Can you believe it’s already that time? To help you get the year started off right, let’s talk about 5 back to school activities for the win! I may just have a bonus idea for you, too, and a freebie! Actually, I think I got carried away and you have 6 ideas now in this post!
Scavenger Hunt
Here’s a fun and easy idea – a classroom (or school) scavenger hunt. I like to pair students up and have each pair find an important item or place in the classroom. Then they report out to the rest of the class and tell and show us what they found.
These cards are from my Second Grade Back to School Starter Kit, but you easily can make your own or write on index cards, which is what I used to do.
Get to Know you Activity/ Game
Another of my favorite back to school activities is a get to know you game. I call this one “Question Basket” because I put the questions in a basket (haha). We pass around the basket. Each child takes a random card, reads the question (they can get help from a peer or from me) and shares their answer. The students love to do the silent “me too” motion when they have something in common with their peer (the one pictured is from my Third Grade Back to School Starter Kit).
A Fun and FREE Writing Prompt
I always love having students do a writing prompt during the first week of school. You will get an idea of where your students are with writing skills, spelling, handwriting, grammar and more! Here is a fall themed writing Freebie for you to grab and use!
It is differentiated so you can choose which prompt you want to use with students based on how many sentences you want students to write. Also, each prompt has a checklist for student accountability.
Do a STEM challenge
Stem challenges are a fun way to get students working together, problem solving and having fun! There are so many great ideas out there! Just give a quick Google Search!
Try Flexible Seating
It might not technically count as one of the back to school activities, but now that pandemic related restrictions are winding down, it might be time to consider flexible seating! Grab my free ebook here or read this helpful blog post about flexible seating!
Do Some Quick Assessments!
Whether it’s a quick check for telling time, geometry, or a mixed practice morning work/ bell ringer, you can informally assess your students with a lot of different printables!
Bonus: Back to School Starter Kits
Find everything you need in one place – and try some digital options! You may have noticed some of the great options in the photos above! Take a closer look:
- First Grade Back to School Starter Kit
- Second Grade Back to School Starter Kit
- Third Grade Back to School Starter Kit
- DIGITAL: Second Grade Digital Back to School Resources
- DIGITAL: Third Grade Digital Back to School Resources
- BUNDLE: Second Grade Back to School Digital and Printable Bundle
- BUNDLE: Third Grade Back to School DIgital and Printable Bundle
If you want some more ideas to help you with back to school, check out these blog posts!
- 5 Quick Ways to Assess Students
- 8 Ways to Use Pop Its to Engage Learners
- Reading Intervention All in One Place
