The first days of school set the tone for the rest of the year. Students want to get to know their teachers; teachers want to get to know their students. This activity helps everyone get acquainted. It also supports standards in speaking.
Step One
Students briefly discuss which is which with a partner. As a class, they vote on their choices; then the teacher reveals which are true.
Step Two
Step Three
Step Four
The teacher will present five statements about things he/she has done. Three of the statements will be true; two, false. Statements of things you have done will lend themselves better to this activity than statements such as "I have two children."
Students do the same thing, write three true and two false statements about things they have done. When it appears that everyone has finished, students get together with someone they don't know very well and take turns guessing which are true and which are false. Allow a few minutes for students to chat and get to know one another. If time permits, students introduce their partners to the class.
The teacher will give each student a copy of the narrative rubric (see link below). After discussing the descriptors, the teacher will present a model narrative speech based upon one of the true statements from Step One, above. The teacher may choose to model some "beginning" traits so students will recognize what to avoid doing.
After discussion of the model speech, students will choose one of their own true statements to use as the subject of a narrative speech. The speech will be assessed using the same rubric.
This rubric was designed for Indiana Standards 2000 9.7.14. Permission is granted for teachers to download and use it in an educational setting. Commercial use is prohibited.