Nathan Black has this wonderful idea for starting the year (I assume with kids who have had CI instruction before):
I’ll usually start out by having each student draw me a “postcard” about a highlight of their summer, and then I’ll put those on the document camera and we’ll spend the first two weeks working through everybody and making up stories that combine and expand the pictures. Some years I’ve had the class bring in an object from their summer, but it’s easier to exaggerate/lie by drawing.