Five Things In A Sack

Five Things in a Sack is a quick and easy way to get to know each other at the beginning of the year. I use it as one of my first homework assignments. I give it out on a Monday and tell the students it is due anytime that week, that way we only have to do so many each day. I also advise my students that if they have an item larger than the sack, or really expensive, to bring in a picture instead of the item. The students have a lot of fun with this, and it really gives your class a chance to share some fun facts about themselves.

In addition to getting to know each other I use it as a writing prompt opportunity. I
give my students an “Ideas I Can Write About” page and tell them to write down any ideas that come to mind as they are listening to their classmates share. This allows them to start generating writing ideas right away, and cuts down on students raising hands to share their thoughts and experiences that come to mind while others are sharing.

Download the Five Things In A Sack file here 

To introduce ourselves here is what we would put into our sacks...

The five things in Jessie's sack would be:

• a picture of my family because they are the most important thing in my life (I have been married for almost 12 years, I have 3.5 children-2 girls, a boy and a baby bean, 5 chickens and a dog….but I probably wouldn’t include the chickens and dog  ;)
• a kettlebell  because I love to workout….actually a picture of one since it probably wouldn’t fit in my bag.
• a Red Mango cup because I absolutely love frozen yogurt
• an ultrasound pic of my .5 coming to us in December
• my phone because I use it for EVERYTHING and don’t go anywhere without it

The five things in Tara's sack would be:

• a Mountain Dew because I can't teach without it
• a picture of my family, I have 3 girls
• my car keys because I live in my car taking kids everywhere
• ballet shoes because I love to dance and still impress my students with my moves
• a rolling pin because I like to bake in my spare time

The five things in Jen's sack would be:

• a paintbrush because I love art- drawing, painting, photography....
• a book because I love to read, fantasy and mysteries are my favorite to read
• a game because I enjoy playing games especially with my family
• a computer because I'm pretty good at using them and they also allow me to be creative
• a notebook because I love learning