The start of the school year is the most critical time to help build positive relationships in your classroom. That’s why I’m always seeking new and fun ways to incorporate “getting to know you” activities for the back to school season. This is the best time to help all students feel part of the classroom community. Using a Getting to Know You Fortune Teller is a perfect activity for this. It’s a hands-on, fun, and interactive way to get your kids talking, sharing ideas, and bonding as a community of learners. It’s also important to mention that the activity also incorporates art, following directions, fine motor skills, taking turns, and writing.
First, kids use a list of over 100 getting to know you questions to come up with their top 8 questions to ask peers. They must choose two questions from each category: school, silly & fun, yourself, and activities. This helps so that kids ask each other a wide variety of questions.
Kids will write their questions in the fortune teller. It’s interesting to see what questions kids want to ask others!
If you need an accommodation for some students, you can hand out pre-made fortune teller sheets with the questions already written down. You might even choose to do this for the whole class if you need a time saver! Just simply pass out a different page to each student so that different questions are being asked around the room.
Kids will then spend time creativity coloring and designing their fortune tellers. This is also a great time for small group discussions at tables and desks.
Once they are colored, kids will cut out their fortune tellers around the dotted lines.
Next, they will fold their fortune tellers. It’s helpful to use the picture directions so that kids can follow along easily and efficiently. You may also want to have a few student helpers (who you have already trained!) walking around the room. This part of the activity is a great way to assess following directions early on!
Once the fortune tellers are made, kids should work with a partner and ask questions as they use their fortune tellers. Encourage students to take turns with using the fortune teller but also remember to allow lots of student conversations! This is the best time for kids to get to know each other, laugh, listen, and just feel part of the classroom community. You can choose whether to have students work with just one partner, or to go around the room and travel from partner to partner.
Kids should also write down information they learn about their partner(s) on a worksheet. This is helpful so that at the end of the lesson, different students can share out interesting things they’ve learned about their peers.
If you love the idea of this Getting to Know You Fortune Teller activity, give it a try this back to school season! It includes 4 lists of over 130 questions for kids, a blank fortune teller, 16 pre-made fortune tellers, and many student response sheets. An educator guide with steps to take before and during the lesson, detailed student directions with photos, and student directions posters during the lesson are also included to keep everyone on track. Whether you are a regular educator, special educator, counselor, or other specialist, this craft will help your kids get to know each other and build the positive community every classroom needs.
