An exciting time is coming up for teachers: back-to-school! After having time to rejuvenate, relax, and recover from the COVID-crazy year, it is time to start thinking about back-to-school ideas. The students entering the class may not have been in the physical classroom for an entire year. Or they had to switch between at-home, hybrid, and in-person learning in small groups. On top of all that, they had to adjust to wearing masks. Given all this craziness, students truly deserve the best back-to-school experience. The first week of school should be filled with activities, excitement, smiles, and laughter. It is important to help your students make friends and adjust to the school setting simultaneously.
Back-to-school activities should be all about fun. Some students didn’t want to come back to school. Therefore, fun activities are a great way to improve their outlook on returning to the classroom. If they like the activities, they may look forward to coming back to school. For other students, they have been waiting for several months to start a new school year. Therefore, fun activities will make the wait well worth it!
As a new school year starts, the room is filled with unknown students. However, it is essential that teachers truly get to know their students. By doing this, personal interests can be embedded into the lessons. Additionally, students will truly feel comfortable in the classroom when they know the teacher cares. Therefore, there are some great get-to-know-you activities below! I also love the interest inventories during the first week of school.
At the beginning of the year, students may miss summer vacation and the fun at the beach. Therefore, bring some beach fun to the classroom with a beach ball. First, write get-to-know-you questions all over the ball. This can include anything from a favorite color to a favorite hobby. Then, have students stand in a circle and toss the ball around. When students catch it, they will answer a question whose hand lands on. By doing this, all classmates will also be able to get to know each other.
While this game has been around for a while, it is always fun! Students will write down three statements. However, only two are true, and one is a lie. Each student will read their statements to the class, and the class will guess which is a lie.
It can take time to remember each name in the classroom. Thus, name tents can help. Although these name tents won’t just have their name written on them! Instead, students will write their names by incorporating aspects they like. For instance, if students have the letter A in their name, they may design it out of golf clubs or chalk! Anything can be used to help students write their names using aspects they enjoy.
If there are just a few minutes left in the day or before lunch, it is the perfect time to get to know students better. In This or That, students are given two options and then choose which they would select. To answer and save time, they can even raise their hands. For instance, the question may be macaroni and cheese or hot dogs. Students are always so excited to play this game, and it gives everyone a chance to make connections with other students!
If you want students to get to know each other, these are great activities for first week of school. First, create a chart of nine or twelve personal items. This can be a favorite color, Disney princess, superhero, and food. It can also be the birthday month, number of siblings, and number of animals at home. Then, students write their answers in one spot. After this, they walk around the classroom and see if they can find a match with another student. Students will be jumping for joy when they find a match.
Students have to learn that it is okay to make mistakes. Everyone makes them! It is just important to learn from mistakes rather than giving up. However, this is easier said than done! Even from the youngest ages, so many students feel they have to be perfect. Thus, it is so important to teach students that while aspects in life may not always be easy, hard work is well worth it! To teach students about a growth mindset, you can hang these posters around the room and have students discuss what the quotes mean to them.
It is so important to teach growing students that more skills will come to them with time. Thus, the word yet is so powerful. While something may not be possible right now, it doesn’t mean that it will always be the case. To teach this, there are so many great read-alouds! For instance, Jabari Jumps or Fantastic Elastic Brain can help teach your students about the power of yet. After reading, have students reflect on aspects that were once hard but are now easy. For example, this may be riding a bike, counting to 100, or telling time! This will be sure to remind students how certain aspects may be hard, but it doesn’t mean they are impossible!
In this thought-provoking activity, students will work at stations. There will be growth-mindset terms around the classroom on larger sheets of paper. These can include perseverance, risks, mistakes, courage, effort, and bravery. Before starting, be sure to review any words students may not know. Then, have students walk around the classroom and write what the word means to them or an example of it. This is a silent activity in order to help students truly focus. After everyone is done, review the thought maps as a class. These also look great hanging on the wall and serve as a consistent reminder never to give up.
There are so many well-known celebrities who were told no. Whether they were told to stop singing or they couldn’t be on a high school sports team, they didn’t let this stop them. Instead, they worked even harder to prove negative people wrong. Therefore, have students work in a small group and assign each group a famous person. One type of electronic device will be needed. Then, provide a few websites for students to explore together. Students will read about the person and how they once failed. After this, students can share with the class in order to show how powerful hard work and determination are. Famous failures include Walt Disney, Michael Jordan, and Albert Einstein!
The return to school is overwhelming. There is just so much to do, and time goes so fast. Thus, there are “done for you” bundles that are filled with activities for the first week of school. Each bundle is filled with grade-appropriate activities that students will love. For instance, there is a “We Fit Right In!” puzzle quilt for a bulletin board, along with various STEM challenges. Additionally, there is a letter template for students to share with the teacher and a back-to-school flipbook. Furthermore, there are interest inventory activities and bucket list pages. Students will have a blast completing each activity! Be sure to check out the bundles for 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, and 5th Grade.
When planning activities for the first week of school, it is okay to feel overwhelmed. You are planning lessons for students you do not even know yet. However, with planning, students will be able to tell that their teacher is excited for the school year to start. This will set such a positive tone for the return to school, and students will feel happy to be with such a caring teacher. You can also check out these awesome back-to-school bulletin board ideas. These are a great way to help build a sense of community.
If you do not want to miss any upcoming lessons, join my email list to be notified of all interactive lessons! By joining the email list, you will also receive freebies for blog-exclusive subscribers!
I am Kirsten Tulsian, an elementary educator with 18 years of experience as a teacher and counselor. My passion lies in empowering students to discover their inherent brilliance through the use of engaging, rigorous, and meaningful activities. I look forward to connecting with you!
