First Week of School Activities

The first week of school can be difficult for elementary school students and teachers alike. New faces, new challenges, new learning, and new adventures all wait in store. As a teacher it's important to be organized and prepared for that first week, but to also let your new students know that learning can be fun and that your job is to help them become the best students they can be.

Matching Game

Being in a new classroom means learning a new set of rules and students often aren't aware of the teacher's expectations. Instead of giving a boring lecture on the classroom rules, teach the kids the rules with a matching game. Prepare one index card for each student. On half the cards write questions that the kids may have about classroom rules. On the other half of the cards, write the answer to those questions. After shuffling the cards and passing them out to the students, have them find the student who has their answer/question. This is a good way for students to become more familiar with each other, to learn the rules of the classroom, and for the teacher to discover the personalities of some of her students.

Unity Puzzle

Before class, cut a large poster board into the number of pieces equal to the number of students in the class. You may want to put a mark in one of the upper corners so you have an easier time reconstructing the puzzle. Pass out one puzzle piece to each student and have them write their name on the piece and then decorate it as they please. Once everyone has finished, have the children use their problem-solving skills to put the puzzle together. Use this as an object lesson to illustrate that although each child is as unique as the piece they decorated, they are all an essential part of the class and the puzzle can only be completed with each and every one of them. Keep the puzzle displayed on a wall in the classroom throughout the year as a reminder.

"All About Me" Posters

A fun way to get to know your new students is to have them create "All About Me" posters. These can either be done in the classroom or sent home to be completed as their first homework assignment. If you have specific information you want included on the posters, let them know this. You can ask them to include their name, hobbies, likes/dislikes, or family information. You can also let them decide to make their own decisions about what to include. Once the posters are completed, display them somewhere in the classroom so the students can get to know one another better and develop pride in their own unique identity.