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REED Enjoying JHS Course!

Session 2

DO NOT MAKE A NEW SLIDE! CLICK “CTRL + F”, SEARCH FOR YOUR NAME AND WRITE IN THE SLIDE WITH YOUR NAME ON IT. IF YOU DO NOT FIND ONE, WRITE TO MELISSA.

Instructions: Choose one task to complete. Post on your slide below.

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OPTION A

A. Create 2 different 5-10 minute activities to get to know your students better.

You can use post its, technology (apps), drama or anything else you can think of.

B. Go to this Googleslide presentation:

• Write your name and school at the top of the slide
• Write your ideas on the slide
• Read through the other slides
• Add a third idea to your own slide from someone else's (give them credit of course)

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OPTION B

A. Create an observation form to use when observing your students.

What kinds of guiding questions for yourself would you ask? How could this change your teaching practices?

B. Go to this Googleslide presentation:

• Write your name and school at the top of the slide
• Write your guiding questions/ or share your form on the slide
• Read through the other slides
• Add another question to your own slide from someone else's (give them credit of course)

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Please DO NOT change the order of the slides, or edit anyone else’s work

Patricia Berenzon, French Israeli JHS, Mikve Israel, Holon

1) Sit your students in a circle. They answer the questions taking turns:

What is your favorite hobby? What’s your favorite food?What’s your favorite color?What’s your favorite TV program? What’s your favorite destination? What makes you happy/sad?What makes you angry/calms you down ?What moves you the most?What kind of sound do you like best/ least ?Give the name of someone you respect and say whyWhat is your strongest skill?

2) Four Corners

Tailor your questions to the language level of your students.Before playing, label the corners of your room one through four. Then ask get-to-know-you questions. For this activity, asking about students’ favorites is a good way to go. For example, ask about their favorite sports, their favorite movie genres, their favorite animals, etc. You’ll be giving students four answer choices—one for each corner. For example, if you’re asking about favorite animals, you might give them these choices: 1. Dog 2. Cat 3. Fish 4. Bird. Students then move to the corner that represents their answer. Not only does this help student get to know one another, it also lets them see what they have in common with other students in your class. And that’s a good starting point for chit chat and/or developing friendships.

3) Activity inspired by Naty P. Landesman:Send a PADLET link to the class asking them to upload their picture and write 3 things about themselves we still do not know about them. Very exciting idea to the use of a digital tool.

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Karen Oberman- Ayanot High School

Option A:

• Idea 1: Playing guess who? Each student takes a small piece of paper and writes one thing about him/herself.It must be a positive thing like: “My favotie book is - Harry Potter”. The game is with NO NAMES. Then the teacher takes all pieces of paper the kids wrote, puts it in a small box/hat/bag, gives it a swirl & then starts reading each paper and we all have to guess who wrote it. If the teacher participates too it is great! This activity will take about 10 minutes.
• Making a kahoot game - the teacher,in advance,gives the kids to answer a few questions about themselves - where are they from,hobbies,etc’. Then the teacher makes a kahoot game and the kids play and guess who is the question about.
• LOVED Gilat Bental’s - Neve Hadassa idea - 1) Call My Bluff - I tell the students three facts about myself. Only one of them is correct. The students have to guess which of the statements is true and which are a lie, and then each one of them says three things about himself/herself and the rest of the class have to guess which of the three is true.

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Alex Litzky, Herzog, Beit Hashmonai

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• True or False. I give the students ten different statements and they have to decide if they are true or false. It is a great way to start the year and the kids learn a little about your life. They also share things about themselves while doing this. �
• Get to know you bingo- a great first day of the year activity that allows the students to ask each other questions in English and get to know one another. �
• Yael’s game with the m&m is really good and I will try it next year.

Galit Elkarif-Tzur Western Galilee High School

Activity 1: “What my cell phone would tell about me?’’

Each student tells at least 3 facts that his/her “cell phone” would tell about him/her. It may be connected to the personality, habits, favorites, etc. (Option: they can do it in a funny way).

Activity 2: As quickly as you can answer 5 questions about yourself: who/ what/ where/ when/ why? The winner is the student who was the fastest to do that.

Activity 3: Thanks to Gilat Bental

Toss the Dice - I write six statements on the board (i.e - My favourite food is… / It is difficult for me to study… / My dream is to become a… and so on), and each student in his/her turn tosses the dice and completes the statement according to the number.

A nice idea to implement to my students…

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Gali Asa Shittim Darca

Hila Aknin- Karnei Shomron

Orith Baidani Manof

Option A

Game 1.

Give each student a card. Have them write something they like doing in their spare time on one side and something they don’t do or don’t like to do on the other. Collect the cards. Give out the cards randomly. Have each student read both sides and have the student who wrote the card identify him/herself. When all have been read, ask anyone if they think they can match cards to writers… or teacher tries.

Game 2.

Give each student a form with blanks describing themselves, or have them copy from the board. Give a word bank for weak levels. Have them describe their looks, clothing, hobbies, tastes, etc. and write their names on their desks but not on the form. The teacher collects the forms and tries to match them, reads the description aloud and guesses the students’ names. Then teacher takes them home as teacher’s homework! Next day the teacher will be quizzed – one fact about each without cheating!

I like Yael Ganan from Ulpana Tsfira’s idea:

1. Each student writes on a piece of paper something he/she has never done and wishes to do. (i.e. : diving course). The teacher collects all the papers and reads each one to the class. Everyone has to guess who wrote it.

This is optimistic, in my opinion. It looks toward the future, and in our school (Manof) some of the kids had a difficult past. The activity allows them to dream while presenting themselves.

Shani Ben-Aroya Eastern Mediterranean International

Activity one

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‘What’s in a name’- good for the start of term, especially for a mentor group.

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• Put students in pairs
• Ask them to share their name with their partner and explain:
• Where their name comes from
• Why their parents called them that name (if you have students who are adopted, living with guardians be sensitive)
• How might it be connected to their culture/religion
• Why do they like/not like their name
• Then ask each pair to introduce their partner to the class i.e. ‘This is Hannah, her name comes from…’
• Conclude by tying it into the idea of identity, which is important for JHS or HS students as they are working out who they are
• Try and include yourself in the game for a personal touch

Activity two

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‘The sunshines on...’- good for the start of term, especially for a mentor group.

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• Students sit in a circle on the floor
• Model for them: stand in the middle of the circle and say the sentence ‘The sunshines on anyone who… (add the end of the sentence, i.e likes to read, likes chocolate, has a younger brother etc)
• Get all the students to practice saying ‘the sunshines on anyone who…’ as a class for pronunciation
• If this statement applies to the students, they stand up and swap places with the others who stood up. The person in the middle also tries to sit down and someone is left in the middle.
• They they say ‘the sunshines on anyone who…’
• As a teacher, you can observe who moves when and makes notes.
• Establish ground rules for safety and behaviour

Zoharit- Said- The teacher says two facts about herself, one is true and one is fault. The students need to guess which one is true. Then the teacher asks the students to do the same about themselves. They need to write interesting facts that nobody knows and would surprise all the students and the teacher. Through this activity the teacher gets to know the students' world and interests and it's also a wonderful way to break the ice

Gilat Bental from Neve Hadassah

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Option A - Activities:

1) Call My Bluff - I tell the students three facts about myself. Only one of them is correct. The students have to guess which of the statements is true and which are a lie, and then each one of them says three things about himself/herself and the rest of the class have to guess which of the three is true.

2) Toss the Dice - I write six statements on the board (i.e - My favourite food is… / It is difficult for me to study… / My dream is to become a… and so on), and each student in his/her turn tosses the dice and completes the statement according to the number.

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I like Yael Van Der Meer’s M&M game: Each student takes 2-4 M&M candies in different colors. Then I write on the board a question for each color e.g. red: What is your favorite place?, Green: An English skill you would like to improve etc. Students give their answers and then eat their candies…

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Laura Berdichevsky - Nofey Habsor

Session Two

Two different activities to get to know your students better

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• Using the Linoit app, students can write their names, and add one interesting fact about themselves or something unusual that has ever happened to them.

