Eyes 19

10. Me in a Bag 2 0

11. Do You See What I See? 21

12. Name Cards 22

13. Right or Left Brain? 23

14. Wave Your Flag 26

15. Stand by Your Music 28

16. Would You Ever? 29

Chapter Two: Working Together: Assigning Pairs & Partners 31

17. Card Sharks 33

18. Animal Pals 34

19. Personality Matches 36

20. Comics Coworkers 38

21. Pick-a-Stick Partners 39

22. Puzzle Partners 40

23. Story Segments 41

Chapter Three: Body & Brain: Kinesthetic Activities 43

24. Beanbag Topic Toss 44

25. Birthday Circle 45

26. Brain Boosters 46

27. Find Your Folder 47

28. Keep It Up 48

29. Hello, Stranger! 50

30. Make Your Move 51

31. Meet and Greet 52

32. Name Game Ball Toss 53

33. Name Tag Search 54

34. Shall We Dance? 55

35. Symbol Search 56

36. Slow, Fast, Slow 58

37. Verb Mania 59

Chapter Four: How We Do Things: Routines & Rules 61

38. Class Chant 63

39. Call-and-Response 64

40. Crazy Quiz 66

41. Cleanup Time 68

42. Give Me Three 69

43. Noise-o-Meter 70

44. My Kind of Class 72

45. Rules Bingo 73

46 . Seat Scramble Signal 74

47. We’re Going Reading 75

48. You & Me Pact 76

Chapter Five: Teamwork: Building Classroom Communities 79

49. Find the Teacher 81

50. Team Classroom Concentration 82

51. First-Day Feelings 84

52. Finish the Story 86

53. Juggling Teams 87

54. Our Class Puzzle 88

55. Multi-Balloon Float 90

56. Paper Turnover 91

57. Team Trivia 92

58. Unusual Measures 93

PART TWO: STICKING TO THE SUBJECT

Chapter Six: Mathematical Possibilities 97

59. Balancing Act 98

60. Count My Fingers 100

61. Matchstick Puzzles 101

62. The Number Game 102

63. People Shapes 104

64. Rhythm & Words 105

65. What’s My Number? 106

Chapter Seven: Scientific Suggestions 107

66. Critter Connection 108

67. It’s Elemental 110

68. Is That a Fact? 112

69. Mail Call 113

70. Recycled Animals 114

71. Tower Builders 115

72. What Is This? 116

Chapter Eight: Language Arts Starters 117

73. Analogy Anchors 118

74. A Picture Tells a Hundred Words 120

75. Canine Connection 121

76. Contraction Cutters 122

77. Foreign Phrases 124

78. “I Am” Poems 125

79. Meaningful Matches 126

80. Lick a Slug 127

81. Mirror Writing 128

82. Musical Words 129

83. Pictographs 130

84. Poetry-Picture Match 132

85. Proofreading Pairs 133

86. Quotations 134

87. Six-Word Summaries 136

88. Wacky Wordies 138

Chapter Nine: Rev Up the Reading 141

89. Back-to-Back 143

90. Book Swap 144

91. Fishing for Sight Words 146

92. I Can See Clearly Now 147

93. Three-Story View 148

Chapter Ten: Social Studies Scenarios 149

94. City Search 150

95. Birthday Customs 152

96. Local Geography Bingo 153

97. Name That Flag 154

98. State Silhouettes 156

99. Our World Map 158

100. Time Stretchers 159

101. World View 160

Chapter Eleven: Techno Tasks 161

102. Add a Sentence 16 2

103. Map Your School 163

104. Sell a Subject 164

105. What We Know Slideshow 165

106. Wordle Teams 166

Chapter Twelve: Artistic Experiences 169

107. Animal Figurines 171

108. Artists & Art 172

109. Head & Shoulders 174

110. “Me” Collage 175

111. Partner Silhouettes 176

112. Newspaper Hats 178

113. Tinfoil Sculptures 179

114. Window on My World 180

Chapter Thirteen: Musical Moments 183

115. Beats Me 184

116. Music-Picture Match 186

117. Musical Moods 187

118. What Color Is This Song? 188

119. Song Switch 190

Chapter Fourteen: Swell Ideas for ELLs 191

120. Body Parts 192

121. Let’s Talk 194

122. Noses to Toes195

123. School Shoppers 196

124. Picture Pairs 198

