Back to School Activities

My husband and I use certain activities at the beginning of the school year. He teaches biology and I teach math, but we often collaborate and come up with ideas that we both will use. We decided to put these together into a bundle and list them in his store. Here’s a brief overview and a timeframe for when to use them:

First Day – Get to Know You Activity

This activity is a way to get the students up and moving and meeting each other. The activity comes with 30 pairs of puzzle pieces that are used to get the students to find their match. Once they have a partner, then they start the discussion questions that are written on the board. This activity is fun and the puzzle pieces can be used in the future when you need a way to randomly pair up students.

2nd Day – Individual Goal Setting Activity

Having students set goals is important. This activity gets the students to reflect on the previous year and think about what they’d like to accomplish for the upcoming year. This activity comes in a PDF format as well as a Google Slides format.

2nd or 3rd Week of School – Class Goal Setting Activity

We started using this activity a long time ago. Get students to write class goals and then sign them. We’ve got this activity broken down, so you can work on it a little bit each day until it is done. When finished, you have a poster for students to sign. Great classroom decoration that is a good reminder of what the purpose of being in your class is and your administrators will love it.

Before Starting Group Work – Team Building Activity

Teamwork is important and students need to feel comfortable working together. That’s what this activity is all about. Get your groups together and teach them how to communicate. This activity won’t allow anyone to hold back.

Whether you are a veteran teacher or you are starting your first year, you probably are thinking that you need to start either doing some or all of these activities. Like I said, we’ve put them in a bundle, but if you would like to only purchase a specific resource, then you can do that as well. The main thing, is to start thinking about your first few weeks. These weeks are important because they set the tone for your class. A great start to the year will help you have a successful teaching experience as well as help your students. Dive in and start thinking about what you want to do!