One of my favorite things about back to school, is knowing that I get to meet and love on a brand new bunch of kids for the school year. I’m sure you feel the same way, and have your lesson planner packed to the max with different “get-to-know-you activities.” I want to share with you […]
Whether you're looking for a first day ice breaker or games to play at a back to school bash, this list has something for everyone!
Back to school time and need some 'getting to know you' activity? Ditch those reading interest surveys and try these fun & hands on activites!
Whether you're looking for a first day ice breaker or games to play at a back to school bash, this list has something for everyone!
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
Looking for a fun vocabulary activity? This extension is perfect for middle and high school to help encourage critical thinking and associations.
Start the school year off right!
If you need new ideas for group work to use in your high school classroom then this blog post is for you. It includes 3 fantastic ideas and a free download!
Kids and young adults need extensive practice in strengthening their executive functioning skills. Executive functions are the processes in our brains that help us accomplish all tasks from beginning to end. We use them when we plan our day, organize our materials, begin a chore, focus on important
A lesson plan! A lesson plan! My kingdom for a lesson plan!
The game is on with these 100 fun icebreaker questions for kids. With these open-ended questions, kids can get to know each other in no time.
Teaching ideas and activities to support the personal financial literacy standards in middle school!
Searching for the best 'This or That' questions for kids? Discover these great icebreakers for all occasions and start the fun now!
How to Create a Caring Classroom features a free webinar and active engagement lessons for creating a caring classroom environment that will last all year long.
Have you ever heard the term phonemic awareness and wondered what it is? I get a lot of emails from parents who are ready to teach their child how to
Use our free printable music activity as a boredom buster with kids stuck at home or as a fun part of music education in a classroom.
Free printables for kids: I spy games, Pokemon printables, social stories, social scripts, emotion printables, graphic organizers, and so much more!
Use your bricks to teach kids LEGO coding. Fun and easy ideas for LEGO coding activities include binary code and algorithms.
A multiple choice quiz after reading is a quick and easy way to check student comprehension, but it doesn't allow you to assess deeper understanding and it certainly isn't fun or creative. If you are looking for more meaningful and engaging activities to use with students during literature circles or a novel unit, here's twelve ideas that are favorites in my classroom and the Common Core standards they align with.
Try these easy sound experiments -- Elementary & Middle School kids will LOVE testing the science of sound with this fun wave experiment to create a 'gong' and explore how sound waves travel!
Check out these great ideas for helping your students feel like part of a classroom community during distance learning & social distancing.
Step Back If: This fun class icebreaker will get your students up and moving during the first week of school. It is the perfect way to get to know your students! It includes both a print and digital version! How do kids play? It takes very little prep to play! Use some tape to create a line in your classroom. Have all students stand on the line and if the card applies to them - they step back! Reset and read a new card! Students love getting to know each other with this super easy to prep activity. How many questions are there? There are 40 different cards included! You can also add your own ideas to the list to make them applicable to your school/town/state. ⭐ Teacher Review: "This is such a fun activity to have on hand when you are getting to know students or just have a few extra minutes of class or time for a brain break. My kids love the questions!" -Nicole Can it only be used for back to school? Absolutely not!! You can use this resource any time of the year to build classroom community and get to know your students more. ⭐ Teacher Review: "I used this the first day of school as a get to know you activity. The kids were laughing and having a great time. Instead of moving, kids stood up or stayed seated. We had a lot of fun with the cards." -Bridget This resource is available in a money saving Back to School Bundle! Check it out HERE.
Ready to "cook up" a great first day of school? It's easy with this recipe for a successful start to the school year! PREP: ➤ Think about how you will set the tone for your classroom on the first day of school. ➤ Plan to keep students engaged and active. ➤ Prepare to build a positive rapport with students from the first instant that they become a part of the classroom community. INGREDIENTS: ➤ Warm-Up Activity ➤ Get-to-Know-You Activity ➤ Game that gets students out of their seats ➤ Get-to-Know-the-Teacher Activity ➤ Writing Prompt ➤ Extension Activity Once you've gathered your ingredients, you can get "cooking!" (CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE RECIPE!) PROCEDURE: STEP 1: Begin with a warm-up activity. Place an activity on students' desks that they can complete independently. You might try a simple survey or poster. An All About Me poster is a quick way to learn about students. You can even gather them together for an awesome classroom display. Or, a survey is a wonderful way to collect information about students. You might include questions about where students like to sit, their favorite way to learn, and activities that they enjoy so that you can start connecting with students. Another awesome warm-up activity is an "All About You" name tag. Students answer questions about themselves while coloring in a name tag based on their responses. Then, students can place the name tag on their desks to help you learn your students' names. This activity is particularly awesome if you have multiple sets of students. You can collect the name tags and re-distribute them each day during each class while you learn names. Oh, and as a bonus, you can gather them together and leave them with substitute teachers throughout the year! If you'd like to check out ready-made Back to School Warm-Ups, just click here for the poster, here for the survey, and here for the name tags. STEP 2: Mix in a get-to-know-you activity. Give students a chance to share about themselves and learn