Back to School will be here before you know it, and I’m already starting to think ahead to the first day of school. I always like to start with some fun activities that help me get to know my students, teach students my expectations, and build our classroom community. Here are some activities perfect for the first day or first week! All of these activities are either blog posts or freebies from TPT, so you will be set up for the first week without spending a dime!
I love this activity from Mrs. O Knows, called “See, Run, Do.” 
You can grab all the details on her blog, but here’s the basic idea:
You split your class into groups of three. One person is the “see-er”, one is the runner, and the third is the “do-er.” Between the three partners, they must look at a picture and recreate it, even though the drawer never actually sees the original picture. Talk about a great way to introduce the idea of teamwork, cooperation, and communication!
While you’re there, check out her M&M and 7-Up first week activity too!
This next activity is from Adventures of a Schoolmarm, and I LOVE the idea! In fact, I had it all ready to go, copies made and all, but we had computer issues on the first week, so I am holding onto it to do with my class sometime very soon. Chrysanthemum is the perfect book for talking about how unique we all are and how wonderful that is! I love the idea of adding a research component for students to research their own names and interview their parents about how they chose the name.
I will take just about any opportunity to incorporate picture books in my 5th grade class, and I find that my students always love it too!
Mrs. Beers’ Language Arts Class shared another first week picture book activity that hits on a particularly important subject: bullying. The Recess Queen is a perfect book to open the discussion with your students, and Erin has created some free chit chat cards to go along with it!
Last but not least, I wanted to share some of my own back to school must-haves. These are some of my favorites that have gotten tons of great feedback from parents in my class.
First, I create a magnet with all of my contact information on it. This is a big hit, and hangs on many refrigerators in the neighborhood around our school! I also put all of the need-to-know information in a handy parent information flipbook, sized just right for keeping handy in a drawer or even hanging on the fridge. Of course, there are always forms to be filled out, and two of my must-haves are my Technology Survey and First-Day form, which you can grab free! Head over to my blog, Chalk & Apples, to check them out!
Check out my Back to School board on Pinterest for even more great first-day and first-week activities!
How do you like to start the year? I’m always looking for new and fresh ideas for getting started on the right foot and creating a positive classroom community!
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