There are many viewpoints and theories when it comes to teaching and learning, but one widely agreed-upon piece of advice is to design an effective, community-oriented, and informative first day of class. Our previous “Planning a Strategic First Day” post offers five simple steps to creating a strategic first day that go beyond the usual review of the syllabus. Here, we add onto these strategies and provide creative activities to help you clarify expectations, foster a welcoming environment, and create excitement for the course.
- Course-Specific Soundtrack: Introduce the premise of the course. Have students find songs that reference key concepts from the course discipline. For example, in an economics class, they might choose songs like “Money” by Pink Floyd or “Taxman” by The Beatles. Students analyze the lyrics, connecting them to course theories or terms they already know, and share their interpretations with the class. Wrap up with a group discussion about the ideas in the song and reflect on how popular culture represents the discipline.
- Prior-Knowledge Trivia: Encourage students to work towards a common goal. Assign small groups and pull up a scoreboard or real-time leaderboard (via Google Sheets, Kahoot, etc.). As the “host”, ask multiple-choice trivia questions that prompt students to retrieve what they already know about the course content. Teams are given 60-90 seconds to discuss and agree upon an answer. The team with the most points wins. End with an exit ticket where students reflect on the questions and describe how confident they are in their prior knowledge. This will help you address knowledge gaps and meet your students where they are.
- Shark Tank: Are you interested in adding a co-creation component to your class? Split students into small groups and have them develop a course motto, syllabus addition/edit, late-work policy, or semester-long friendly class competition before presenting their idea to a panel of ‘sharks’ (set expectations and guidelines for the “product” ahead of time). Once each group has presented, the ‘sharks’ (the instructor and a representative from each group) vote on their favorite project.
- Syllabus Scavenger Hunt: This is a fun, interactive activity designed to help students explore and identify the key information in the course syllabus. Students work individually or in small groups to locate important details such as instructor contact info, deadlines, policies, and participation expectations. Gamify this by offering a small reward (e.g., a sticker or a shout-out) to the first group to finish correctly or the group with the best follow-up questions.
- Circle Course Investigation: Set up different task stations throughout the classroom where students complete different tasks in groups. Each station has prompts listed on a large Post-it poster on the wall along with needed materials. Students add their answers on the posters or provided worksheets. The stations could include the following tasks:
- Study the syllabus: Students decide as a group what two to three points from the syllabus are the most important to remember.
- Investigate the teacher: Students look at different pictures of the instructor in various settings (professional and personal), analyze what they see and summarize what they think they know about the instructor.
- Classroom community: Students write two to three rules they think can help ensure a positive learning environment.
- Learner bios: Students individually complete a sheet that includes learner questions, such as: how do you learn best, your proudest (learning or personal) moment, something the instructor should know about you, etc.
- Positive psychology: Students write a letter (on paper and sealed in an envelope) to their future self (which is then distributed back to them the last day of class).
Wrap up with a class discussion to share key takeaways and address questions.
Let us know if you tried any of these activities!
Author: Sarah Lausch
Resources:
Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Resources and technology: Teaching online – Community building. Retrieved July 22, 2025, from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/community-building/
Ricevuto, J. (2023, March 13). Begin the semester with classroom community building activities to increase student engagement. Faculty Focus. Retrieved July 22, 2025, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/begin-the-semester-with-classroom-community-
Chi, A. (2021, March 4). 10 team building activities for students. Top Hat. Retrieved July 22, 2025, from https://tophat.com/blog/team-building-activities-for-students/