about their classmates with an engaging get-to-know-you activity. One of my favorites is a doodle-inspired mini-book. Students transform a single sheet of paper into a doodley mini-book all about themselves. After students make the mini-book it's fun to hang them on a clothesline. Then, as students finish their work during the first days of school, you can encourage fast-finishers to grab a classmate's mini-book and learn about him or her. Check out the doodle mini-book HERE. Or, you could have students create this 3-D About Me Activity. Students create an infographic-style book about themselves. After answering some simple questions, they do a little cutting and gluing to create a 3-D "About Me" display. These are especially fun because students can set them on their desks and then everyone can tour around the classroom and learn about their peers. (These are awesome for Open House too!) Learn more HERE. STEP 3: Scatter in an activity that gets students moving. Since students crave opportunities to get up and out of their seats, plan to get your class moving on the first day of school. You might have students complete a scavenger hunt or even play a learning game that requires students to move around. I'm a huge fan of this simple get-to-know-you activity that gets students moving (and you can download it for FREE here.) First, students make paper airplanes. They write their name and 3 interview questions on the wings. Then, students line up shoulder-to-shoulder and launch the planes. Next, they pick up a classmate's plane, find him or her, and ask the interview questions. You can repeat the airplane launch as often as you'd like! Find everything you need to do this activity in this FREEBIE. If you'd like to combine movement and learning on the first day of school, then you and your students will love this Back to School Doodle Infographic. First students fill in the infographic with facts about school. There are 21 facts and you can hide them around the room to get students moving. Then, they put together the infographic to make a fun and doodle-y poster! Check it out HERE. STEP 4: Sprinkle in a chance for students to get-to-know-you (their teacher). On the first day of school, students are very curious about you. They want to learn about you, so you'll want to be sure to share about yourself. You can give a simple biography of yourself, or you might try these easy and engaging activities: Create a teacher interview question along with 4 or 5 prize cards for each student in your class. Then, tape the questions and the prize cards under students' seats before class begins. During class, explain to students that they all have something under their chairs. It might be a question and it might be a prize. If they get a prize card, have students keep it quiet. Then, call on students. They can either read a question for you to answer or reveal that they won a prize. If they won, you might give them a pencil, piece of candy, or a homework pass. You can find all my favorite questions HERE. Or, you might have students complete a "Teacher Guess" about you. First, they predict the answers to questions about you. Then, as you reveal the answers, they earn points for every correct prediction. It's a fun activity that students truly enjoy! You can check it out HERE. STEP 5: Add a fun writing prompt to your back to school activities. A writing prompt is a great way to gather a baseline for students' writing on the first day of school. You might give students a simple prompt about their summer or goals for the new school year. However, I love to add a fun creative writing prompt into the mix. For example, with this writing prompt students select a setting, character, problem, and 3 random objects. Then, they need to work them all into a story. It's fun, engaging, and a great way to see where your students are starting the school year. Find this writing prompt HERE or check out this collection of 10 creative writing activities. STEP 6: Top it off with a review of tomorrow's warm-up. Set students up for success during your next day of school by quickly reviewing what they will need to do when they arrive to class. If you're planning to have students work through warm-ups like these This or That ELA warm-ups where students choose to do the "this" or the "that" activity, then you might quickly review what will be waiting on their desks when they arrive. Taking the time to preview tomorrow's warm-up is a great way to set expectations for students! If you're looking for some daily warm-ups, you might want to check out these This or That ELA warm-ups or these This or That Writing warm-ups! STEP 7: Don't forget to have an extension activity just in case your lesson ends early. I love playing games like "Move If You..." which you can find for FREE HERE. While you may never get to the extension activity, it's a lifesaver if you need it! TIPS: When you're following this recipe for a great first day of school, you might want to: ➤ Greet students at the door and answer these questions for students right away: ➨ Where do I sit? ➨ Am I in the right classroom? ➨ What should I be doing right now? ➤ Also, be prepared to manage students' behavior on the first day of school. Ensure that you have a positive classroom management system in place and ready to use if you need it! Well, there you have it, my recipe for a great first day of school. Be sure to download all the ideas with links AND the FREE airplane activity HERE! CHECK THIS OUT! I've put together a 100+ page guide for back to school for teachers. It includes tips, tools, and printables for classroom décor, classroom organization, lesson planning, community building, and planning the first day of school. It's absolutely FREE! Just click here to sign up. When you sign up, you'll get access to 6 mini-courses that cover everything Back to School including classroom design, organization, curriculum planning, and ways to build a positive classroom community. There's also a TON of exclusive freebies, bonuses, and videos! If you'd like to learn more and sign up, just click HERE. Thanks so much for stopping by, Mary Beth P.S. If you'd like MORE free resources for your classroom, be sure to join the Brain Waves Instruction club!
Back to school season is here! If you're looking for a fun printable school activity, you'll love this free back to school word search.
My favorite first grade Back to School Activities in my classroom! These are my go-to activities for the first week of school!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Teaching Resource: A getting to know you activity to do at the beginning of a new school year.