125. Take a Note 199

PART THREE: FORTY WAYS TO WRAP IT UP

Chapter Fifteen: What We Learned Today: Daily Closure 205

1. ABCs 206

2. Ball Toss Recap 207

3. Big Banner 208

4. Board Bingo 210

5. Cartoon Quotes 211

6. Connect the Dots 212

7. Countdown: 3, 2, 1 213

8. Flash Cards 214

9. Fractured Phrases 215

10. Learning Tree or Garden 216

11. Little Whiteboard Review 217

12. Missing Words 218

13. Pair Shares 219

14. Paper Airplanes 220

15. Question of the Day 221

16. Quiz Questions 222

17. Rate the Lesson 223

18. Roger Recap 224

19. Sentence Starters 225

20. 60-Second Recall 226

Chapter Sixteen: Recapping the Course: End-of-Term Closure 227

21. Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 229

22. Class Portrait 230

23. Create a Quiz 232

24. Dear Me 233

25. Dear Future Student (or Dear New Kid) 234

26. Digital Scrapbook 235

27. Draw & Discuss 236

28. Famous Quotations 237

29. I’m the Expert 238

30. I Used to Think 239

31. Learning Tips 240

32. Paper Quilt 241

33. Scrapbook 242

34. Self-Assessment 243

35. Six–Word Memoirs 244

36. Story Time 246

37. Twenty Questions 247

38. Who Wants to Earn an A? 248

39. Words of Wisdom 249

40. Write a Book 250

APPENDIX: We Want More! 251

Index 255

LouAnne Johnson is the author of eight books, including the New York Times best-seller Dangerous Minds, and most recently, Teaching Outside the Box. Johnson is a former U.S. Navy journalist, Marine Corps officer, and high school teacher.

Kick-Start Your Class

“My first priority in any class is to help my students believe in themselves and their ability to learn.” —LOUANNE JOHNSON

In Kick-Start Your Class, LouAnne Johnson (educational expert, long-time teacher, and author of the New York Times best-seller Dangerous Minds) offers a dynamic way to engage students that will get them on the road to learning with enthusiasm. The book is a collection of icebreakers specifically designed for teachers—quick, cost-effective, enjoyable activities that engage students from the very first minute of class. In addition to being fun, these activities serve a real purpose in the classroom. Research shows that effective academic icebreakers can increase student motivation, create a positive classroom environment, and much more. Using these inspirational icebreakers will help:

• Engage students’ brains
• Promote critical thinking
• Improve behavior and cooperation
• Encourage creativity
• Unify the classroom community
• Create positive attitudes towards learning

The teacher-tested activities within may be used with students at all levels, and many of the activities include variations and modifications so they can be applied effectively with different groups.

“An amazing gift for a student or a beginning or seasoned teacher, Kick-Start Your Class offers a rich compilation of multi-disciplinary, ready-to-teach classroom starters, concept-builders, and closers that will invigorate the culture and climate of any classroom.”
—PAMELA PROSISE, thirty-year veteran teacher and literacy specialist, McMinnville School District, McMinnville, Oregon

“LouAnne Johnson’s book is packed with priceless lessons and activities for today’s teachers. It doesn’t matter whether you work in a regular day class or an after school setting; or whether you’re a first-year intern, an instructional leader, or a life-long teacher, Kick-Start Your Class is a must-have resource for all educators.”
—JIM VIDAK, Tulare County Superintendent of Schools, Tulare County, California