Last day of 7th grade
The idea behind the activity is simple, he says. Students make choices. For example, are they rocks or feathers? They have to choose one -- the one that describes them the best -- and they have to be able to explain why they made the choice.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/TM/WS_rock_or_feather.shtml
rock/feather worksheet
Just to make it interesting and physical," he said, "instead of using it as a work sheet exercise, I make all the kids stand in the middle of the room. Then, for each pair of words, they have to move to one side of the room or the other. This makes it a little tougher for them because their actions are right out there and they can't hide."

Last day of 7th grade
tossing action is part of your opening-day game plan, you might try another activity that I saw posted recently to the Middle-L listserv. The teacher who posted the idea says she's done this activity with all ages -- including adults. She calls the activity the "snowball activity." She wrote: "Students write on a piece of paper three things about themselves. Then they crumple the paper up into a 'snowball' and have a one-minute snowball fight. At the end of the minute, everyone grabs the closest snowball and has to try to find the person who wrote it. They then introduce that person to the rest of the group, sharing the three facts."

Last day of 7th grade Ranking Traits
I ask students to rip a piece of paper into ten strips (OR JUST WRITE THEM ALL ON ONE PIECE OF PAPER). On each they write a word or phrase that describes themselves. I assure students that no one will see what they have written, so a student can be extremely honest. Then the student arranges the traits in order from what he most likes about himself to what he least likes. When done, I say, "Do you like what you see? Do you want to keep it? Now give up one trait. How does the lack of that affect you? Now give up another. Give up three. Now what kind of person are you?" After giving up six of the qualities, I have students regain the traits one by one. Frequently I see great tension as students decide which traits they will give up. I hear comments about how incomplete the student feels without those traits, and I see great relief, and a new understanding of the importance of those traits, as they are regained. After the session, I have students write in their journals what they kept and what they learned about themselves from the experience. Have them talk to a partner about it, then share with the group if time.

Last day of 7th grade
Accentuate the Positive
Breaking the class into groups of four to six, my students focus on one member at a time. I have all the students in the group tell all the positive things they can about that person. I encourage compliments that focus on behavior rather than something that cannot be altered or developed like a physical characteristic. No put downs are allowed. Every comment must be positive. One student acts as the recorder. This list is then given to the person for his journal.

Last day of 7th grade
You have a 10 inch deep hole in the ground, a pingpong ball just fits into this hole and is now sitting at the bottom. Your task is the retrieve the golf ball. The only tools you have available are: Your own body, a box of Wheaties, and wire clothes hanger.
form a group of 4 and brainstorm how you will retrieve the pingpong ball.

First day of 7th'LAY DOWN THE LAW' AND THEN...
use part of the first day of classes to "lay down the law." She shares her plans for the year ahead as well as class rules and expectations. turn the tables.
"After doing my 'routine,' I asked students for their expectations of me," "For three years in a row, I have found that this approach builds powerful bridges to understanding between me and my students.
Now that I've told you my expectations of a good student, what are your expectations of a good teacher?
Tell me about the best teacher you've ever had. What made that person such a good teacher?
Now that I've told you some of my ideas about how we will go about learning this year's material, tell me about how you learn best. Give me an example of a project or unit where you learned a lot. Describe the project in detail
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First day of 7th One student writes his or her name at the top of one of the circles, and the other student writes his or her name at the top of the other one," explained Fernandez. "In the overlapping portion of the circles, the partners must list five things that they have in common. In the parts of the circles with their names, the students must each list five things that are unique about themselves."
Use the computer to do the drawing!