The beginning of the school year can come with a lot of excitement, nerves and unknowns for teachers and students alike. Will the teacher be a good fit for the students, and vice versa? What will you wear? Will your class all get along? What 'get to know you' questions for students should teachers ask?
That's right: One task teachers may find themselves doing—aside from setting ground rules—is getting to know their students on a deeper level. Doing so can help them be supportive and effective as they wear their many hats, from “social worker” to academic mentor. (On that note, teachers deserve more appreciation , amirite?)
Between lesson planning, decorating their classrooms and more, teachers have enough (read: too much) to do, though. So, instead of adding the task of brainstorming the right “get to know you” questions to their list, below, find 205 options (in addition to these deep journal prompts ) that pertain to students’ hobbies and interests, family and background, academics, and general “back to school” vibes. Some are better fit for younger students (like those in elementary school), and some are better fit for older kids (like high school students).
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How To Use ‘Get to Know You’ Questions for Students
While asking these questions through a worksheet , for example, is a solid and valid idea, teachers can also get creative if they want to (or if their students don’t know how to write yet). On that note, the questions a teacher asks—and how they ask them—will likely depend on the students' age.
For example, a preschool teacher could gather students in a circle and ask them to verbally answer (or draw their answer to) easier questions, like “What’s your favorite color?” or “Do you have any siblings?”
Students can also answer these questions and learn their commonalities with other students simultaneously through games. One example is called "Trainwreck," in which the person in the middle of the circle says a fun fact about themselves, and everyone else in the circle who shares that same experience has to get up and find another spot. The person left without a spot goes in the middle, and the game continues.
As students learn to read and write, more options open up. Teachers can ask the questions through worksheets, as mentioned, or a list typed up on the SmartBoard. This avenue may feel more appropriate for high school students, in particular. That age group may also want more challenging or opinionated questions than "What's your favorite color?"
As far as when to do this activity, it’s up to the teacher's preference and schedule. The timing that works well for one may not work as well for another! But generally, whenever they're doing introductions and starting class, they may want to consider throwing in a “get to know you” activity or two. Perhaps during the first week?
Also, many of these questions can be answered with a "yes" or "no," so teachers may want to ask their students to expand upon their answer!
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Best ‘Get To Know You’ Questions for Students
1. What do you do for fun?
2. What’s your dream?
3. What’s an interesting topic you’d like to learn more about?
4. If you could give your life a title, what would it be?
5. How would you describe your identity and background?
6. Who in your family do you feel closest to?
7. Do you think your grades accurately portray your strengths?
8. How do you define academic success for yourself?
9. What helps you study?
10. How do you cope with back-to-school stress?
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Hobbies/Interests
11. If you wrote the script for a TV show or movie, what would that show or movie be about?
12. What does your evening look like?
13. What’s your favorite TV show?
14. Do you like to volunteer?
15. What’s your hidden talent?
16. Are you more of an introvert or extrovert?
17. What three words would you use to describe yourself?
18. What’s your favorite movie?
19. What’s your favorite movie genre?
20. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?
21. Are you athletic?
22. Are you artistic?
23. What’s your dream job?
24. Do you like to watch Jeopardy! ?
25. What have you dressed up as for Halloween in previous years?
26. Do you prefer playing sports or doing art projects?
27. If you play any sports, which ones?
28. How long have you engaged in your favorite hobby?
29. Who do you like to do hobbies with?
30. Is having a hobby and having time for it important to you?
31. Do you prefer to cook or bake?
32. What’s your favorite game?
33. What job(s) interested you as a kid?
34. Do you collect anything?
35. Do you like to read?
36. What’s your favorite book genre?
37. Do you have a unique or uncommon hobby?
38. What’s your favorite hobby to do alone?
39. What’s your favorite hobby to do with other people?
40. Do you watch any sports?
41. What are your pet peeves?
42. What topic could you talk about for hours?
43. If you were president, what would you want to change?
44. What do you want to do for work when you grow up?
45. How do you spend your Saturdays?
46. What hobby have you always wanted to try?
47. Do you have a job?
48. Have you been to a concert?
49. What is your favorite color?
50. Who is your favorite author?
51. What are your oldest and newest hobbies?
52. Do you play an instrument?
53. Do you like to sing?
54. Do you like to dance?
55. What’s your favorite artistic medium to use?
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56. Which hobby did you try and struggle with?
57. What’s your easiest or hardest hobby?
58. Which hobby do you wish you had more time for?
59. Do you think your future job will incorporate your hobby in any way, or do you want your job to be completely different from your hobbies?
60. Do you spend a lot of time on social media?
61. What’s a habit you’re trying to break?
62. What helps you relax?
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Family/Background
63. Do you have any siblings?
64. How old are your siblings?
65. How do you feel about having siblings, or about being an only child ?
66. Do you have any pets ?
67. What pets do you have?
68. How many pets do you have?
69. What are your pets' names?
70. How old are your pets?
71. How long have you had your pets?
72. What does your family appreciate most about you?
73. What experiences from your past shaped you into the person you are today?
74. What’s your favorite memory with your family?
75. Do you and your family go on any vacations ?
76. What are your family’s traditions?
77. Which holidays does your family celebrate?
78. Do you and your family share similar values?
79. What’s an important lesson you’ve learned from a parent or caregiver?
80. Did you go to preschool?
81. Where are you from?
82. Do you have a nickname?
83. What’s your favorite holiday memory?
84. What do your caregivers do for work?
85. How are you similar to (and/or different from) your caregivers?
86. What’s your relationship with your family like?
87. What’s your favorite quality of your family’s?
88. Do you know why your parents gave you the name they did?
89. Do you know anything about your heritage or ancestry?
90. What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
91. Which family member are you closest to?
92. What do you like or dislike about your name?
93. Is there anything you want me to know about your family or home life?
94. What level of education do your caregivers have?
95. Have you ever moved?
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96. What do you value when it comes to family and familial relationships?
