Back to School

Back to School Journal & Activity Pages
FREE printable Back to School journal & activity pages! (PDF format)

Printable Back to School Crossword Puzzle
Create your own Crossword or use our premade word/clue list.

Here is an "All About the Teacher" bilingual poster idea

This "Guess What I did on my Summer Vacation" drawing idea is a great first-day icebreaker

Here is an idea for creating a funny "Classroom Do's and Don'ts" book

These acrostic classroom M-U-S-I-C-I-A-N rules, clap-pat-snap to a rap beat

"Scribble Music" is a great early year, break time or substitute plan

Back to School Word Search
Create your own or use our word list.

Printable Back to School Match-up Worksheets
Create your printable worksheet from your own matchups or use our premade lists.

Here is a "Mighty Mike, Brilliant Brianna, Talented Tamika" name learning game with adjectives idea

Here students share their special "gifts" after reading Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree"

Here are "Ten Rules for Back-to-School Success"

This "All About Me" scrapbook idea yields a bulletin board, a classroom book and a teacher's keepsake

Buddy Bags and Venn diagrams are used here as get-acquainted tools to compare and contrast students with each other

Printable Back to School Word Scramble
Create your own or use our word list.

Back to School Printable Worksheets
Check out our large selection of "make your own" and "premade" worksheets!

This multidisciplinary Rainbow Fish activity idea is perfect for the first day of school

Here are 10 educational ownership discussion topics to insure a student's new school year success

This is a fun true/false introduction activity for the first day of school

Here jujubes are the get-acquainted incentive

This idea connects you with your students before school even starts

Supply Labels
Advise parents to put labels with the child's name and address on all personal belongings they bring from home. There are places online to buy personalized sticker labels.
Submitted by: Jason

ACTIVITIES FOR: ANY GRADE

 Assembly Themes Grades K-8
Here are several "Welcome Back" themes that can be used in a school assembly.
Be Careful With Your Words Grades Any
Help students understand the importance of thinking before they speak.
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This Personality Sack idea presents the student to his classmates

This Welcome Sack idea warmly presents back-to-school expectations to your students

"Name Game with a Beat" is a musical version of a previous name learning activity

This is a self-introductory PowerPoint presentation idea

WordArt and ClipArt are used in this get-acquainted filler activity idea

First Week Homework Grades Any
A great way to get parents involved in the new year.
 

ABCTeach Grades Various
Visit this site to take advantage of their Back-to-School Thematic Unit.
 

This All-About-Me homework project is due on the first day of school

This teacher welcomes students with a Jeopardy game with categories like staff, subjects, supplies, etc.

Here students introduce themselves via a 9-square construction paper ME Quilt

This All-About-Me Scrapbook contains pictures, symbols, journal entry, interests, and expectations

This is an "All About Me" memories and goals book idea

edHelper.com
Another great back-to-school resource!

Student Name & Photo Cards
Learn student names easily and have a resource for the entire year.

Here ESL students learn to form questions while learning information about their teacher

This Personality Crown idea helps children get to know you and each other

This mystery box activity gets kids excited about learning new things

This "All About ME" box idea comes with a secret note inside

A "Special Me" class book is created here with Kid Pix self-portraits and written personal summaries

Education World
Fourteen Great Activities for the First Days of School! Grades Any

Social Studies Text Review Grades Any
An activity to help get your students familiar with their text books, as well as to complete a KWL.

Here is some "All About Me" homework

Here is another version of the "Summer in a Can" vacation show-and-tell activity

In this get-acquainted game, students look up creative adjectives to describe themselves

Here students create a booklet about their vacation or summer event

This beginning-of-the-year "ME Box" idea helps students focus their writing

First Day Activities Grades All
Find helpful activities for various grade levels.

Rules Grade Any
Get your students off on the right foot.

