"Creative and Engaging First Day Activities for Your Classroom"

I don't know about you but I think the first day of school is one of the hardest days of the year! From bell to bell, there are little eyes just staring at you waiting to be entertained.

With so many rules and procedures and routines to cover, the day can feel like it lags on forever. Here are some tips to help take away those first day jitters. I've include morning work, Reading ideas, Easy Ice Breakers, Math games, and a Science idea.

First Day of School Seat Work Activities

I always like to start the year on a positive note, so I place some fun and engaging morning work on each desk for when they arrive. I also place crayons or skinny markers at their tables so those early finishers can decorate their papers.

You can grab this All About Me Worksheet FREE.

Click here to download a copy for your classroom.

Reading: First Day of School Read Alouds

By the time students are in fourth and fifth grade, they get the basic "rules" of the classroom. Even though we still go over those rules, expectation, and consequences, I use the first day, weeks, & month to establish my expectations for a caring, safe, classroom culture. I like to use picture books that lead to great discussion to set the tone for our classroom culture.

The Brand New Kid by Katie Couric is perfect for the first day of school because it has a fun and whimsical poetic style with a serious message of friendship and inclusion. Even fourth and fifth graders love this story....because they get it. They get the feeling of being and outsider wanting to fit it.

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson is a great picture book about a boy who loses his #1 enemy. I love this book because the main character has made up his mind that he absolutely hates the boy down the street. He calls him his #1 enemy, until he has to play with him all day and gets to know him. I feel like this is a good book about being open minded and finding what you have in common with someone versus your differences.

Check out my other blog post about books I LOVE for creating a caring classroom culture.

Great first day read alouds lend themselves to great discussions about building friendships, bullying and kindness. They set the tone for the classroom. Therefore, after reading a few books, and playing some getting to know you icebreakers, students can make a brochure about how to make a new friend. To make it, fold a paper into thirds. On each page, students write an activity they can do with a new friend. These make a great Open House bulletin board.

Back to School Getting to Know You Activities

It's time to get the kids up and moving. When I first started teaching, I assumed everyone in the class already knew each other. Well, you know what happens when you assume. I was surprised to find out that I had 4 new kids to the school and even the returners didn't know everyone's name. That is why I do icebreakers on day one. Students have to walk around the room and ask fellow students questions.

Before we begin, I set the ground rules on behavioral expectation - walking, volume, how to be inclusive. It gives my students a reason to talk to someone new and hopefully make it easier to talk to them again. It also gives me a quick assessment of behavior and self control.

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Bath To School Math Games and Activities

Games are a great way to introduce supplies and establish expectations for working in groups or in pairs. Here are a couple games I like to play on the first day of school.

Task Card Quiz Quiz Trade

This is a Kagan Structure that I use almost daily in my classroom so I like to practice the procedures for this on day one. Basically, each kid has a task card. They walk about the room looking for a partner. When they reach a new partner, each student solves the other's task card (quiz-quiz). Then, they trade cards and look for a new partner (trade). I like to use task cards that have the answers on the back. My rules include walking, soft voices, and you must go to someone new each time. This is a fun, controlled way to get students moving, talking, and practicing math.

1. Beat the Boss Place Value Game

Objective: to create a greater (or smaller) number than "The Boss".

Teacher draws 6 blank lines on the board. Students draw 6 blank lines on their white boards.

1. Teacher rolls a 10 sided dice or a spinner with numbers 0-9.

2. Each player chooses to place the number somewhere on their grid e.g. If a 5 is rolled, most players place it somewhere near the middle.

3. Another player rolls the die and this number must now be placed in the grid.

4. This process continues until all seven lines are filled.

5. If a student thinks that they have a larger number than the teacher, they share it with the class.

Play the game 3-4 times whole group and then break students into pairs.

2. Bump Objective: to be the first to have all 8 chips on the Bump board.

1. Each pair has a BUMP board and 8 different color chips or unifix cubes.

2. Person 1 rolls one or two dice and multiplies it by the BUMP number. Place the chip on the product.

3. Person 2 rolls one or two dice and multiplies it by the BUMP number. Place the chip on the product. If the product is covered by the opponent's chip, they can "bump" them off. If the product is covered by their chip, they "own" the product and cannot be bumped.

4. First person to have all 8 chips on the board wins.