iAM: Fun All About Me Activity

School has been in session for a bit now, and I am getting to know my kids more and more each day.  I have to say, they are a really fun bunch!  They are interested in so many of the things that I am that I thought they would really love to do a fun "Social Media" Get to Know you activity.

So I created these fun little "iPad" looking templates, with four social media interfaces in them.


There is the Instagram page, where I asked the kids to draw a picture of something they did over the summer that really told me about who they were.  This was to be something that wasn't mundane, like watching TV, but something that really got to the heart of their personality....like they went camping because that is how they bond with their family.

The Pinterest page is all about the subjects they like and connect with at school.  The students were to draw a picture of four things they enjoy AT SCHOOL and then a brief description of that activity and why it is special to them.  I tried to steer them towards actual school subjects, like math and reading, as opposed to things like recess.  But some kids did put that on their Pinterest page :)



Facebook was more of a generic "all about me" page for them.  The cover photo was to be of something near and dear to their hearts, and the status updates needed to tell a bit about themselves as well.  The "likes" and "friends" were perfect because they got to draw those people and things that they really liked.

(the original page, that I put inside the ipad frame and added the facebook top to was from Best Teacher Resources on TpT.  You can find it free here if you don't want the frame)



The blog post was to be specifically about their goals as 5th graders.  We did a guided writing for this one (I modeled, they did, I modeled, they did), which forced the kids to think on the fly.  We didn't do any brainstorming.  I just wanted them to think about goals and why they were goals.  That is the blog post they wrote.

The kids then cut them out, and we have them displayed in the room with a sign, "iAM".

Overall, the kids really enjoyed this one. They got to connect to the social media tools they see all around them but in a very safe controlled way.  If you would like the templates, you can get them here (for free of course :)) 

What types of get to know you activities do you do with your students at the beginning of the year?

20 comments

  1. What a fun idea! I can't wait to use these. Thank you for sharing. :)

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  2. Thank you so much for posting and sharing for free! This activity is so much more engaging (for teacher and students!) from the old "All About Me" essay. Just wonderded how I can edit the Blog sheet to reflect the grade I am teaching. Thanks again and happy teaching!

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  3. Love the ideas and the templates. I've seen Facebook templates before, but not for the other social media so I think that's a great twist. Thanks for sharing! I'm interested in seeing a picture of the final display - it seems like a lot of things to hang using a lot of space.

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    1. I just put them on top of each other. So I let the students choose which they thought was their best, and the other three were hung underneath it. People just flip through it all if they want to see each of them :)

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    2. Smart idea! Why didn't I think of that? Thanks!

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  4. Those are great! Thanks for sharing.
    ✰Becca
    Simply 2nd Resources

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  5. I am not able to pull up the pdf files.. would you be willing to email them to me?? staciagruitza@yahoo I love these!~

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  6. Fantastic!! Thank you for sharing! :)

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  7. These are great! I can't wait to use these with my new fifth graders! Thanks so much!

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  8. These look like so much fun. My kids are going to love them! Thanks.

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  9. Love the Kidblog writing idea! Great way to model what a nice quality post looks like.

    Shepherd's Shining Stars

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  10. I am planning on using the "facebook " template with older kids to make face-book pages for Authors and fictional characters . Would be great for historical figures too!

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  11. I love these ideas! I did something similar with my students and even called them iApps! https://goo.gl/DMXZ26
    https://goo.gl/9XLjng

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  12. I'm having trouble getting all of the templates. I clicked on the "here" link, but it isn't working. The only one I could get was the Facebook template. Could you email me at becky.born77@gmail.com?

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  13. I agree with Becky the "here" link is not working. I would love the templates too. jillbcohn@gmail.com
    Thanks

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  14. I am having trouble getting the templates - any suggestions? I really want to use them with my students this year I love them!

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  15. I am not sure why they aren't working for you Pam, Jill and Becky. It is an active link....hummm.......Do you have a block on Google Docs on your computer? Maybe that is the issue?

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Please leave a comment! I love to hear what you think about what is posted :)