Getting back into the rhythm and routine of school can take a bit of time. I think you need a good 3, maybe 4 weeks depending on your class, to set up routines, build relationships and get into the swing of things. It made sense to me to use writing to get to know my students, get a feel for where they are at and set the expectations about how writing is done in my class.
When I had my own class the first piece of writing we did was a letter. I wrote the class a letter introducing myself and each student would write a letter back to me. This letter was confidential and gave me so much information about each student as a person, a learner and I could easily see where their writing was at. I also loved reading the letters from my students that were in my class again. They generally shared far more than they did the first year which I felt showed the relationships that had developed.
After the letter we might write about their holiday. Kids, even year 7 & 8, love sharing about their holiday. Rather than writing about a long period of time writing a snapshot of a great or a terrible thing that happened in their holiday, that only lasted up to an hour means that everyone can find something to write about without feeling embarrassed that their holiday may not have been as exciting as their classmates.
Another great piece of writing to do is a classmate biography. Students, in pairs, interview each other and then use what they have learnt about their classmate to write a biography. It is a lot of fun with the published biographies and photos looking great on the wall. It is a simple, effective way to build relationships and a inclusive classroom culture.
I've never thought to do classmate biolographies before! What an awesome way to support students to get to know each other! I'll definitely have to give this a go!