This is another name learning activity

These context clues paragraphs show students the cause and effect of good or poor grades

People-Search Bingo is a well-developed getting-acquainted idea

This is a refinement of the M&M getting-acquainted activity

Click here to discover what's inside this W-E-L-C-O-M-E bag idea

Getting to Know You Grades 1-6
This activity will help children quickly get to know one another and set up an atmosphere for learning.

Reading & Math Text Grades Any
This are hand-on activities to allow students to review upcoming concepts and do quick assessments.

This is a fun getting acquainted activity using straws

This classmate interview template is an interactive language arts activity and an ice-breaker

In this interview idea, students learn about classmates while working on writing and oral presentation skills

This "Get to know ME" test introduces you to your class in a clever way

This kindness exercise promotes acceptance and cooperation throughout the year

Ice Breaker: Blanket Name Game Grades All
This activity will help students learn the names of their classmates.

Personalized Plates Grades Any
This is a great activity for the beginning of school that can be displayed for an open house.
 

Apple Half Name Tags Grade K-2
A creative way for students to start the first day of school.
 

"Pass the Toilet Paper" Ice-breaker Grades Any
This can be an amusing first day activity. It also helps your students learn more about each other.

You really must start collecting pictures now for this totally awesome end-of-year PowerPoint Party for Parents idea

This is the same idea with a twist -- students make their own presentations

This first day of school "quiz" is a fun "getting to know you" and your expectations activity.

Students make a classroom graph showing how many letters are in each student's name in this first-day math lesson

This lesson answers the question "What are we going to be studying this year?" with props and a guessing game

Days of the Week Grade K-1
A colorful and creative way to help your young students learn the days of the week.

Parental Expectations Grades Any
This is a great way for parents to share their concerns and expectations with you.

Here is a little musical introduction song game idea

In this lesson, students create a weaving using materials that describe them as a person

Creating a family or personal crest is a good way to discuss family values or to learn about classmates

Students write their names with their feet in this name-learning activity

This idea starts out as a beginning-of-the-year bulletin board and ends as a memory book compilation of student writing assignments

The Gingerbread Theme
Read stories and eat the gingerbread man!

Me In A Bag Grade Any
A fun way for students to not only learn about you, but to also learn about each other.

In this beginning-of-school activity, students match photos of the classroom with a classroom map

This German "Schultuete" idea gives a cultural upgrade to the first day of school "Me Bag"

Here is an excellent classroom mapping lesson that is tailored for students with different abilities

Stellaluna teaches school citizenship in this lesson

This PE lesson introduces the freeze-melt-go protocols and the students as well

Growth Grades K-2
Start creating this parent keepsake on the first day of school.

"Get to Know Your Class" Scavenger Hunt Grades Any
Help your parents and students become familiar with the classroom.

A classroom map hunt is an ideal idea to acquaint students with the classroom and its procedures

Making a Birthday Bar Graph is an engaging beginning of the year math idea

"Rules Rap" is a new way to present first-day music class instructions

In this fun get-acquainted lesson, students draw a classmate's portrait with chalk

This song idea helps students learn their classmate's names

"Seasons" ... Ideas for a thematic unit Grades K-2
Look at several ideas for Seasons.
Submitted by: Krista , Pam, and Barbara

Respect Grades 1-4
Set a positive tone in your classroom early.

Using a video to introduce the rules and the teacher wards off first day laryngitis

In this idea, Social Studies is introduced on the first day by taking a census

This lesson idea organizes first day of school activities around the rules "be kind, be safe, and be your best

Here is an instrument activity with an apple theme

"Three Truths and a Fib" is a funny get-acquainted activity

Variety of "First Day Activities" Grades Early Elementary
Here is a collection of various activities.

Back to School Theme Grades PreK-K
Great ideas for younger students.

This first day of school language arts idea uses Miss Nelson is Missing to teach classroom rules.

This clever first day of school idea makes it easy to send student birthday cards

"Getting to Know You with Toilet Paper" is a really cute idea

This scavenger hunt can help you form cooperative groups based on learning styles and interests

In this get-to-know-you idea, students create a self-portrait collage with their favorite things

Thematic Unit on Seasons Grades K-3
Visit this web site for a complete thematic unit.

