Back to School Get To Know You Discussion Task Cards Activity for Middle School

This back to school get to know you activity is the perfect way for your students to get to know each other at the start of the school year. Use these thought-provoking conversation kickstarters with your middle school students to create meaningful discussion at the start of the year. Working in partners or small groups, students will select from 30 back to school discussion task cards. They will take turn sharing their reflections on questions like “If you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be?” or “What’s the strangest or funniest dream you’ve ever had?” The activity also establishes discussion ground rules that will remind students of how to engage in group conversation in a respectful manner.

Included in this Back to School Get to Know You Activity:

➡️ Back to School Discussion Task Cards: These 30 thought-provoking questions on a wide variety of topics that will help students get to know one another at the start of the year.

➡️ Conversations Kickstarters Guide: Use this student guide to outline how this get to know you activity works. It provides the ground rules and the process of discussion that students should follow when discussing these questions with their partners or small groups.

How to use this activity in your classroom:

With a partner or a small group, students will select one of the conversation kickstarter cards.

The person who selected the first card will answer the question first. When that person has finished sharing, others in the group can ask questions, discuss the question further, and provide their thoughts and comments. Everyone should contribute at least once. The following person selects another card, and the process repeats.

© Presto Plans