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At the end of last year, The New York Times published 7 Questions to Ask Yourself for a Happier New Year.
It’s worth reading the entire piece.
In fact, if I was still teaching, I would pose one question a day as a “warm-up,” and also ask students to read the accompanying paragraph or two from the article.
Here are the questions:
What is worth remembering from 2025? [of course, you can delete “2025” and replace it with “this past semester”]
When did you feel the most joyful and carefree?
What gave you energy — and what drained it?
What seemed impossible — but you did it anyway?
What habit, if you did it more consistently, would have a positive effect on your life?
What did you try to control that was actually outside your control?
Is there anyone you need to forgive in 2026? [again, you can replace “2026” with whatever period of time you wanted]
As long as students were given the option of sharing or not sharing, I think these could be very useful.
I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For “Do Now” Activities To Begin A Class.