Free Editable All About Me Teacher Template

In my methods courses, we always take time to introduce ourselves to the class. Being a college professor of future teachers, it’s important for me to provide different forms for doing so. That’s why my first activity in my methods courses is an engaging and creative meet the teacher and all about me activity. It’s also what we do in our Keeping the Wonder professional development workshops! These are activities are perfect for new teachers (and veteran teachers) to use at the beginning of each school year.

Introducing yourself in a welcoming way provides an opportunity to share the personal information you feel comfortable with and create a school environment of respect and rapport. If created carefully, it’s also an excellent way to have your students share something about their personal identity. As they say, you only have one chance at an introduction, so it better be strong! 

In this blog post, I’m going to share four of the best ways I’ve introduced myself to my students and turned it into a meaningful activity to get to know them. I’ll also provide my lesson plans and free editable templates (download below). You can print (or share) and be ready for a successful school year!

Background

Back in May, I interviewed for a new tenure-track higher education position at my alma mater. I was thrilled that the interview included a teaching demo because I knew this is where I could shine. For this teaching demo, I created a lesson that focused on one or several items from the Danielson Framework. My goal was not only to teach the lesson but also to showcase my favorite resources and technology skills. 

The lesson went so well! I’m happy to report I was offered the job! I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Educational Leadership at one of the top state schools in Pennsylvania! One of my favorite parts of the lesson was how I introduced myself to the staff members and students. I am sharing three free templates that are introduction activities at the beginning of a new school year.

1. All About Me Starter Pack

The first free template is a versatile tool that is perfect for a first day of school activity. This free resource features a digital version for the typical Meet the Teacher activity! You can use it with either Google Slides or a free account from Canva. (I’ll provide directions for both below.) 

I call this activity the All About Me Starter Pack. This activity was inspired by social media trends that ask you to share a picture of yourself with GIFs that represent you. You will use the teacher template to showcase your favorite things in GIF form. Then, you can have students use the editable template to create their own. In this post, I’ll provide you with the free template and give you directions for how to edit it.

This activity is great for any age group who have access to a Chromebook or a computer. I’ve used this template with my high school ELA class and college courses. My husband also used it last year in his social studies class. The way we use it is to project your All About Me Starter Pack on the board and ask students to guess what your GIFs mean (or how they symbolize you). You could have students create their own starter pack and share one (or a few) with the class. 

Canva Directions

1. First download the back-to-school free resources, and then click the link for the Canva About Me Starter Kit. You’ll need to create a free account if you haven’t already. You can join with the free educator’s account by clicking here. To share it with your students, they’ll also need to sign in with a free student account. 
2. Once in Canva, you’ll need to upload a background image of yourself for your About Me Starter Pack. Click the “Uploads” button on the left toolbar, and then click the purple “Upload Files” button. 
3. Once you’ve uploaded your own picture, you can click on it and drag it to the background of the slide. It’s easy to adjust by double clicking the background and cropping or dragging to adjust.
4. Next, you’ll want to fill the slide with GIFs of your favorite things, such as your favorite food, favorite color, favorite music, etc. Canva has a great built-in collection of images, clip art, and memes. This means you can search for something you love in the “Elements” tab. For example, if I’m looking for a GIF of my favorite food, I could type “spaghetti GIF.” Canva will provide many options to choose from.
5. However, if you’re looking for something specific, like say an image of a singer, you probably won’t find that in library. Instead what you can do, is upload an image of your favorite singer. Mine for example is Billy Joel, so I found an image of him and uploaded it to Canva. Next, you can click on the image and then click on “Animate.” This gives you the option to add a simple animation to the image to make it appear like a moving GIF. Keep in mind, you certainly can just use flat images!
6. When you’re all done adding images, save your About Me Starter Pack by clicking “Share” and then “Download” in the dropdown. I suggest saving your final product as an MP4 Video because you can play it from your computer for your students or upload it to a slideshow. 
7. If you have your students create their own, they can save them as an MP4 and upload them to your Learning Management System, such as Google Classroom. 