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• Using kahoot, they can write half sentences telling things they like to do. They can write 4 different endings. Only one of them is true, so the class should guess the right one.

For example: I am Laura, on Fridays I like to

a , meet friends b .play basketball c .sleep d listen to music

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Thank you Zoharit for your activity

The teacher writes two facts about herself, one fact is true and the second is false. The students need to guess what is the true fact. Then, each student does the same about himself. The teacher instructs the students to write interesting facts that most of the classmates don’t know. He reads the facts out loud and the other students need to guess.

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Elisheva Barouch Herzog School

Nicole Georgy - Kfar Hayarok

Husam Ganem Alnahda JHS

Task two�Yes, I think knowing and understanding your students is very important in the teaching process. A teacher has to know all his students in order to have a good communication with them, a teacher should know a little history about his students, in case if there is a need for him he\she should be a aware of all the needs of the students. It also gives the student a calm feeling when he sees that his teacher cares for him. Knowing your students also maintain good relation and respect between each other.�I think the best strategy to know your students is to talk to him\her face to face, this will help them feel comfortable and gives them power to talk if they feel they are safe with there teachers. It also encourages all the other students to come to their teachers for help. I also agree with the observation strategy, since it gives the teacher a clear picture of how students interact with each other.� Gathering information about your students by giving the parents survey is a good way for having the information needed, but the question is “do parents give correct information about their children”.��

Rada Goldfeder - Eshel Hanassi

Active Lesson Plan�https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cTvl-4pUQZ-zZey2cdLV8PI9nDTk2XteZj2IqwpkmXU/edit

Yael Ganan - Ulpanat Tsfira

Two activities to get to know your students

1. Each student writes on a piece of paper something he/she has never done and wishes to do. (i.e. : diving course). The teacher collects all the papers and reads each one to the class. Everyone has to guess who wrote it.

2. Two students leave the classroom. The class is divided into pairs. Each pair has to find something they have in common. Everyone goes back to his/her seat. The two students are called back to class. They compete who finds more pairs. It's like a regular memory game, but human. Each one on his turn asks two students what they share with someone else in the class. If he finds a pair, it's his turn again.

3. Thank you to Sara Akiva

Pictorial, Written and Oral Presentation. Create a collage using bristol paper with�a few pictures (taken from magazines, internet etc … which best represents themselves. They can add a sentence if they wish. As an

alternative, kids can prepare a ppt one slide). The pupils present themselves orally of course, (2-3 minutes)

Spread the presentations over a few lessons.� The collages can be displayed in the classroom and corridor afterwards.

� Tip - I always begin with my own collage / ppt.

Name: Sara Garelik School: Ulpenat Tzfira

Two get to know you activities:�1. Find a partner through a secret.

�Each student writes a secret on a piece of paper and puts it in a hat, then each students is required to pick a secret and discover who wrote it. It is not allowed to ask direct questions. The students have to line up next to each other and read the secrets. ��2. Multipurpose��Put students into groups and give each group a object word. (example: picture frame)�The groups must then think of as many uses as they can for the object. (example: Use it like a horseshoe and try to throw it on a peg as a game, Use it as a necklace, etc.)��Alternatively, the teacher can give all the groups the same object word and have students race to see who can come up with the most uses for it.��3. Thanks to Yael Ganan- each student writes on a piece of paper something she has never done and wishes to do. The teacher collects the papers and reads them. The students have to guess who wrote it.

Inna Donov - Western Galilee High School

Bat-El Daniel Har Tuv

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Task A

Activity 1:

The teacher divides the students into pairs. Each student, at his turn asks his friend questions about himself and the student he is asking, is allowed to give only a 'yes' or 'no' answer. The students of course know in advance that they can ask only Yes/No questions. For example: Do you like pets? Do you have a pet? Is it a cat? Do you listen to music? Etc.

The purpose of this activity is to collect as many details as you can about your friend, about his interests, hobbies and more. When the students finish asking each other, each one of them has to present his friend: his likes and dislikes and everything they have discovered about each other.

Activity 2:

The teacher puts different pictures on her desk and asks the students to choose 1 picture they relate to and explain why.

Activity 3: Thanks to - Zoharit Said

The teacher says two facts about herself, one is true and one is not. The students need to guess which one is true.Then the teacher asks the students to do the same about themselves. They are asked to write interesting facts that nobody knows and that would surprise everyone.

I like this activity, I think it’s a lot of fun. The students get to know each other in a funny and enjoyable way.

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Zimrat Harband- Ulpenat Neve Channa

• The Weather Game:We sit in a circle and on the floor I scatter cards with words that describe the weather, for example: hot, cold, stormy, cool, sunny, breeze, lightning, humid, foggy etc.I ask each student to look around and pick a card that describes their mood today/ this week/ period of time/ Then we share our feelings by using the weather image. I’ve done this activity in different grades and ages and they reveal and share so much through it.

2. Pairing Up: We move the tables and chairs to the side so we can have enough space to move around. Then I choose a fun and exciting song to play and ask the students to walk around the room freely, when I pause the music they must stop next to the person next to them and I present a question they need to discuss . The questions can vary to a certain topic we’ve discussed or general information. For example: Tell me about a childhood memory, What is your favourite restaurant, If you could change something in the school what would it be, etc. We get a chance to stop by different students, I participate too and it’s lots of fun to have these face to face conversations.

3. The Yarn Ball: I like the idea of the yarn ball, I usually play it with a regular ball, tossing it around , but the yarn ball creates something special in the relationships in the class. We are a team , united with different talents, interests, and personalities , that’s what the Web we created symbolizes.

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Lora walters - Ulpanat Meiron

Pnina Wolf - Herzog

Option A

First activity: Students sit in a circle .I pass a roll of toilet paper and each student takes as many squares as he/she wants, without knowing what’s next. Then they have to tell the class facts they don’t know about them, according to the number of squares they have.

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Second activity:A game: The wind is blowing on whoever has…...The pupils sit in a circle. Everyone who belongs to the category, must change his/her seat. One remains standing because there is one chair less than the number of students. The one who remains standing, has to think of the next category.

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Responding to someone else's activity: I liked Yael Temam Ohana’s activity with the m & m because it gives an opportunity for kids who had never met before, speak in pairs and not in front of the whole class, which some kids really don’t like doing.

Name: Galit Vizel School:Maayan Shahar

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Option A:

My idea is called סל”ב -it’s a Hebrew apps and you have to download it to your phone. All the explanations how to work with it is in the site . The rationale behind it is that the kids can upload anything they want and the other members of the class can see it online on the board. My idea is that every pupil will have to upload a picture of himself or a picture that he took that he/ she really likes and write why. I did it once and it was great, you get to know the kids outside the classroom, you get to see their families, their hobbies, the places they like to go and by the way they are also writing….::)

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I liked Gilat Bental’s idea from Neve Hadasa: Toss the Dice - I write six statements on the board (i.e - My favourite food is… / It is difficult for me to study… / My dream is to become a… and so on), and each student in his/her turn tosses the dice and completes the statement according to the number.

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**I think it’s a very nice and simple activity ,also very practical. The pupils can do it in almost every level and speak English easily and the most important thing is that you get to know them.

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Yael Van Der Meer - Eynot Yarden�Activties to get to know my students better.

• The M&M game. Each student takes 2-4 M&M candies in different colors. Then I write on the board a question for each color e.g. red:What is your favorite place?, Green: An English skill you would like to improve etc. Students give their answers and then of course eat their candies…
• I ask each pupil to choose at least 3 of the questions from the previous activity, answer them in writing, add a selfie and send it to me. This enables them to be more open and enables me to see their writing.