97. Do you see friends or other loved ones as “family”?
98. What’s your middle name?
99. How many older siblings do you have?
100. How many younger siblings do you have?
101. What are your responsibilities and chores at home?
102. What do you wish your parents knew?
103. How do your siblings support you, or how do you support them?
104. How many times have you moved?
105. What does “family” mean to you?
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Academics
106. What’s your favorite school subject?
107. What’s your least favorite school subject?
108. How do you study?
109. How much studying do you do before a test?
110. How do you feel about doing homework on weekends?
111. What’s your favorite book?
112. How do you feel about homework in general?
113. Rank these from like to dislike: tests, projects and papers.
114. What’s the best field trip you've ever been on?
115. What qualities do you appreciate in a substitute teacher?
116. How would you describe your academic self?
117. Where do you prefer to sit in the classroom, and why?
118. Do you prefer going to school in person or online?
119. What is your favorite thing to do during recess?
120. Do you want our school to have uniforms, or no?
121. Do your parents or caregivers push you academically?
122. Do you believe books should be banned?
123. Have you ever wished you were homeschooled ?
124. What should students learn more about in school?
125. What should students learn less about in school?
126. How are you preparing yourself for the future while you’re here at school?
127. Do you believe learning about science, history, language arts and math is important for all students, given not all will pursue jobs in those fields?
128. If you were student body president, what would you change about our school?
129. Do you have any academic struggles I can help you with or that you’d like me to know about?
130. Are you more apt to start an assignment early or at the last minute?
131. What was your favorite school assignment last year?
132. What do you want to learn more about?
133. If you were a teacher, which subject would you teach?
134. How do you learn best?
135. Who was your teacher last year?
136. How can I support you academically?
137. What’s your main academic goal for this year?
138. Which grade was your favorite?
139. What have you heard anything about what it’s like to be in this grade?
140. What would you tell your kindergarten self?
141. Do you learn better in the morning or afternoon?
142. Do you think the arts should be taught in schools?
143. Do you like or dislike group projects?
144. Do you prefer taking notes with a pen, a pencil or on a computer?
145. What helps you focus and concentrate?
146. Which teacher has been your favorite so far, and why?
147. Think about your least favorite teacher. Why were they your least favorite?
148. How important are grades to you?
149. What do you think about the A, B, C, D, F grading system?
150. Do you believe tests accurately measure someone’s knowledge?
151. Have you participated in academic clubs or extracurriculars?
152. What have you learned in school that seemed most applicable to the real world?
153. Do you see yourself going to college after high school?
154. What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned at school?
155. Do you like or dislike background music when working on an assignment?
156. Are you more of a visual or auditory learner?
157. Have you ever worked with a tutor?
158. If you have worked with a tutor, what subject did you focus on?
159. What resources help you complete your assignments?
160. What’s your biggest question about how to avoid plagiarism?
161. Have you made many friends here at school?
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Back To School
162. What makes you most excited about being back at school?
163. What are you worried about ahead of this new school year?
164. What does your back-to-school routine look like?
165. Who do you think you’ll sit with at lunch?
166. What constitutes a perfect first week at school for you?
167. What’s your favorite back-to-school item?
168. Do you take a “first day of school” picture every year?
169. Do you prefer the beginning of the school year or the end of the school year?
170. Do you get ready quickly in the mornings or take your time?
171. What color notebook goes with which subject, in your opinion?
172. What’s your favorite lunch food to pack or buy in the cafeteria?
173. How are you feeling about being back at school?
174. What have you learned about being back at school from previous years?
175. Are you an early bird or a night owl?
176. How do you get to school?
177. How do you get home after school?
178. Which school year has been your favorite so far?
179. Which year of school are you most excited for?
180. Would you rather the first day of school be before or after Labor Day?
181. What time of day do you wish school started at?
182. How do you get to school?
183. Do you have any siblings who go to school here?
184. Which friends are you most excited to see now that we’re back at school?
185. What’s your favorite “get to know you” question?
186. What does a great first week at school look like for you?
187. If you were a teacher, what would you say or do with your students on the first day back?
188. Would you prefer year-round school or a more traditional school with a summer break?
189. Do you prefer to pack your lunch or buy lunch at school?
190. What’s your favorite first day of school outfit?
191. How do you introduce yourself to peers in your class?
192. How do you feel on the first day of school?
193. How do you feel after the first week of school?
194. How do you feel after the first month of school?
195. How do you prepare to go back to school?
196. What do you dislike most about starting a new school year?
197. What three traits do you value most in a teacher?
198. Do you think high school students should have recess?
199. Do you think students of all ages need nap time?
200. How can I support you at the beginning of this school year?
201. Do you have any back-to-school traditions you enjoy?
202. Do you enjoy classroom icebreakers?
203. What do you remember about your first day of kindergarten?
204. Have you ever been “the new kid” at school? What was that like?
205. What do you wish teachers did at the beginning of each school year?
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