Google Slides Directions

1. Google Slides are going to work very similar to the Canva option. Start by making sure you have the latest version of Google Chrome. Then, download the Google Slides option from your download to your Google Drive. It will force you to make a copy to edit.
2. Upload a picture of yourself in the background by clicking on “Background” in the toolbar across the top. Because the size of the slide is meant to mimic a social media post, you’ll have to make sure the picture adjusts appropriately. If it doesn’t, you can always go to the “Insert” tab and then clicking on Image. This won’t embed your picture in the background, so you can crop and adjust easier. If you do this option, make sure you right click on the image and then choose “Order” and “Send to back.” This will ensure the About Me Sticker will be in front of your image.
3. Next, you can add GIFs by click on the “Insert” tab, and then choosing “Image” again, but this time, choose “GIFs and stickers.” Just a word of caution here, the options are going to be pulled from Google, so always make sure you vet your selections carefully.
4. You won’t have to save this in a special way to use it. All you have to do is click on Present mode, and your slide will project with the GIFs. 
5. This is a great option to share with students if you’re a Google Classroom school district because students can just upload their slides when they’re done.

PowerPoint Directions

1. Choose the Google Slides option from your download and then go to File > Download > Microsoft PowerPoint. This will download the Google Slides as a PowerPoint that you can edit just like the Google Slides directions, but through Microsoft PowerPoint. 

2. Get to Know Me Name Tags Worksheet

The second customizable template is a perfect way to share your introduction and collect important information for new students while helping you learn their names. This activity is a Meet the Teacher / Meet the Student name plates graphic organizer. The free worksheets have different sections for students to record information for the school year. You’ll edit the template and then use the printable worksheet to have students display their name on one side and provide a brief introduction and other relevant personal details.

This is also a great activity to use on Meet the Teacher Night or Open House to display family members, parents, and caregivers’ names and collect contact details. It’s something you can use with young children who can write their names or even with older students to share essential information. In fact, I love asking older students to write their names symbolically; each letter should look like something that represents them. This is a great way to bring in both symbolism and graphic arts!

I love that this resource is practical. Students can write their names in a creative way on one side and then fold it. The side facing them has the About Me section for them to reference when they introduce themselves. This section is editable so you can change the prompts to collect important information from them, provide a welcome letter, and/or orient them to the learning environment. 

Directions for Use

1. To use this resource, download the link from Canva to make a copy for you to edit. Again, you’ll need to have a free Canva account. 
2. Edit the prompts or format to meet the needs of your students. 
3. Print your design by going to Download and choosing Printable .pdf. I suggest printing on cardstock to make it easier to fold and stand up on its own though this isn’t necessary. 
4. Create your own first as an example.
5. Give students crayons, markers, or colored pencils to create their own. 

3. All About Me Partner Poster

This final All About Me activity is a poster template that doubles as an icebreaker activity for the beginning of the school year.  This is a fun low-stakes icebreaker that gives the teacher a chance to meet with individual students as well. One of my favorite parts of this activity is that it doubles as a bulletin board!  This is such a fun way to get to know each other and create meaningful and simple classroom decor in the process. This was one of the best tips I received as a new teacher to save time setting up my new classroom.

Directions for Use

1. Everyone in the class, including the teacher, gets one of the worksheet templates. The first part of the activity is independent work filling out the worksheet as an interest inventory. 
2. Then, the fun happens when everyone shares with a unique twist. Instruct students to walk around the room finding someone with the matching worksheet. You can play music and make it like musical chairs; when the music stops, they find a partner. (Middle school students love this!) They will know they found a match when they put the two worksheets together and create a whole poster. 
3. Then, each partner takes a turn sharing their favorite things and getting to know each other. 
4. After you’ve completed a few rounds of sharing, ask students to stop with their current partner. Instruct them to tape their worksheets together to create their new poster.
5. Hang up the posters on an empty bulletin board, in the hall outside of your classroom, or on an empty wall in your classroom.

For More Information

• If you’re looking for inspiration for more back-to-school classroom decor, check out this blog post touring my last high school classroom. 
• Also, be sure to watch this popular video I made detailing the research behind classroom decor. 
• Finally, if you’re an ELA teacher, this blog post explains my first week of school lesson plans and favorite activities for an engaging (and meaningful) first week of school.