1st Day of School “About Me” Pennants

To be honest, I don’t really like the first week of school. In fact, I don’t really like the first several weeks of school! Besides the obvious painful end to fun-filled, endless summer days spent with my own kids, those first few days are exciting, yes, but difficult because I don’t know anyone’s names or personalities, they don’t know me yet, students are too shy still to really act like themselves, and there’s so many “housekeeping” tasks that need to get done, taking away from the fun math activities I love. Once students are in the rhythm and routine of my class and understand my expectations, things flow much more smoothly and each day is just more enjoyable.

I used to have students only fill out a Student Information Sheet on Day 1, and that was all I used to get to know them better. I do still use this because it provides good information, and I especially enjoy reading through them again a few months into school when I really know every student well.

However, starting in 2021-22, I began using an “About Me” pennant to not only get to know students, but to also create a lasting memory of each student that I have taught - plus, it’s a really fun activity that immediately breaks the ice on Day 1 and makes a great ending on the final day of school!

Here is how I use this in my classroom:

On Day 1, I stand by the door to greet each students and give them their assigned seat number. Students fill out the Student Information Sheet and join the Google Classroom, and then I go through a brief PowerPoint introducing myself, pointing out important areas of the classroom, and listing classroom routines. I hand out the syllabus but DON’T go over it yet (I highlight important sections of the syllabus on day 1). Once we’re done with that, it’s Pennant time!

Student do most of the work to create their Pennant on Day 1: they choose a colorful piece of paper, cut out the pennant shape using a ruler, write their name and period, write their three favorite numbers and why, write down any message they want future students to see, and take their photo. I always make sure students are using marker to write anything down, because pencil is too hard to see (and it just doesn’t look as good). Because students are typically very reserved and nervous on Day 1, I have them take each other’s photos in their groups. The Polaroid camera moves from group to group, and within each group, students take the photos, either standing or seated. This avoids me having to single them out in front of all of their peers to take it.

THIS is the Fujifilm Instax Polaroid camera I use and THIS and THIS are different packages of film I’ve purchased for this activity.

Every student holds the wooden apple sign - here’s what it looks like on Day 1:

I use a white liquid bullet tip 2mm chalk craft pen to write on the board.

Because students always inevitably forget what should go on the pennant, HERE is the Google Jamboard that I project while students are creating their pennants. I always play music on my Spotify on Day 1 and on the Final Day - it really makes a huge difference in making the mood feel lighter and more fun!

Once students have taped down their Polaroid photo and finished writing everything down, I collect the pennants and store them until the very end of the year.

On the Last day of school, I hand them out again, and everyone always get a kick out of seeing their photo from nine months ago, seeing how much they changed, and reading again what they wrote on that very first day of school. The last day is all focused on fun and feels like a celebration of a year full of lots of learning. This time, I take the photos one at a time (this helps to make sure the quality and lighting are good). This is what the apple sign looks like on the last day:

I encourage students to decorate their pennants more using markers or colored pencils once they’ve taped down their second photo. Then they put their pennant in a laminating sheet, laminate them, and trim the extra plastic to create their final product! Afterwards, I hole-punch them, put them all on a circular binder ring, and hang the whole group’s pennants on a command hook. My plan is to have a binder ring for each group of sophomore - luckily they don’t take up much space on the wall.