Back to School - First Week of School Lesson Plans and Activities

The countdown is on! Teachers, it’s almost time for you and your students to go BACK TO SCHOOL! Are you ready for a fresh crop of young minds? The beginning of each year is always exciting. In order to get the BEST out of your students, it’s important to start the year off RIGHT! I thought I’d show you my lesson plans to help you make the MOST out of your Back-to-School experience this year. Check out my FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL LESSON PLANS AND ACTIVITIES!

Before students walk into your classroom for the first time, they should have an idea of who they’re going to be spending their year with. Because of that, I like to send a little “about me” in a newsletter to welcome my students before the school year begins. When you have MEET THE TEACHER night, students AND parents will comment on something from your newsletter. It is a great way to break the ice! Then hang it by your door. If you have a large class and are short on funds, send a postcard instead of a letter. It may not have a ton of information, but the students will certainly appreciate hearing from you!

The kids are walking in your door. What do you do? Here are some ideas on what to do the FIRST WEEK with your new kiddos. If you would also like a suggested class schedule, a glance at units, and questions to go along with the stories this week, CLICK HERE!

PRIOR TO STUDENT ARRIVAL

First and foremost, make your students feel comfortable! I like to begin by letting the class know that we’re not just a class…we’re a FAMILY! And since I like to rock out, I always play “We Are Family” as they are walking in the door. Choose a song that resonates with you and have it playing! I also like to have a little treat bag waiting for them. It doesn’t have to be candy. It can be class supplies or something in that vein! It will give them a warm, fuzzy feeling about being with you all year. Then put directions on the board regarding what to unpack, what to put in cubbies, what they should keep at their seats, etc. (I usually have them keep supplies at their desks, so we can go through them together.)

AS STUDENTS ARRIVE

If you want to wait to get to know the students a little more before assigning seats, get a deck of cards! If you have 4 students per group, assign each group of desks a number or face card. Pull out the right number of cards for the number of students from the deck. If they pick out a K, they go to the King’s Table, etc. Then after the first week, you can assign seats that best works for your new group of students!

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED

Double, triple-check transportation cards and emergency cards.

GET TO KNOW YOU:

TIME CAPSULES: Your students know who YOU ARE, now it’s time for you to get to know THEM. There are a lot of different ways to do this, but time capsules are one of my favorite ways. What are time capsules? Students write about their favorite things, write a paragraph or essay, write down goals and dreams, and create illustrations. We place them in a decorated Pringle’s can. We also add student photos from the beginning of the year. Then at the end of the year, we do the same thing and compare their growth from the beginning of the year! On the first day, I have them decorate the Pringle’s can to look like a time capsule.
MEET THE TEACHER: At the beginning of the first day of class, I like to go over my “about me” just in case any students missed out on the newsletter I sent home. (Hopefully, they pay attention, because there will be a related activity later in the week!)
SCAVENGER HUNT: Create a list of things about the students. Have them find someone who is an only child, has 4 siblings, was born in another state, likes sports, etc. They cannot write the same name in any of the blanks. Participate with them! They will love it!

RULES AND ROUTINES

THE BASICS: Create a list of rules and expectations. This is important because your students need STRUCTURE. Be sure to explain to your students what you expect when it comes to homework, lining up, what to put in cubbies, how to turn in work, when to be quiet, recess rules, and signals you will be using to get their attention
CLASS CONSTITUTION: Develop a class constitution with your class. You can either develop the rules yourself and have students all sign it, or you can have students develop the rules together and have them sign it. If doing the latter of the two, you can always guide them to any rules you think are important. Coming up with their own rules empowers them! There are 5 basic rules that I used every year.
1. Raise your hand for permission to speak.
2. Keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
3. Be prepared.
4. Follow directions the first time.
5. Be polite to others.
REWARD SYSTEM: Explain your rewards system. Do you have individual rewards or class rewards or both? For individual rewards, I like to have a treasure chest of items anywhere from snacks, to pencils, to homework passes. Once the students obtain 5 coupons, they get a trip to the treasure chest. Set a specific time of day to do this like the end of the day so it doesn’t break up instruction time. For class rewards, set a goal together and choose what the reward will be. Filling up marbles or checkers in a jar? Once that happens, what does the class get as a reward? Movie? Extra recess? Every time the class is on track or impressing you, move a marble or checker into the jar! Positive classroom management works like a charm!

