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Instructional Strategies

Engage Your Students From Day One with a Quiz About Yourself

I’m always looking for ways to make the first days of school more enjoyable for my students, and this video shows one of my favorite ways to do so. Kids spend so much time reviewing syllabi, listening to rules and procedures, and sitting through boring introductions about their teachers. When they have to do that six or seven times throughout the day, it’s a great relief for them to do something fun and enjoyable.

I like to get kids drawing or making art on the first day, of course, but I also like to flip the script on the way I introduce myself with a Quiz About the Teacher. It’s a great (and different) way to let kids get to know a little bit about you. Stick around to the end of the video to see what kind of a prize comes for the kids who answer the most questions right!

If you’d like a copy of my quiz, you can download a PDF version here or a customizable Word version here.

What kinds of questions would you put on your own quiz?

What would your students be surprised to learn about you?

 

4 years ago
Comments

Timothy Bogatz

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Tim is a high school teacher from Omaha, NE. His teaching and writing focus on the development of creativity, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking skills.

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  • Charmaine Boggs

    Great idea! I think I’ll adapt this for my middle school classes. Most of them have been with me since first grade, so it will be fun to see how many of them have paid attention to the stories I’ve told about myself and my family over the years they’ve been in my class. We’re not allowed to give food or beverages as prizes, it I’m sure I can come up with some gently used art supplies!

  • Helen H

    I love this idea, but need some clarification. Do you have a sample quiz to share? Do you give them the quiz right at the start and have them guess? or do you tell them about yourself and then test to see if they were listening? Thanks

    • Tim Bogatz

      Helen,
      I just give them the quiz and have them guess. Then, as we go over the answers, I will share some stories and anecdotes that let them get to know me a little bit more. If you want to e-mail me ([email protected]), I will send you a copy of my quiz!

  • I do a first day quiz as well ( what’s my first name, where am I from, who is my hero…. – Most kids love it, some freak out and some are to brainwashed to attempt to guess at answers even though I tell them it’s about participation, not getting every answer correct. I try to explain that in life sometimes it’s the experience that is more important than the outcome. The best part is EVERY year I tell them I am 33 years old – I’ve been 33 for 10 years ;)

    Then after making some art, they complete a short quiz similar to mine and if we have time, I collect them, mix them up, and they try to guess who’s test I’m reading.

    • Laurie Heflin Basham

      Do you have your quiz questions to share?

  • K Hyman

    I’m heading over to make a “Me Quiz” right now!!!!

  • Jeff Lahr

    I begin each semester with a quiz about myself. It is a multiple choice quiz which table groups discuss and then provide a group answer using small white boards. Most of the questions are fun or funny but I end with “As your teacher, I would like to be remembered as:
    A. Funny
    B. Talented
    C. Knowledgeable
    D. Kind and caring

    Of course D is the answer, and this allows me to begin a discussion about respect and thoughtfulness. I always end by saying something like, “I will never intentionally say anything to hurt you or demean you. If you ever feel that I’ve disrepected you, please let me know so that I can apologize.”

    • MJLinford

      can I possibly get a copy of your quiz? I like the multiple choice idea, so they don’t have to get crazy trying to come up with outlandish ideas, so easy at my age level.

  • Retsy

    Love this idea! I am definitely going to do this! I’ll let you know how it goes!

  • Katie Romanic

    I was a little iffy about trying this at first, but I just did it today and it honestly went so much better than I ever expected! Two of my classes got so into it and were literally cheering when they got a question right. It got a little chaotic because I let them just shout out their guesses before I gave them the right answer, but honestly I feel like this broke the ice for me and my students quicker than anything I’ve used in the past. Thanks for the idea! :)

  • Alecia Eggers

    Tim! I’m super excited to do this with my upper level elementary students tomorrow! Thanks for the awesome idea! In turn, I’m going to have them write me a note/exit slip telling me about them! I will have to also think of a clever prize…

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  • araceli Hernandez

    HI Tim! I love your teacher quiz idea! How do you pick the winner or winners? How many questions will consider them a winner?

  • Lynn Bailey

    I’ve done this for years also. I gave a True/False quiz – then had students write down some facts about themselves on the back and turn them in, so I could also get to know a bit about them.

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