Are you getting ready for your big return yet?? I’m only a few weeks into my summer break yet I’m already finding myself searching for fresh ideas for that busy first week of school!
The first week can get pretty crazy if you don’t start it with a plan… The best advice I ever got for the first week is to OVER PLAN! The more you have ready to go, the less stress you will feel when unexpected things happen. Not everything will work out exactly the way you planned but it will all work out if you have lots if ideas that are ready to go!
The first week can get pretty crazy if you don’t start it with a plan… The best advice I ever got for the first week is to OVER PLAN! The more you have ready to go, the less stress you will feel when unexpected things happen. Not everything will work out exactly the way you planned but it will all work out if you have lots if ideas that are ready to go!
That being said, here are a few things that you may want to include on your “First Week Ideas List”.
I like do play a scavenger hunt game with my students. It gets them moving and allows them to explore all the different nooks and crannies in your room. I always have at least one student who asks me a million several questions about my classroom. This is the perfect opportunity for these curious students to walk around and explore!
It’s SO important to talk about school rules on the first day! You want to make sure that you give your students the information that they need in order to be successful. Talking about rules and making them very clear is a great way to help all your little learners out!
Instead of just telling my class the school rules, we write them out together. This way, it helps kids become more accountable later on.
Writing goals is a good way to motivate students who are a little shy or discouraged. Not all kids will come to you on the first day feeling driven and inspired. It’s your job to help them come up with a goal that will drive them to learn and try new things.
Many of your students will already know most of their peers, if they were in your school last year. However, they may not have been in the same class and you will most probably have a few new students too. A class collaboration project is a fun activity to help create friendships and teamwork skills in your class. Students love to put their work together to make a class book! Everyone gets to bring it home and show their families all the great friends that are in their class.
At the end of the first week, don’t forget to reward your students. For many, this first week is very stressful. Let them know that their teacher loves them and is proud of them by sending them home with a certificate!
I hope some of these first week tips will be helpful to you!
Don’t forget to grab your FREEBIE before you go. (just download the preview file to get it)
All activities mentioned above are from my Back To School pack.
I also have created an “All About Me” flip book and an “Interactive Craftivity” for the first weeks of school.
