Starting Middle School Advisory on The Right Foot

With a new school year upon us, middle school teachers are often faced with the task of connecting to their advisory groups.  Every year is different, from the kickball champions of the world to my Harry Potter groupies, advisory groups are as diverse as the personalities that make them up.  With this understanding, here’s my favorite activity to get the year started right.
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My Grandma has a grocery story:  A name game.  Every year there are kids that don’t know each other.  So rather than saying “hey you” all year long, we play a fun game that helps everyone (including me) learn their names.  It runs like a spelling bee. 
All kids stand at their desk

Student 1 says, “My grandma has a grocery store and she sells Apples.”  (the product can be anything that starts with the letter A.
Students 2 then repeats what student 1 says, however they have to address it as “Tim’s grandma has a grocery store and she sells apples.”  Adding the previous students name and what their grandma sells.  Then student 2 would say :My grandma has a grocery store and she sells bananas.”  Or any product that starts with the letter B. 

This pattern continues, having each student name all the previous students and what their grandmas sell.  Its great fun.  You can be lenient the first time around to make sure everyone learns the previous students’ names.  Additionally, students with learning challenges may need some additional support.   After the students make it around one time, I often allow them to pick other items not in alphabetical order, this increases the complexity.  At this point if a student can’t remember a name or product they sit down like a spelling bee.   Although this game sounds simple, I am hard pressed to get through a group of 20 kids in 30 minutes, so keep good notes, this could be a multiday activity. 
 

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Advisory Kickball Team Building