Watermelon Theme Grades K-3
Visit these sites if you are interested in starting your year off with a watermelon theme.
- National Watermelon Association
- Watermelon Bookmarks
- Addie's Wonderful Watermelon Unit Grade K-1
- The Enormous Watermelon Grade K-1
A fun site with Art, Math, Group Work and Class Books.

.. This yummy back-to-school Ice Breaker involves M&Ms

..A beginning of school musical name plate activity can help students learn each others' names

..After this activity, students will be able to recite the names of their classmates in rhythm

..Here are some ideas for teaching a good multidisciplinary apple unit

..This "Meet the Teacher Day" scavenger hunt and self-portrait activity results in a class quilt.

ACTIVITIES FOR: INTERMEDIATE GRADES (4-6)

Hollywood Grades 4-7
A fun and unique icebreaker activity.
Submitted by: Jackie Jaros - Deer Lakes Middle School, Grade 6 - Russellton, PA

Ramona Book Unit
Find various units to start off your reading program.

Respect
See the lesson on respect above.

Star Spangled Banner Grade 4-6
A fun first day activity to celebrate the birthday of Francis Scott Key.
 

ACTIVITIES FOR: TEACHER RESOURCES

Back-to-School Kit
Make this fun and easy survival kit for any educator in your life.

Class Autobiographies
Are you having a student teacher this year? If so, this is a great "welcome" idea.
Forms & Checklists
Find printable first-day and student info. checklists.

FREE Software!
LatticeWork Software is giving away its latest version of Roxie's ABC Fish for free! Visit to download.

Welcoming New Teachers
A great way to welcome new educators to your building.

..This idea is called Talk Time and is a good 1st Day of School activity to get students talking

..An excellent Art lesson for the first day of school called My Favorite Things

..This lesson idea is on School Life and is called "Gremlins go to School"

..A good Back To School lesson involving the Evaluation of Poems

..This is a great idea for a beginning and end of school lesson - using a Time Capsule to demonstrate students' learning

..A good first day of school idea for gathering Students' Birthdays and teaching Bar Graphs too

"Me Bags" is the name of this first day of school idea for Getting to Know Each Other

..Here's an idea for a first day of school "Class Puzzle" that shows each student's importance

..This is a good idea for a beginning of the school year review in any subject

..In this idea students Write Letters to themselves at the beginning of the year and read them at the end

..Here's a Back To School activity to learn each others' Names to Music

..This First Day of School lesson focuses on Boosting Self-Esteem

..This "Getting To Know You" activity idea is good for the First Day of School

..Students Interview each other in this First Day of School idea

..Here's another version of the "Me Bags" idea for the First Day of School

..This is a brief "Welcome To School" activity idea

..This "Cubicle Reading and Writing" lesson is appropriate for Back To School time

..Here are some songs appropriate for Back To School time

..This idea is to help students learn their way around the School on their First Day

..This Back To School Ice Breaker idea looks at Classroom Diversity

..A good Back to School idea - Me Bags (An Alternate Version)

..A great end / beginning of the year lesson involving Writing Letters to next year's students at the end of the year

..This is another beginning / end of the year activity called "Memory Book"

..This end of the year idea involves creating a "Words of Wisdom" poster for next year's students

..A fun first-day journal activity

..Start the first week of school off right with this fun idea

..A great activity for first-of-year introductions

..Here is an idea for an open-house display

..A great idea for back to school

..These "Me" collages are great for getting to know classmates

..A fun group activity for learning about your classmates

..This is a fun idea for introducing school staff to students

..Here is a good beginning-of-the-year lesson for introducing essay structure

..This heart-warming first day of school idea builds classroom community

..Use this back-to-school art activity to review writing paragraphs

..Students become familiar with the special characteristics of their classmates with this beginning-of-school idea

..This great beginning-of-school idea lets students introduce themselves with a "Box of Me"