The ultimate roundup of free back to school coloring pages for preschoolers and older kids - Free coloring sheet downloads!
Start off the elementary school year with these special back to school lessons and activities that are fun and important for K-2 kids: Participate in community building activities, get to know each other with All About Me activities, and build friendship and empathy with students.
Is it too soon to be talking about ‘Back to School ideas’ already?
Boost learning and fun this season with our engaging back to school color-by-number worksheets and activities. Perfect for early learners!
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Free Printable I Spy Back to School Activity. Classroom themed activity or game idea for the first day of school for students.
These all about me, back to school art activities for kids are engaging icebreakers. Encourage creativity and build community during the first week back
Check out these great ideas for helping your students feel like part of a classroom community during distance learning & social distancing.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Seattle's Best Coffee. All opinions are 100% mine.
Here's a list of ten must-do activities for the first day of school for kindergarten that any first year or veteran teacher would want to know.
The first week of school can be a daunting time. Not only are you getting a brand new group of students that you need to get to know, you are dealing with paperwork, classroom organization and management issues, AND your specials usually haven't started yet. This means that getting into a routine can be T.O.U.G.H. I have five activities that can help make that time a little bit easier.
Free Printable I Spy Back to School Activity. Classroom themed activity or game idea for the first day of school for students.
***This post contain affiliate links for Walmart, Target, Creative QT, and hand2mind. By purchasing an item on these sites using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase.*** Are you interested in starting a classroom or school Makerspace OR maybe want to learn more about how Makerspaces work? You’ve come to the...
This 'cool' all about me cell phone art and writing activity is ideal for the first week back to school. Kids love cell phones and technology and respond enthusiastically to this creative activity. Teachers can learn more about new students in a fun way, and students can share about themselves with their peers. Construct a fold-out booklet-style 'art-phone', and respond to image-making prompts on the front cover and the written elements inside. Ideal for use as a back-to-school icebreaker and community-building activity. Please click the Preview Button above to learn more. 1. The front cover of the cell phone activity: Invite students to respond to and illustrate the 9 questions or prompts, with thumbnail doodles or drawings: • Age • My family • Best food • Favorite animal • Favorite color • Best subject • Dream destination • I love... • I don't like.... 2. The fold-out inside pages: ’Let's Chat', is designed in a text message style, and asks more investigative questions: • How will you achieve your goals? • What support do you need? • What do you like most about school? • What do you like least about school? ’More About Me’, prompts the following: • My top 3 goals • 5 fascinating facts about me • People like me because • Open-ended questions to complete, I aim to… I wonder if…I imagine that…. I feel…. Please note this activity includes 2 sizes of art-phone templates to choose from: 1. smartphone size 3.7x7.3 inches 2. tablet size 5 x 10 inches Students can also opt to do the one-dimensional cover or the full fold-out option with written responses, depending on time available, age and ability Templates with UK/CAN/NZ/AUS spellings for 'favourite and colour" templates are also included in the pack What materials are needed? • Use card stock for best results - the phones will be more robust! • Scissors and glue stick • Pens/pencils/colored markers for the artwork and written work • These templates are designed to print on US letter/A4 size paper Considerations and how to use this activity: • Encourage students to move beyond words, and 'draw their answers' • Consider the space around the images they draw • How do the 9 images look collectively? • Is there an emerging theme or style or color? • What colors do we associate with words? eg carrot: orange and green • How do students feel about the first week back to school? • It’s OK to express dislikes as well as likes, our fears along with our hopes The completed phones slip comfortably into a back pocket for play. Peg them up collectively as a classroom banner or decorate a wall, door, or your bulletin board Further activities included in the packet: 1. All About Usbanner 2. Abstract coloring activity, exploring warm and cool colors You might like to view my collection of creative Back to School resources or click on the resource links below: A Backpack About Me A Hoodie About Me A T-Shirt About Me Check out my Back to School and Seasonal Art Bundles! Save 25% with Seasonal Art Bundles Happy teacher feedback ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Jessie R says, “Was honestly surprised by how much my students loved this activity. They were super creative and it was something they could relate to in real life.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Catherine M says, “The 6th graders really thought this was a cool "back to school" activity. I displayed their work on the document camera as they shared! I learned a lot about the students as well, through the activity. It also made a nice bulletin board.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Morgan M says, “I love this resource. It is a fun way to start the beginning of the school year. My students really love that it looks like an Instagram page. I feel like it is a great way to connect with students in the beginning of the year and different than all the other All About Me pages they have done in years prior. ” Stay in touch! Website and Blog Pinterest Instagram You Tube Follow my store on TPT to receive notification of new products, where I will be offering a 50% discount for the first 48 hours after they are posted. Don’t forget to leave feedback on resources - you will earn points towards your next TPT purchases :-) Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this resource, I am always keen to help, Thanks! Diane Copyright ©The ImaginationBox/Diane Pagan 2023 All rights reserved by the author. Permission to copy for single classroom use only
