The first week of school always comes with a strange energy. Your classroom is clean, your seating chart is printed, and you’re ready to make a strong first impression. But your students? They’re quiet, guarded, and giving you that classic teen side-eye. The typical ice breakers rarely land with high schoolers, and you can only play “Find Someone Who” or “Two Truths and a Lie” so many times before you start to cringe, too.

 

If you’re looking for a low-pressure way to learn about your students and build your classroom community, this Math About Me activity might be your new favorite first week tradition!

Why Teens Hate Traditional Icebreakers

Let’s be honest: high schoolers don’t want to go around the room saying their favorite color or what animal they’d be. They want to feel seen, not put on the spot. Most icebreakers feel juvenile or forced, and they don’t create the connection we hope for.

 

That’s where math-infused identity activities come in. They give students something familiar to hold onto (numbers, patterns, structure) while still letting them express who they are in a unique way.

 

What Makes This Math About Me Activity Different

Instead of a verbal icebreaker, this is a printable, Polaroid-style template where students respond to prompts like:

• Using only one word and the color that you think math is, fill in the sentence: Math is ____
• Create a ratio of the letters of your first name in the numerator and the number of letters in your las name in the denominator.
• Write an ordered pair based on the math confidence scales (given)

 

This format is quiet, creative, and personal. It lets students reflect individually while still sharing parts of themselves in a way that feels natural, and not like a spotlight.

You’ll learn more from these responses than you ever would from an “about me” worksheet, and your students will feel comfortable too.

How to Use It the First Week of School

You can:

• Hand it out as a Day 1 or Day 2 bellringer or warm-up activity
• Use it during advisory or homeroom
• Assign it for homework
• Turn it into a quiet work station

Bonus: Ask students to add drawings, doodles, or color to their polaroid. This builds buy-in and gives you an easy early finisher option for the first week of school.

 

Make It a Bulletin Board That Tells About Your Students

Once students finish their Polaroid, display them on a bulletin board in your classroom, classroom door, or hallway bulletin board. It’s not just decor, it’s evidence that you see your students as individual members of your classroom community!

 

This ready-to-print Math About Me Polaroid Bulletin Board Activity was designs specifically for secondary math teachers who want a meaningful, low-prep way to start the year. It doubles as a long-lasting bulletin board display and first week lesson that you can use year after year.

You can print it once, assign it immediately, and learn more about your students than any traditional icebreaker could.

 

Ready to start the school year with more connection and less awkward silence? Try the Math About Me activity and kick off your school year with purpose!

 

Also, what’s one thing you do to connect with your students during the first week of school? Share your go to strategy or lesson plan in the comments or DM @mathwithms.rivera on Instagram. I’d love to hear how you make your classroom feel like a community from day 1!