Activities for the First Day of School in Eighth Grade

Personal Goals

• Have students write on a piece of paper all of their goals for the eighth-grade year. Have them write down academic goals, social goals, spiritual goal, community goals, athletic goals and any other aspirations they may have for the school year. Have them all put their pieces of paper into a box or folder. At the end of the year, hand them back out and have them check their goal sheets to see if most or all of their goals have been met.

Celebrity Interviews

• Divide the class into pairs and hand them a set of interview questions in which each person in the pair will interview the other. After 10 minutes, allow them to switch roles. When everyone is done, have the students introduce their partners by reading the information obtained throughout the interview. The students can also write one-paragraph profiles about their partners.

Big Bubble Name Posters

• Have each student write their first names in big bubble letters on a sheet of 8x10 paper. This can also be done with large poster boards. In the bubbles of the letters of their names, have the students write their interests, hobbies, goals, favorite foods, friends, pets and family members. Attach a picture to each person's poster board and post the bubble posters in the classroom on display for classmates to learn things about each other.

Two Truths and a Lie

• Have the class sit in a circle and have each class member share something about themselves. The catch is, they have to make three statements about themselves, one of which must be a lie. Other classmates must guess which statement is false. The classmate that guesses correctly must then take their turn. This activity may help students to become more comfortable around each other.