As I was preparing my first day lesson I realized I have failed to share on of my favorite first day activities with my readers. With a shortened schedule due to administrative tasks and going over the syllabus and the safety contract for my course I tend to shy away from getting into anything to in-depth the first day. I do however use the first day to go over necessary procedures and to learn the names of my students. To learn the names of my students I use a simple activity the I call  “Dog” . It goes like this. I say my name followed by the word “dog” i,e.   “Grey Dog” and then say another students name followed by “dog” i.e. “Jane Dog”.  Jane would then have to say her name again “Jane Dog” and choose another student followed by the “dog”.As a class we go around the room randomly. Though the activity is a bit “corny”  the students enjoy it and I learn over a 100 names within the first week. Knowing the students names allows me to address behavioral issue much more easily and during the game the outgoing and talkative students stand out which makes it easy to head off future issues.