And an activity from Zoharit Said (Thank you…)

The teacher writes two facts about herself, one fact is true and the second is false. The students need to guess what is the true fact. Then, each student does the same about himself. The teacher instructs the students to write interesting facts that most of the classmates don’t know. He reads the facts out loud and the other students need to guess.

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Leah Weizmann Yeshivat Hashomron

Name: Bat-El Zaga

School: Ulpenat Even Shmuel

I really liked Inna Donov’s (from Western Galilee High School) ideas and activities. I think they can fit any student in any level of English and in that way we as teachers can gain two achievements at once: getting to know our students more while they use English at class. Thanks!

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I would prepare a short survey for my students, asking them general questions about themselves. For example: What are your hobbies? Which kinds of music do you listen to? What is your favorite place to travel in Israel? If you were a season, which would you be? And so on.

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I think that knowing my students’ interests and preferences will reveal essential information about them informally and this will help me direct my teaching better.

Vered Zusmanovich - Ben Shemen School

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Option A -- 2 activities:

1 – 1I would play in class the song "Hello, Goodbye" / by The Beatles

And ask them to write in 2 separated notes - 2 names, one they want or have to say goodbye (for starting a new class / school) or just don't want to talk to anymore, and write the reason. Second name will be a name of a student they want to meet or met recently since it's the beginning of the year, and happy to share their new friend. Teacher can read the notes individually, or students can discuss it in pairs.

I say GOODBYE to

____________

Because…

(He moved to a new school,

I moved to another class,

he hurt me and I don't forgive him, etc…)

2 – 2I would give them a page, or show on screen different face expressions called: "HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY"? (Can be found in google pic) and ask them to choose – how they feel today (shy, embarrassed, lonely, etc…) and how they would like to feel (hopeful, confident, happy, etc…) students may share their partners or whole class or just the teacher, if they are not confident to talk in front of everybody.

I enjoyed reading YAEL GANAN' s second activity about playing memory games by finding similar pairs using kids instead of cards. First time I hear it, and sure kids would love the idea and cooperate because this activity involves the whole class, nobody is out, and if there is one student left without a pair, the teacher can be his pair.

I say HELLO to

____________

Because… (She's my new friend from 6^th grade, she helped me find the cafeteria and was nice to me, etc…)

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Chagit Ziv - Ulpanat Tzfira

Option 1 :

• I write some statements about “learning English”. I put them down on the floor around the classroom.Each student walks around , reads the statements and chooses the statement which she feels most connected to. The statements can be such as :
• I feel that learning a new language is a big challenge. I love it.
• I love to learn English through songs and games.
• I have a difficulty with spelling. I hate dictations.
• I don’t know how to look up words in the dictionary.
• I love to speak English .As long as people understand me, I don’t care about making mistakes.

Each student reads aloud to the class the statement that she chose.

2. The studens sit in a circle. I bring with me a yarn of wool. I begin the game : I hold the end of the yarn and throw it to a student that I choose. I ask her something that I want to know about her. She answers me and then it’s her turn to throw the yarn to another student and ask her a question. (she still holds an end of the yarn) . It goes on . At the end everybody holds the yarn and we are all united. We can summarize and say that if we want to feel united , we must know each other.

3. I love Karen Oberman idea: “Playing guess who”. It arouses curiosity and interest in class.

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REED Enjoying JHS Course!

Session 2

Rina Haviv from Ben Shemen

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Getting to Know You - 1st Activity

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Spread pictures of animals on the floor.

Ask pupils to find two different cards:

One that represents the kind of person he/she is.

One that represents the kind of person he/she would like to when they grow up.

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When pupils present their choices you can ask questions like -

• What characteristics does this animal have?
• How does it reflect you?
• Why did you choose this animal for the future you?

Getting to Know You - 2nd Activity

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• Give each pupil a sheet of paper and some crayons.
• Ask the pupils to close their eyes and describe the ongoing year, shortly and get to the last day of school. Describe getting the report cards and showing them to your friends and family.
• Ask pupils to open their eyes and paint how they feel about that day.
• Each pupil has to present his painting and explain its connection to his feelings.

Activity one by Shani Ben-Aroya

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‘What’s in a name’- good for the start of term, especially for a mentor group.

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• Put students in pairs
• Ask them to share their name with their partner and explain:
• Where their name comes from
• Why their parents called them that name (if you have students who are adopted, living with guardians be sensitive)
• How might it be connected to their culture/religion
• Why do they like/not like their name
• Then ask each pair to introduce their partner to the class i.e. ‘This is Hannah, her name comes from…’
• Conclude by tying it into the idea of identity, which is important for JHS or HS students as they are working out who they are
• Try and include yourself in the game for a personal touch

Eyal Hadad - Neria Sdot Negev

Instead of building a form, which gives me partial picture of the student, I would have a conversation with each student. I believe it is much better than any form, which was taken from the net. In addition, it improves teacher- student relationship.

In order to make this conversation more effective, I would use form-Student Engagement walkthrough, from images.pcmac.org. I would use this form only to make guideline to establish a verbal report.

I would use those reports to get a picture about my students. I'd use it not only to build better lessons, but also to predict what sort of problems I would face.

Etti Hadad- Bet Yehuda

Knowing your students for the first time/ better

You can use the computer or the board, I prefer to do it in the old fashion way on the board with cards and bluestik(glue). Draw pictures of two children , give them names with any possible subject you prefer. Under each character I'll write main characteristics that characterize each character. I'll paste it to the board under each character, so students could add or remove 2 characteristics . At the same time students will have to explain why they did it.

1. Jigsaw puzzle

Give each student 4 pieces of puzzle .The student write on each piece something about himself: what he likes, one thing they want to do, their hobby and write their name next to it and put the pieces together .

2. Tell the students to write on paper two things that they want the class to know about themselves. Collect what they wrote , read it in class and let the other students guess who wrote each

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I liked Merave Cohen activity -its kind of game “true or false” - students tend to like games and guessing…..it can be fun

Batel Hoze- Ayanot High School

1. "Two Truths and a Tale" is always a winner. The students easily share information about themselves, plus they like figuring out the things that are not true about their classmates.

2. Students sit in a circle and toss a ball, preferably a soft one, to a classmate in the circle. The student who tosses the ball asks a question and the student who catches the ball answers... Quick and easy. In order to make it more complicated, you can ask the students the repeat the answers so it gets harder and harder as the game goes on.

3. I like Carniya Yaakov's idea: "Prepare in advance a ball with questions or sentence starters about themselves. (Where do you live? /My favorite sport is…) Students stand in a circle and throw the ball to a peer…" It's nice and seems pretty simple.

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Anna Heifetz Galil Maaravi

Option One

• Students choose a picture from their cell phone gallery and tell the class how this picture represents them. They may add where and why it was taken.
• Students choose contact from their cell phone list and tell the class what this person would tell about the student. Are they friends? Relatives? How often do they see each other? What do they talk about?
• Thanks to Batel Hoze- Ayanot High School

"Two Truths and a Tale" is always a winner. The students easily share information about themselves, plus they like figuring out the things that are not true about their classmates.

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Ravit Chason - Eynot Yarden

Option A:

• Human Jungle Speed: We sit in a circle and in the middle I put an empty bottle.I prepare in advance cards with characteristics of the students, for example: I love cola, I am the first to wake up in the morning, I prefer basketball to football, I will never wear red, I hate eating fish, I never miss an episode of Friends etc. I pull out a card and read it. The students who feel it is right for them should run to the middle to grab the bottle first.
• Private Investigation: Every student gets a note with a personal question about one of the group members. They need to “investigate” for the answer without revealing what their question was. Examples of questions: Find out what the nickname of ____ is, Find out what makes ____ angry, Find out what ____ will buy if he/she wins the lottery.

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I like Helwi Najami’s activity of getting to know you. It always works because the students love it:

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“I write three statements on the board. Two which are right and one that is false. I ask students to guess which two are right and which one is false. Then, in pairs, each student will tell their partner two true facts and one false about themselves. Their partner has also to guess which is false and which is true. Each student will present one true fact about her/ his partner.”

