I learned a version of this activity from Erick Gordon this summer at the UCI institute. Basically, it’s a get-to-know activity where the students get to learn a little about me and then learn a little about each other. It also becomes a very easy springboard for teaching Narrative and Memoir.
First I shared a list of 11 statements about myself. Embedded in the list is one fib. The kids read the statements out loud and then I have kids volunteer guesses as to which is the fib. They also have to justify why they feel it’s the fib.
With each one they chose that is an actual fact, I do a quick one-minute oral narrative about that fact that makes them wanting more. When they hit the fib, well, then I do a little soapbox number.
Here was my list:
1. My father is the 1969 World Champion Jeopardy player.
2. I was kicked out of Brownies in 4th grade.
3. When I was a child, I was a model on The Price is Right.
4. When I was 14 I went to Greece and dropped my coolest pair of sunglasses into a well of frogs.
5. My dad created Capt. Jack Sparrow.
6. When I studied at Oxford University in England, I ended up having an emergency appendectomy.
7. My husband and I met in 2nd grade.
8. I am a certified OpenWater II scuba diver who goes diving with her mom.
9. When I was in school, I was a straight A student.
10. I once worked at a guest ranch, working in the stables, leading the kiddie rides across the Arizona desert.
11. One weekend, I was so bored that I went skydiving just to do something new.
Can you guess the fib? Answer: # 9. Yes, it’s true. I was NOT a straight A student. In fact, I didn’t find a joy in learning or in school until the occasional high school class or college class when I could actual point to classes I was actually interested in.
In other words, I not only didn’t have a passion in or for school, but I also remember what I didn’t like or understand. As a teacher, my recollections add to my ability to reach out to a diversity of learners. As a teacher, my willingness to share myself, my strengths, and my foibles adds to my ability to reach them as well.
Share yourself, your experiences, and the themes of your life. You are the supplemental material. Share yourself and your students will learn more.
Hope your first day went as well as my own.