20
Great Activities for the
First Month of School
The first month of school is all about getting to know your students
and setting the tone for the rest of the school year. Many teachers have
a list of tried and true activities that they use in the classroom, but
we’d like to throw some new ideas into the mix. Whether you’re a new
teacher looking for ideas or a veteran teacher who just wants to start
the year with something different, these activities will help you and
your students get to know one another and become comfortable working
together as a team. Most of these activities were designed with
elementary students in mind, but many middle and high school students
will enjoy them too.
General Activities
1. Scavenger Hunt. Pair your students up and give
them a list of objects to find around the classroom. You can use a
scavenger hunt to help familiarize students with the layout of the
classroom or to help them find important papers and other supplies
they’ll need during the school year.
2. Student Photos. Make a frame out of construction
paper and cardboard and take each student’s photo. Have students wear
large name tags in the photos to help you and others learn their names.
Then print out the photos and display them in the classroom or, for a
better idea, play a live version of Guess Who, by randomly selecting a
photo and having students ask questions to see which classmate’s photo
you chose.
3. A Class Project. A therapist recently made the news for encouraging couples to put together IKEA furniture
as a form of therapy. While you might not want to hand your students
tools, you can work together to put together a bookcase, decorate a
bulletin board, or plant a classroom garden. This type of shared
activity will help you learn your students’ communication styles and
help you all learn to work together.
4. Recipe for Success. Work with your students to
develop a recipe for success in the classroom. Maybe you need a
tablespoon or teamwork or a cup of effort. Once you write the recipe,
bring in food items (similar to what you would find in a trail mix) to
represent each item and have students assemble the recipe in plastic
bags. Be sure to note if students have any allergies before bringing
food into the classroom.
5. Bucket Filling. The concept of bucket filling has
become popular in many schools. Give each student a plastic bucket to
decorate. Talk to students about actions that fill their buckets (being
kind, showing respect) and actions that take away from their buckets
(not listening, putting others down). Throughout the school year kids
can add and take away small stickers, coins, or other tangible objects
from their buckets.
Language Arts Activities
6. Readers’ Theater. Take a popular fable or fairy
tale and turn it into a readers’ theater piece for the class. Place
students into groups and have each group decide how to perform the story
for the class. This activity will help students become more comfortable
speaking in front of their peers and give them a chance to learn to
cooperate with others.
7. Group Writing. Have each student take out a piece
of paper and write a sentence or first line of a poem on the top line.
Students then pass their papers around the room with each classmate
adding a sentence or line. At the end of the activity, every student has
a class story or poem to share. Chances are students will think they’re
hilarious too!
8. Writing Time Capsule. Give students a traditional
back-to-school writing prompt, but add a bit of a twist. Take each
student’s piece of writing and place it into a large mailing tube or
envelope. Call it a “time capsule” and explain to students that you’ll
pull each piece out at the end of the year so they can see how much
their writing has improved.
9. My ABCs. Using the 26 letters of the alphabet as
inspiration, have students write 26 words or fun facts to describe
themselves. They can turn these into small ABC books or simply read them
aloud. Use our handy alphabet charts as a template for this activity.
10. Read a Book. Since the beginning of the school
year is so stressful, regularly take some time to sit with students and
read a book together. You can let students suggest some of their
favorite books to read or choose a fun chapter book that the whole class will enjoy.
Math Activities
11. Class Survey. Divide students into small groups
and have each group write a summer or back-to-school themed survey
question. Each group writes its question and creates a graph for the
answers on a large piece of paper hung on the classroom wall. All
students then walk around the room and plot their answers on the papers
using colored sticker dots.
12. Me by the Numbers. Allow students to blend their
artistic talents and math skills with this activity. Give students
blank sheets of paper and have them draw pictures of themselves (or use
photos) in the middle. Around their pictures, students answer and
illustrate number related questions about themselves. For example: How
old are you? How many pets do you have? What size shoe do you wear?
13. Find Someone Who… Bingo. Print a copies of the number-themed Find Someone Who… Bingo cards.
Ask students get to know their classmates by talking with each other
and writing the initials of the student they find that fits each
statement in that box.
14. What’s Your Birthday? Challenge students to
arrange themselves in a line across the room in order of birthday (day
and month). The catch? No talking or writing.
15. Human Knot. This classic team-building activity
also strengthens student understanding of special relationships and
pattern recognition. Have 8 – 10 students stand in a circle, raise their
right hands, and then join hands with someone across from them. Repeat
with left hands. Important – students should be holding hands with two
different people and not holding hands with a person next to them.
Groups must then untangle the knot without letting go of hands. Try
combining students into larger groups after they are successful untying
themselves in smaller groups.
Science Activities
16. Lost on the Moon. In this exercise, students
must work both individually and together to rank a set of items based
upon their importance for surviving on the moon. After, teams can
compare their ranking to how experts ranked the items. Get started with this online version.
17. Tower Building. Challenge small groups of
students to construct the tallest tower they can using only the
materials provided in a given time. Simple materials that work well
include straws and paperclips, plastic cups, and index cards.
18. Class Pet or Terrarium. Raising and caring for a
pet or growing plants in a terrarium can be a year-long class endeavor
that helps foster an appreciation for nature. If your school allows
small pets like fish or hamsters, students can work together to develop a
job share schedule for feeding, cleaning, and vacation care. Another
option is to have students design, build, and care for a class
terrarium.
19. Classroom Makerspace. Introduce your students to the concept of makerspaces
– a physical location to design, collaborate, and build. Designate an
area of your classroom as a makerspace, and have the class brainstorm
what should go in the space. Working together to design and create the
space will get students excited to use it throughout the year.
20. Two Facts and a Science Fiction. In this
variation of Two Truths and a Lie, each student researches two
interesting, strange, or amazing science facts and makes-up one science
falsehood. Students then take turns sharing their three statements and
the class votes on which one is incorrect, or a piece of science
fiction.
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