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Pam Harazi-Kannot

Activity 1: Scavenger Hunt

Each student gets a worksheet with a grid of about 16 or 20 squares each one that has an activity listed, with illustrations for lower grades. For Example: I sang Karaoke -or-I wrote a story, a poem or a song… The students have to circulate through the class and find a different student to sign each box. They might be shy at first, but they will quickly start enjoying it.

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Activity 2: Anyone Who

This can only be done at a school like mine where we usually don't have more than 20 students per group. A path across the class needs to be cleared, possibly at the front where there is more room. All the kids stand near the wall. The teacher says: Anyone who… likes to dance, and everyone who likes to dance walks to the other side. Anyone who… likes math, and whoever does, walks across. It doesn't matter which side of the class they end up on, the important thing is that when they walk, they see they're not alone. Additionally, you can also do things like: anyone who has ever been afraid of failing a test, and they see that other kids feel the same way.

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Thanks to Anna Heifetz- Galil Maaravi. Her cellphone gallery game is great. I would ask them to show pictures of them at their favorite places or doing activities that they like or even pictures of them with people they like to spend time with.

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Carniya Yaakov, Kiryat Yearim

#1:

Prepare in advance a ball with questions or sentence starters about themselves. (Where do you live? /My favorite sport is…)

Students stand in a circle and throw the ball to a peer. When they catch the ball they read out the question in front of them and answer.

#2:

The wind blows: students sit in a circle. There are chairs for every participant minus one. One participant (student or teacher) stand in the centre and says: “the wind blows on everyone who…(has a brother/likes pizza/plays basketball/etc.)” All students who fit the description, and the one in the centre, all change seats. The last one left calls outnext “The wind blows out on…)

#3 Thanks to Varda Morell from Ulpanat Tsfira

"I Like…." connecting game: The teacher stands in the front of the room and tells the students two facts about himself/herself, assigning a fact to each of his/her outstretched hands. Any of the students now can come up, hold the hand that he/she relates to and then assign a fact to his/her free hand. Another student is now free to come and hold the free hand that is relevant to him/her, and so forth…..until a human chain has been created and no one is left sitting down. (You can also stipulate that the last person must be able to relate to the two facts of the free hands, thus completing a circle, but that is a bit harder…..)

Tom Ifrach - Neve Hadassah

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Option A:

• I ask the students to write on personal notes one habit and two expectations from the coming year in English class. Afterwards, I read each each note in the front of the class, then students and I’ll try to guess who is he/she.
• I use Kahoot with a short quiz about leisure activities related to teenagers and adults. I think it’s important for a teacher sharing his/her habits as well. To the best of my knowledge it always adds a positive spot into class atmosphere.
• I like the M&M game by Yael Van Der Meer.

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Merav Cohen -

Yarden High School

• Who’s in the box

Wrap a shoe box with a cover in an intriguing cover. Glue inside the box a mirror and open a "peek window" in the lid of

the box.� The window should allow to see the reflection of the peeping face.�Telling the participants that inside the box is hiding a figure that everyone knows one way or another and asking them to turn to each other in the window and say one or two details about the figure. (You can also allow guessing)

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2. True or lie - I tell the students three facts about myself. Only one of them is correct. The students have to guess which of the statements is true and which are a lie, and then each one of them says three things about himself/herself and the rest of the class have to guess which of the three is true.

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I like Yael Van Der Meer’s M&M game: Each student takes 2-4 M&M candies in different colors. Then I write on the board a question for each color e.g. red: What is your favorite place?, Green: An English skill you would like to improve etc. Students give their answers and then eat their candies…

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Shir Katzman Beit Chinuch Yarkon

How to get to know you students better

Activity #1

The first thing you have to remember is that all students must feel that they are special and that you are aware of their strengths. Therefore I have my students write a little bibliography book about themselves and read it to the class. That way we all know what is special about them and what makes them feel good about themselves . It is not a 5-10 minute activity but it is worth it.

How to get to know your students better

Activity #2

There is news bulletin board in every class. Therefore it's a great idea to have each student decorate the bulletin board with all about him/her. Each week a different picture. That way you and the students get to know the student of the week better and they love to feel special.

Activity#3

A great idea by Laura Rudich: I would ask each student to bring an object that means something special to him. It could be something to do with his life, family, hobby etc. All the objects are placed in the room and students go around and write who they think they belong to and why. Later they share their ideas and then each students gets to say what he/she has brought and why. The teacher also brings an object!

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Galit Carmeli-Hartuv school

Activity 1

• I create a google form which students have to fill in the first lesson in the beginning of the year. The form includes basic information about each student (something I have done with an “Etgar” class that I taught last year). The questions include full name, nicknames, hobbies/ extracurricular activities, favorite food, favorite subject at school, names of close friends, favorite TV programs, family information.
• I send a link to the form in our what’s app group and the students fill the form.

Activity 2

• I write on the board two facts about myself- one of them is true and the other is false. My example is “ I have done skydiving” (the true fact)and “ My favorite food is spagetti” (the false fact)
• The students need to guess which sentence is correct about me.
• Students come up to the board or say a sentence from their seats (depending on their preferences) one by one and do the same regarding themselves. The other students have to guess and write to keep a record of the responses.It would take several lessons at the beginning of the year up to 10 minutes every lesson.

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The activity I liked was written by Naty Piperno Landesman-

Sending a PADLET link to the class asking them to upload their picture and writing 3 things about themselves we still do not know about them.

I like this idea because I love using technology in class and I think it’s great to motivate students to write about their peers, it has an added value.

1. Two students leave the classroom. The class is divided into pairs. Each pair has to find something they have in common. Everyone goes back to his/her seat. The two students are called back to class. They compete who finds more pairs. It's like a regular memory game, but human. Each one on his turn asks two students what they share with someone else in the class. If he finds a pair, it's his turn again.

2. Bring mixed packages of chocolate bars: מקופלת כיףכף ופסק זמן

Each student gets a chocolate bar and then has to say something about himself according to the chocolatehe has just received / eaten:

מקופלת - Something that no one (in class) knows about you.

כיףכף - Something you do for fun.

פסק זמן - Something you do in order to relax

Thanks to Glynn Rabin from Shitim Darka High School,

.Have each child use the letters in his or her name to find a word that describes something they like. For example:

G-gymnastics

L-lollipops

Y-yo�yo

N-noodles

N-netball

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Ayelet Lonweagrt - Kedma

Name: Nicole Look School: Mayan Shachar

Option A

Activity 1

Begin by asking students "Who can do something really well?" After a brief discussion about some of the students' talents, pass out paper and ask students to write down five things they do well. Then provide each student with five different-colored paper strips. Have each student write a different talent on the separate paper strips. Then with the strips create a mini paper chain, by linking the five talents together. As students complete their mini chains, use extra strips of paper to link the mini chains together to create one long class chain. Have students stand and hold the growing chain as you link the pieces together. Once the entire chain is constructed and linked, lead a discussion about what the chain demonstrates -- for example, all the students have talents; all the students have things they do well; together, the students have many talents; if they work together, classmates can accomplish anything; the class is stronger when students work together than when individual students work on their own. Hang the chain in the room as a constant reminder to students of the talents they possess and the benefits of teamwork.

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Activity 2

Give each student a cut out of a male or female, and then have them search through magazines for pictures, words, or anything else that might be used to describe them, which they can then fill their "silhouette" with a collage of pictures and words that express them. Then give each student an opportunity to share his or her silhouette with the class and talk about why he or she chose some of the elements in the collage.

I like Gilat Bental's activity, Call My Bluff, where the teacher says 3 facts about themselves, where 1 of the facts is a lie and the students need to guess which is the lie and what is true. Then each student needs to do the same, and the rest of the class needs to guess what is true and what is not. I believe that this is a fun way of getting students to feel free and confident about speaking about themselves in front of the class.

