Being a gifted support service teacher is unique in that you often have students for multiple years. While you may only teach them for a few periods a week, your minutes together can add up, and you may know the students a bit better than you would in a traditional classroom setting! However, student interest changes, so you won’t want to skip this step.
Typical icebreaker activities may prove to be difficult because
- You may have too few students for them to work correctly.
- The students may already know each other pretty well.
- The activity is not as challenging as what is typically offered in your classroom.
I would recommend planning something a bit more open-ended where students have an opportunity to share things about themselves in a different way than what is being offered in their regular classrooms. Add in a little higher order thinking, and you will be set!
I have used these Back to School All About Me Math Task Cards by Teaching With a Mountain View and something like this All About Me Science Activity by Momgineer. Both activities illustrate that math and science really are part of our everyday lives!