READING WORKSHOP

CHRYSANTHEMUM: Read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. Discuss bullying and different names. Count letters and syllables in each student’s name and create a graph. Discuss how your class is a safe place and no bullying and teasing will be tolerated. (See lesson plans document for questions to ask.)
GENRE STUDY: Show the class library and review the different types of genres. Hand out a genre study guide and quiz them at the end of the week.

WRITING WORKSHOP

NAME POEM: Name poems are a great way to get to know one another! Either have them draw and color themselves freehand or provide a template for them to finish drawing. Then write an acrostic poem using their name. Allow students to share and discuss words for different letters. Dictionaries help. This is fun and the result is always TOO CUTE!
SETTING UP WRITING NOTEBOOKS: Hand out instructions to decorate the cover of their writing notebooks and assign it for homework.

WORD WORK

GREEK AND LATIN: Point out the GREEK AND LATIN Word Wall. Explain prefixes, suffixes, and root words. – We will begin Unit 1 next week.
180 DAY JOURNAL OF POSITIVE THINKING: Get started in 180 DAY JOURNAL OF POSITIVE THINKING. Explain how to look up word meanings and analyze quotes.

END OF THE DAY

Go over dismissal rules, send home notes of any supplies still needed for class and hand out a happy note to take home.

HOMEWORK

Send home parent homework. This is a survey so parents can share information about their child. Then decorate the writing notebook. Have them turn it in on Wednesday.

PRIOR TO STUDENT ARRIVAL

Write information on the board: Where to put homework, where to put parent homework, etc.

Then play music as students are walking in.

THINGS TO CHECK IN THE AM

Take attendance and review any parent notes.
Note any transportation changes.
Collect any parent surveys or supplies that come in.

GET TO KNOW YOU

TELEPHONE: Don’t forget, some of your students may not know each other yet. Icebreakers and team-building activities are a good way to get your students involved with one another! An example I’ve used over the years is playing a game like ‘telephone’ where you whisper something into one person’s ear, they whisper it into the next person’s ear, and so on. In the end, the secret you whispered will come back to you, but it may have changed through the telephone line. This usually gets everyone laughing!
STUDENT SURVEYS: Student and parent surveys are important and beneficial to you, your students, and your students’ parents. This gives your students and their parents the opportunity to tell you anything they need you to know before the start of the school year.
WHO’S WHO: On a piece of paper, ask students to write down three things about themselves. Then you read off each one and have students guess who it is.
TIME CAPSULES: One page to put in the time capsules is a favorites page. Have students list their favorite color, friends, books, etc.

RULES AND ROUTINES

WALK AND TALK: Your classroom is where your students will spend the majority of their day, so show them around! I like to walk and talk, making my way around the room, showing my students where everything is and how I like to keep it. Explain student mailboxes and the teacher’s mailbox. Explain the centers, bulletin boards, and where to put supplies, etc.
TEAM JOBS: Since I look at my students as my family, I also expect everyone to pitch in and help out around the classroom. Let your students do the cleanup! The best way to do this is by assigning TEAM JOBS in the classroom every week. Team jobs means multiple people get the same job and everyone gets a job except who is on vacation!

READING WORKSHOP

HUNDRED DRESSES: Start reading Hundred Dresses together. Read chapters 1 and 2 together. (See Lesson plans document for questions to ask.)
FLY EAGLE FLY: Read this as a read-aloud. Discuss goals and perseverance. (See Lesson plans document for questions to ask.)
DEVELOPING GOALS: Add students’ goals to their time capsules.

WRITING WORKSHOP

WRITING CENTER: Explain how they will use writing notebooks and the writing center. Talk about what the supplies in the center are used for.
WRITING PROMPT: Pick a prompt from the monthly writing prompts. Ask students to just write. Writing instruction will start next week! Add this writing sample to their time capsule!

WORD WORK

180 DAY JOURNAL OF POSITIVE THINKING: Work together as a whole group or in small groups to get students used to the process. Tell them about the person who is quoted. (This is included in the teacher notes!) Share and discuss their thoughts. You can slowly let go and let them work on it independently.