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Activity #1 : a. Listen to the song “ My Favourite Things” from The Sound of Music.(My students listen to the song and fill in the missing words (whiskers on kittens/white dress/ snowflakes/noodles etc.) . b.Then we talk about our favorite things. I learn a lot of things about them . we cover different aspects: home, school, food, friends, music, movies, books, clothes. The students are very relaxed and eagerly talk about these issues.

Activity #2 We read and discuss the poem “ I Like Myself” by Karen Beaumont .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTLxkMa0XDk

When the students answer some questions about the poem and its message, they fill in a short Feelings Worksheet:

• TANYA MOVSHOVICH - YOANA JABOTINSKY

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Name 2 things that you like about yourself and finish the sentences:

a) I like my _______________ because __________________.

b) I like my _______________ because __________________.

My name is ________________________________________________________________.

I am happy when ________________________________________________________________.

I am sad when ________________________________________________________________.

__________________________________________________________ makes me laugh.

_____________________________________________________________ surprises me.

Sometimes I’m angry or frustrated when ________________________________.

Thanks to Aviv Stern. I like and will try his activity #1. It’s fun and adds to the bonds within a group.

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#teamyoana

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Name:Varda Morell

School: Ulpanat Tsfira

Two activities to get to know my students better:

• "I Like…." connecting game

The teacher stands in the front of the room and tells the students two facts about himself/herself, assigning a fact to each of his/her outstretched hands. Any of the students now can come up, hold the hand that he/she relates to and then assign a fact to his/her free hand. Another student is now free to come and hold the free hand that is relevant to him/her, and so forth…..until a human chain has been created and no one is left sitting down. (You can also stipulate that the last person must be able to relate to the two facts of the free hands, thus completing a circle, but that is a bit harder…..)

2. True or False

Each student tells 4-5 sentences about him/herself. Three sentences are true and the rest are false. The other students must guess which sentences are true and which are false.

An Activity I liked: FromLaura Berdichevsky: Using kahoot, they can write half sentences telling things they like to do. They can write 4 different endings. Only one of them is true, so the class should guess the right one.

For example: I am Laura, on Fridays I like to

a , meet friends b .play basketball c .sleep d listen to music

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Tzipporah moskovitz

Amit nachshon

2 activities to get to know the students better:

• I would use the cubes for the students to get to know each other better. I would have the students sit in a group of 4. One cube would have questions about the person; for example, hobbies, family, number child in the family, nieces and nephews. The other cube would have points. The students would get points if they have something in common. I would then have the students in group present their findings with the points. I would be an observer here and watch the game and would also join them in their findings by sharing my own. I think this would allow me to watch the students interact with each other and through the answers and the interactions i could get to know them better.
• I really like the yarn idea. I have used this before. I like to have funny questions that i ask the students and then throw it to someone who answers the questions. It allows for a relaxing atmosphere in the classroom. I would observe and interact with the students.

After the game i would have a reflection and see how they enjoyed.

3. I would use the activity from Joelle Peleg, it would have the students practice note taking and that using deduction skills to figure out the true answer from the false claims

Einav Mahlebani - Tom High school

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Yehudit Minerbi -Kfar Maimon

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1. Jigsaw puzzle

Give each student 4 pieces of puzzle .The student write on each piece something about himself: what he likes, one thing they want to do, their hobby and write their name next to it and put the pieces together .

2. Tell the students to write on paper two things that they want the class to know about themselves. Collect what they wrote , read it in class and let the other students guess who wrote each

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I liked the human memory game oft Yael Ganan . finding two matching students who something in common

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Zara Mamont - Ort Yami Ashdod

I think the ice-breakers or games are perfect to get to know your students better. I like the game “What if…” where students need to complete the sentence starting with “what if”. It’s a funny creative game and a good grammar practice at the same time.

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Another activity is when students need to tell one interesting thing that happened to them since our last lesson. Not everyone has something to tell but usually 2-3 children tell very interesting stories and whole the class get engaged.

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I also like to use different Google Forms depending what kind of information I need to get from my students.

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From the other slides I liked the idea of M&M’s game from Yael Van Der Meer’s slide, I think my students will love it either ;) For this activity children take candies of different color and each of them need to answer a question written on the board for the color he has.

Rochelle Mesica Hertzog High School

Option A

Guessing game- I write a variety of numbers and names on the board and the pupils guess how they are connected to me personally(date of birth,aliya dates,number and names of my kids…)Then pupils in turn come to the board to write a name or number and we guess how it is connected to them.

True/ False - Each pupils writes two facts in his/her notebook.In turn pupils read the two facts and the class has to guess which fact is true and which is false.

I liked many of the ice breakers that were mentioned. One of them being Nataly Svirsky’s activity where the kids are divided into small groups, they receive a dice which has a different topic to talk about as they throw the dice. It sounds fun and I will be sure to try it out next September.Thanks!

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Rachel (Merin) Tobol

School: HaKfar Hayarok

David Moshe-Shitim

• I would ask the pupils to write on a personal diary one habit and two expectations from the coming year in English class. Afterwards, I read a section that they allow from their diary in front of the class, then students and I’ll try to guess who is he/she.
• I always use Kahoot with a short quiz or as a method to review the lesson and also to learn my pupils habits. I think it’s important for a teacher sharing his/her habits as well. To the best of my knowledge it always adds a positive spot into class atmosphere.

Reut Melker - Nofey Golan

Moshe Na Or Neve Sraya, Brosh

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DJkbT3I7BIU25mU3qPJuGgZ4f0Z1C5aO/view?usp=sharing

I made an observation form - click on the Link

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Helwi Najami from Misgav JHS

First activity: Bring 20 cards to the classroom. Each card has a number and a question that students have to answer according to their own. Write on the board the numbers from 1 to 20. Then, tell a students to pick up a number. The student has to pick the card that has the number. Then, he/she answers the question on the card. Afterwards, the student has to choose another student and ask him/ her the same question. This way, students can also get to know each other.

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Second activity: I write three statements on the board. Two which are right and one that is false. I ask students to guess which two are right and which one is false. Then, in pairs, each student will tell their partner two true facts and one false about themselves. Their partner has also to guess which is false and which is true. Each student will present one true fact about her/ his partner.

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I liked Laura Berdichevsky’s activity which follows: “Using the Linoit app, students can write their names, and add one interesting fact about themselves or something unusual that has ever happened to them.”

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This activity is engaging and fun because students will be asked to use their phones (technology) which is part of their daily habits. Its easy for them ,its a handy task which is very suitable for their age and interests. Moreover its very beneficial and they can apply it later with other subjects.

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Shulamit Dekel-Nosart Hertsog Beit Hashmonai

Option A

• In weaker classes, I usually ask them to introduce themselves by name and also add a sentence or two to describe themselves using adjectives. They should try to use an adjective that starts with the first letter of their name. If they can’t find an adjective they can talk about things they like or like to do.
• The class is divided into groups of three. The students are supposed to talk amongst themselves and find three pieces of information. First, something that they all have in common. The second thing would be something that two out of the three share and the last one is a fact that is unique to each one of them. Then they will have to share this information with the rest of the class

I loved Yael Ressa’s activity as it makes the kids talk . The kids are busy. They get to know one another in a very short time. It’s a quick activity and the kids love it. I also use it sometimes as a book report. It’s called a book circle.

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Natali Svirsky - Ayanoyt

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The 2 activities I have chosen as an icebreaker are:

• I divide the group into small groups of 4. Each group gets a dicer, on each side of which is written a topic, like Family, city, hobby, color, music, tv shows, pet, and so on. One of the group is throwing the dicer, and the rest are to say something short about the topic.
• Another activity is alike, but with more noise and movement. All the pupils are standing. I tell them to make groups of people who have the same: dressing style, the color of eyes, the color of the t-shirt, music preferences, favourite subjects at school……

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I liked the activity of Sara Akiva for getting to know each other and presenting the 3rd person singular. It will make the students interested and they will learn grammar in the most natural way.

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I liked the form presented by Chagit Ziv and would use it.

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Gali Sayag Ramat Hadassah

Option A:

The Name Game - There can be a lot of different variations to this game. The students sit in a circle and the first says his name and something he likes(music,computers etc) the next student follows with their name and what they like and then repeats what the previous student said. The game continues until one student can’t remember and the next student begins the cycle again.

This can also be done with- animals , subjects in school, places (if the students come from different places) etc.

I liked Yael Van Der Meer’s M&M game . Each student takes 2-4 m&m candies in different colors. Then I write on the board a question for each color.

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Jane Simon - Tzafit

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• North South East West

Show the directions in the classroom on each wall, put up some signs. Get everyone to stand up,clear the desks to the side. Everyone stands in the middle. The teacher says to the students that they can move either east or west. Listen to the question and go to either side of the room. What do you prefer cats or dogs? Now listen to the question and go either North or South -Where do like to be in the city or in the country? Now east or west- What is your favorite ice cream vanilla or chocolate? Other questions could be reading a book or seeing the movie, chips or pizza, pool or the beach and so on.

The second part of this game is that the teacher says a topic, or theme for example “where is your favorite place in Israel? Students have to mingle until they find someone who has the same answer as them and then they form cluster group. Another question could be - what’s your favorite dessert, or favorite color, or favorite singer, and so on.

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Opinion line : this can be done in any language. Teacher explains that there is a diagonal line from one corner of the room to the next. Stand on the line in terms how much you agree. A lot or not at all. For example holiday in Israel, holiday abroad, or having a birthday with friends or only with family, or read the book before the movie or not at all. And so on.

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I like Sara Akiva’s idea of making a ppt presentation of themselves. I would definitely do one about myself first and then present them over the first few weeks. Could be a lot of fun!

Emily Singer - Shaked

Rinat Singer Ezer

1st activity - STUDENTS-HAVE-INCOMMON MEMORY GAME

2 ss step out of the classroom. Each student, of the remaining ss, has to find a student who shares something with him. For example - they both dance, they both play basketball, they both like the same color (red), they both have the same shoe size etc. once all ss got into pairs, all ss sit in a circle (make sure they do not st next to their partner) and let the 2 ss come back into the classroom. These 2 ss have to compete between themselves and find the pairs. 1st player gets to point at 2 ss and they have to say the thing they have in common. For example: 1st student: my favorite color is red and second student: my shoe size is 38. If both ss say the same, ie they are a pair, then they sit behind the player who “found” them. If not, they remain sitting and it becomes the 2nd player’s turn. The player with the most “pairs” is the winner.

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2nd activity - פסק זמן, מקופלת, כיףכף�Buy mixed packages of מקופלת כיףכף ופסק זמן. Each student gets a chocolate bar and then they have to say something about themselves according to the chocolate they have just received / eaten:

מקופלת - Something that no one (in class) knows about you.

כיףכף - Something you do for fun.

פסק זמן - Something you do in order to relax

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3rd activity - Zoharit Said suggested the TRUE-FALSE STATEMENTS. I really like this activity. It gets students involved and they love it. I get to learn a lot about the ss by the things they say and also in how they react and participate.

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Kirill Smolkin - Havat HaNoar HaTsioni

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Idea 1

Students get worksheets with 25-30 small images all on one page (flowers, the sun, a tortoise, music notes, etc.) They look at the page and circle 5 pics that, in their opinion, best represent them. 2 minutes for that. Then the teachers asks them to stand up find someone and talk to them about their first choice, explain why they circled this picture. 1 minute. Then the teacher claps their hands 3 times, students quickly find a new partner. Could be done 5 times depending on time available.

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Idea 2

Suitable for the class where students more or less know each other but would like to practise intuition as well as speaking and communication skills. One student leaves the room, the others think of one of the people in it. When the student comes back, he/she asks one of the students: If this person was a colour, what colour would he/she be? They could also ask about items of clothing, school subjects, animals, food, anything. The student is supposed to guess the right person after no more than 10 questions.

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I really liked Gilat Bental’s idea Call My Bluff where students have to guess which of the statements is false. Jane Simon’s Opinion Line thing is also worth a try.

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Thank you!

Zoharit Said - Beer Ami

Activity num1 :

The teacher says two facts about herself, one is true and one is fault. The students need to guess which one is true. Then the teacher asks the students to do the same about themselves. They need to write interesting facts that nobody knows and would surprise all the students and the teacher. Through this activity the teacher gets to know the students' world and interests and it's also a wonderful way to break the ice.

Activity num 2: the teacher gives each student two flags – one is white and one is black. Once in a while she opens the lesson with the following activity: She asks the students few Yes/No questions such as "Do you like winter?" or "Do you have pets at home?" Instead of saying yes the students picks up the white flag and if the student's answer is no he picks up the black flag. It's a good activity to get to know our students and also an excellent way to teach them Yes/No questions. The teacher can ask the students to write their own Yes/No questions and she will use them next time.

Activity num 3 (and thanks to Laura Berdichevsky ) Using the Linoit app, students can write their names, and add one interesting fact about themselves or something unusual that has ever happened to them.

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Julia Srodey__ Kfar Hanoar Hadati

Yudit Idan - Ben Shemen School

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Tic-Tac-Toe

§ Break the class into two teams: X’s and O’s

§ Draw two tic-tac-toe grids on the board, side-by-side.

One grid for reference and one for actually drawing X’s and O’s.

§ Write a response to a question in each square (I’m great, Noodles, Israel, 14 years old, Green …)

§ Teams rotate asking questions (How are you? What’s your favorite food? Where are you from? …)

§ To keep the entire class focused, pick students at random.

Beach ball game

All you need for this activity is a beach ball and a marker. Write down several questions on the beach ball in a random order.

Examples of questions:

What are you most proud of? What’s the most heroic thing you did? What’s your favorite animal? What color is your toothbrush? I am thankful for _____ What’s your favorite movie?

What’s your favorite sport? How many siblings do you have? What’s your favorite dessert?

What do you like to do after school? When’s your birthday?

Form a circle and throw the beach ball to a student. Wherever the student’s left thumb lands, is the question he has to answer. After answering that question, he can throw the ball to another student.

I enjoyed Yael Ganan's second activity. What a great idea! Human memory game instead of cards involves all students, it gets them up on their feet and I am sure it's fun. You can also use this game after teaching adjectives.

Name:- Sara Akiva - School:- Wizo Nahalal

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Two activities to get to know your students better.

• Getting to know you and presenting in 3rd person. In Pairs or threesomes, pupils ask each other in turn questions about themselves, where they live, how many siblings, hobbies, anything that they find interesting or relevant. After about
• 5 -10 minutes, each pair or threesome comes up to the front of the class and instead of presenting themselves, they present each other - activity is done in the third person. The kids love it and they get a lot out of it and so does the teacher. (Teacher also participates). This should be done over a few lessons, either at the beginning or at the end.

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2. (Pictorial, Written and Oral Presentation. Create a collage using bristol paper with a few pictures (taken from

magazines, internet etc … which best represents themselves. They can add a sentence if they wish. As an

alternative, kids can prepare a ppt one slide). The pupils present themselves orally ofcourse, (2-3 minutes)

Spread the presentations over a few lessons. The collages can be displayed in the classroom and corridor

afterwards. Tip - I always begin with my own collage / ppt.

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3. Thank you to Laura Berdichevsky. Using the Linoit app, students can write their names, and add one interesting

fact about themselves or something unusual that has ever happened to them.

*** (I have to admit that I had never heard about the Linoit app before!)

Naomi Feinmesser - Tzvia Katif

Activity 1: Would you rather…?

I would prepare a PowerPoint with different “would you rather” questions on it. Some would be serious and others more lighthearted. Each question would have an option A and an Option B, and I would make one wall of the classtoom option A and the other wall Option B.. Students would go to whichever side they identify with. I would ask a few students to explain their choice each time.

For example:

Would you rather play on a football team that always loses but always plays in great weather, or on a football team that always wins but always plays in terrible weather?

Would you rather never use social media sites / apps again or never watch another movie or TV show?

Would you rather be a famous author or a famous musician?

Would you rather be a detective or a pilot?

Milk chocolate or dark chocolate?

Apple or orange?

Star Trek or Star Wars?

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Activity 2: Stranded on a desert island

What 3 items would you take with you and why?

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Activity 3, courtesy of Gilat Bental:

Toss the Dice - I write six statements on the board (i.e - My favourite food is… / It is difficult for me to study… / My dream is to become a… and so on), and each student in his/her turn tosses the dice and completes the statement according to the number.

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Naty Piperno Landesman-

Aloney Itzhak

1st Activity: I sent a PADLET link to the class asking them to upload their picture and write 3 things about themselves we still do not know about them.

2nd Activity: I used FLIPGRID and I introduced myself in a short video and I asked the pupils to do the same. I like this app.

3rd Activity: I used FLIPGRID and asked the kids to state their zodiac sign and relate to a text we read on the horoscope and character’s traits whether they agreed. The follow up activity was to create a survey and ask others questions on this matter (horoscope) the results will be shown right after Hanukkah break!

The 4th activity is from Naomi Feinmesser -Tzvia Katif

Activity 2: Stranded on a desert island

What 3 items would you take with you and why?

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Joelle Peleg Kfar Galim

ACTIVITY 1: I present to the students a 60-second oral "biography" which includes my background, hobbies, and interests. I ask them to take notes and to decide what are the most important facts I shared with them. Then, I tell them five things about myself. 4 of those statements are true and were part of my presentation and 1 statement is a fib. Then, I ask students to refer to their notes to tell which statement is the fib. Finally, each student has to present a 60-second oral biography and tell the five statements and the rest of the class has to find out the fib statement.

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ACTIVITY 2: I ask the students to draw from a hat the name of a famous person for their pen name which I prepare in advance. Then, they place all the names back in the hat and they draw the name of the famous person to whom they address their correspondence. I distribute to each student an index card and ask them to write a letter from their vacation spot as if they are still there, detailing where they like doing there. I collect and redistribute the postcards to the students who have to give a presentation on the postcard they received, and allow the class to guess who (instead of Mark Twain or Tomas Hardy) really visited the Grand Canyon during the summer.

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ACTIVITY 3: I would use the activity of Sara Akiva - creating a collage for students to present themselves orally. I also like the idea that their works will be displayed in the classroom or corridor for others to see.

Name: Linda Penias

School: Meshutaf Hof HaCarmel

2. Use an inflatable ball and write on it with a marker different questions: Students sit or stand in a circle and throw the ball to each other randomly. The catcher has to answer as quickly as possible to the question he sees first when he catches.

Here are some ideas for questions:

A successful experience I had

Why was I named like that.

Something I like to do on my free time.

Something I regret.

My favorite song right now.

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Ask the students to take a selfie and post it to our Whatsapp group via any other app. (can also be done as a worksheet at home and sent to the teacher - that’s how I did it)

Then they should answer the questions

1. Where did you take this selfie? Describe the place in a few words.

2. When did you take it?

3. Why did you take it? What did you want to remember about that day?

5. How do you feel about your selfie?

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I liked Jane Simon’s idea - Tzafit

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Opinion line : this can be done in any language. Teacher explains that there is a diagonal line from one corner of the room to the next. Stand on the line in terms how much you agree. A lot or not at all.

Great idea! ( I did it with my homeroom class last year , Will try it in my English classes as well. )

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Limor Tzeiry from Yeshivat Tzvia Katif

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Dalia Zarfaty

Mikve Israel Religious School

OPTION A

Idea 1: I will divide the class into groups of four. I will give them cards with different questions like: “What’s your favorite food?” “What are your hobbies?” Each student in his turn will have to answer this way they will engage in speaking English and find things in common with their peers.

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Idea 2: Two truths and a lie. Students will write two things they like to share about their lives and interests and one made up fact on their own selfie.The class will have to guess what is true and what is not. It’s fun! They will enjoy the attention and form friendships.

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Idea 3: Thanks to Laura Berdichevsky - Nofey Habsor

Using kahoot, they can write half sentences telling things they like to do. They can write 4 different endings. Only one of them is true, so the class should guess the right one.

For example: I am Laura, on Fridays I like to

a , meet friends b .play basketball c .sleep d listen to music

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I like it because it will teach them new things about their classmates, using their favorite instrument- their phone. Also, excellent for practicing the present simple tense.

Name: Racheli Kastner - School: Ulpanat Tsfira

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Option A - Activities

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• “I will never forget the moment when…” - Each student writes on a piece of paper about a special event that was meaningful for him /her. They have to complete the sentence - “I will never forget the moment when…” Then the teacher collects all the strips of paper , puts them in a box and asks each student to pick one note, read it and try to guess who wrote it. The rest of the class can help guess who wrote it.

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• The clock game - setting a date - The teacher prepares a copy of a clock with hours -1 - 12 - for each student. The students are supposed to find a partner for every hour and just write a different student next to every hour (Both students write each other’s name). Then, after each student has filled in the names near each hour, the teacher announces the time, for instance, it’s 2 o’clock , and each pair meets. Every hour has a different topic of discussion - for example, a book I’ve read, an experience I had , a food I like, etc.

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• I liked Yael Ressa’s activity - “Find someone who…” It’s an activity that really works and I’ve done it many times. Students really enjoy it and get to know each other better.

Glynn Rabin

Shitim Darka High School

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• Bring different objects to class. Each object will have a matching one (example a match stick). There should be enough objects so that each student will have one. Challenge each student to find the other student with the matching object. After students find their matches they can take turns introducing themselves to one another.
• Have each child use the letters in his or her name to find a word that describes something they like. For example:

G-gymnastics

L-lollipops

Y-yo yo

N-noodles

N-netball

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3. Activity number 3 (Thanks to Zoharit Said-beer Ami)

The teacher says two facts about herself, one is true and one is false. The students need to guess which one is true. Then the teacher asks the students to do the same about themselves. They need to write interesting facts that nobody knows and would surprise all the students and the teacher. Through this activity the teacher gets to know the students' world and interests and it's also a wonderful way to break the ice

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Laura Rudich - Yarkon

Task 2: These aren’t tools I usually use but I do observe my students. These tools enable structured observation and allow the teacher to observe and compare students, lessons and doing it over a period of time, as though looking at a process.

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A. Create 2 different 5-10 minute activities to get to know your students better.

• I would ask each student to bring an object that means something special to him. It could be something to do with his life, family, hobby etc. All the objects are placed in the room and students go around and write who they think they belong to and why. Later they share their ideas and then each students gets to say what he/she has brought and why. The teacher also brings an object!
• The following game involves a few skills and is also fun. The teacher stands in the middle of the class and each time announces 2 options for the students to divide themselves according to their [references. For example: soccer or basketball? Chocolate or vanilla? Every time the groups are divided a student from each team will have to explain his/her choice. Everyone gets to participate and the teacher can let several students come up with categories of their own. The students listen, talk and move all the time!

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3. A nice idea by DALIA ZARFATI: Two truths and a lie. Students will write two things they like to share about their lives and interests and one made up fact on their own selfie.The class will have to guess what is true and what is not. It’s fun! They will enjoy the attention and form friendships.

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Lea Rozenfeld - Ulpenat Mercaz Shapira

Debbie Roth from Misgav JHS

• I ask students to write a little bit about themselves - favorites, hobbies, curiosities - and their goal for that school year. I keep their notes (can be paragraphs for stronger students, bulleted points for weaker ones) and we revisit them during the last week of the year. It is very nice to see their progress, what they have achiever during the year, how much their English skills have changed as well as themselves.

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• My life in a paper bag - each student choose 5 objects that are important to him/her and fit in a paper/plastic bag. Then, they share with the class about the items they have chosen and the reasons for choosing them.

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• I really liked the idea posted by Hadar Shenkar- Amit Kfar Batya “Homesh”

I discuss with my students the fact that teachers are “real people”. Then, I show them a PPT slideshow with pictures of my family, my house, ,my hobbies, what did I do on the summer, etc.

Then, I ask the students to write something about themselves- name, age, about their family, things they like to do, etc. I ask them to type it and send it to me, and I add it to the PPT. I make a slide for each student with his information and I include a picture of the student. On the next lesson, we watch the slideshow together with all the students.

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The main reason I like this idea is because I have never thought of creating a PPT with the information students share + their picture! I think it is such a thoughtful activity and it is great that it puts them in the spotlight.

Nicole Ronen - Hartuv highschool

Option 1:

• This is an activity I do every year with my students. I ask them to write a letter to themselves for the end of the year. They need to write about what their goals are and why they believe they can achieve them. What their fears are and what they can do to overcome them. I tell them that I will read them only if they wish. Usually everyone wants me to read them and in this way I get an idea of who my students are; what their weaks and strengths are in language and also in what they mention about themselves. In the end of the year I hand back the letters. They are always shocked that I actually save them. They read over their letters and see how much their writing has improved the past year. (Hopefully).
• A bag filled with a variety of questions like “what is your favorite animal?” “Do you have any particular hobbie?” “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. Each student picks a random question and answers the question in front of the class.
• Bat-el Daniel’s activity: Her activity is to divide the class into pairs and have them ask each other yes or no questions. After, each students presents some kind of fact to the class about his classmate.

I like that the students are active and get to know one another on a personal level. This way students can interact with one another and make new friends. Also, the whole class can learn about one another, in addition to myself.

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Yael Ressa - Eshel Hanassi School

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Activity 1: The pupils sit on the floor, in two circles, inner and exterior circle so that the face each other. On the ring of a bell I use, each pair has to talk about a question I announced, like: "what is a place you went to with your family?, a time you went to bed, a film you watched, a nice meal you had, your favorite clothing item, etc". They have a couple of minutes each time and then on the sound of the bell, the outer circle moves one pupil clockwise and I announce another question the new pairs have to tell each other, until the circle is completed. It’s a fun way for everyone to get to know each other and have a chance to communicate with pupils they may not know or choose to talk to… The teacher listens and observes.

Activity 2: Each pupil receives a "Find someone who…" page on which there are instructions in little boxes to find someone who has 1/2/3 siblings or other, or a certain hobby/ color eyes/hair, who likes…. and so on. The pupils go around the room, find pupils who answer each box and write their names in it. A follow up activity could be that each pupil then tells the rest of the class something they learned about another pupil, (not the same one).

Activity 3, of Gilat Bental, which I liked is:

Toss the Dice - I write six statements on the board (i.e - My favourite food is… /�It is difficult for me to study… / My dream is to become a… and so on), and�each student in his/her turn tosses the dice and completes the statement�according to the number.

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Galina Shaulov Eshel Hanassi School

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cTvl-4pUQZ-zZey2cdLV8PI9nDTk2XteZj2IqwpkmXU/edit

Active Learning Lesson Plan Template Galia

Name: Chavy Schwartz School: Ulpenat Tzfira

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1. Each student is given a piece of paper. The students are asked to write what their hobbies are. Later, they give the notes to the teacher. Each student chooses one note, reads to the class. The others have to guess who wrote what.

2. One student speaks with another student she doesn’t know. Each of them has to find at least 4 facts about the other. They shoul use yes/no and wh questions.

3. Thank you to Yael Ganan, the students wrote something they have never done . the teacher read it and the students had to find out who wrote it.

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• AVIV STERN - Yoana Jabotinsky

_{First Activity - I’d ask the students to stand in line, based on their birthdays, from January to December, from one side of the classroom to the other. I’d measure time and ask the students to do it again at the end of the lesson. Hopefully, it will take them less time then, and I’ll be able to join them as I find my way in the line too.}

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_{Second Activity - I’d read their personal records to gather some information and then create a short kahoot with questions about the students themselves! “Who lives the farthest from school?” Or “who wasn’t born in February?” Etc. We’ll spice it up with questions about our lessons and things we study and repeat that every now and then.}

_{I liked Tanya Movshovich’s Activity with the poem “I Like Myself”.}

Faygie Schneider

Amit Nachshon

Hadar Shenkar- Amit Kfar Batya “Homesh”

First activity-

I discuss with my students the fact that teachers are “real people”. Then, I show them a PPT slideshow with pictures of my family, my house, ,my hobbies, what did I do on the summer, etc.

Then, I ask the students to write something about themselves- name, age, about their family, things they like to do, etc. I ask them to type it and send it to me, and I add it to the PPT. I make a slide for each student with his information and I include a picture of the student.

On the next lesson, we watch the slideshow together with all the students.

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Second activity-

I create a Kahoot game of survey, and then I ask the students all different kinds of questions- favorite music, what do they like to eat, things they do on their free time, someone they are close to in their family , etc.

This game is both a lot of fun and also a great tool for getting answers from the students that don’t like to talk about themselves.

I like the activity of Ayelet Lowengart - Kedma

Bring mixed packages of chocolate bars: מקופלת כיףכף ופסק זמן

Each student gets a chocolate bar and then has to say something about himself according to the chocolate he has just received / eaten.

Channi Shklar - Da’at Kibbutz Sa’ad

Yael Temam Ohana Hertzog High School

OPTION 1

• First activity: M&M

Each pupils chooses 2 different colors of M&M chocolate and they sit in pairs. On the whiteboard I write the different colors and what they should talk about. ( for example: red - a movie you saw / blue - an exciting place you went to / green - your hobbies / brown - your family…. In turns each pupil tells his partner 2 facts about himself according to the color of M&M they took. After that each pupil will present his partner to the class.

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B. SECOND ACTIVITY: THROW A BALL

Sitting in a circle each pupil who has the ball tells his name aloud and tells one interesting facts about himself that nobody knows. After that he thows the ball to someone else who will tell a fact about himself and so on. I will begin: “My name is Yael and I speak 5 languages”.

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C. I liked Helwi Najami’s activity

She writes three statements on the board. Two which are right and one that is false. She asks students to guess which two are right and which one is false. Then, in pairs, each student will tell their partner two true facts and one false about themselves. Their partner has to guess which is false and which is true. Each student will present one true fact about her/ his partner.

This is a nice ice breaker which is also fun! I would start by saying statements about myself.

Dana Sabag

Dana Sabag-----Merchavim school

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Option A:

My ideas for 5-10 minutes activities to get to know my students are:

1. The Miming game- all the pupils have to write a sentence about their favorite after school activity. Then each pupil has to mime it in front of the class, and they have to guess it. This can be a very fun way to break the ice and get to know each other.

2. Card game- Everyone should sit in a circle and the teacher spreads some cards with personal questions on the floor. Each student has to pick a card and take it (there should be enough for everyone) and then in turns, everyone answers the questions and share some personal stories and information about themselves.

3. I really liked Karen's idea of Playing "Guess Who" Each student takes a small piece of paper and writes one thing about him/herself. It must be a positive thing like: “My favotie book is - Harry Potter”. The game is with NO NAMES. Then the teacher takes all pieces of paper the kids wrote, puts it in a small box/hat/bag, gives it a swirl & then starts reading each paper and we all have to guess who wrote it. If the teacher participates too it is great! This activity will take about 10 minutes.

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Adele School: NHS

Sandra Keren - Yarden School

Hayley Wohlfarth - Amit Nachshon

Sohad Khalaily-Rama High School