40 Teacher-Inspired Ideas for the First Day of School Activities
The first day of school can be an exciting time for teachers and students, but it can be an anxious time, too. What can you do to make sure your students (and you!) feel at home in the classroom on that first day?
Here are some teacher-inspired first-day-of-school activities for primary school children that teachers can use in their classrooms this back-to-school season.
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Do you wonder what to do with your students on the first day of school? The first day of elementary school is an exciting and nerve-wracking time for both students and parents. It marks the beginning of a new adventure as children explore new ideas, make new friends, and learn to navigate their ever-growing independence.
No matter how prepared a student or teacher may feel, it’s normal to have some butterflies in your stomach on the big day. With the right attitude and preparation, however, the first day of any grade in elementary school can be a wonderful experience that sets the tone for a successful year full of growth and exploration.
How can teachers help students transition from a summer at home to school on the first day of a new year? Check out these fun first-day-of-school activities to help students get to know one another and make it the best first day! You can use these fun activities in your lesson plans during the first week of school!
40 First Day of School Activities
Here are 40 surefire tips for making your first day back to school successful! Scroll to the comments for even more ideas!
Read First Day Jitters by Julie Danneburg
First Day Jitters is a great book to break the ice with your students. There are several activities for the first-day jitters book.
To make it extra special, serve Jitter Juice! Then, have students write YOU a letter with ideas on why you shouldn’t be nervous. It’ll get a few kids thinking about their jitters, and maybe they can help each other, too!
This is an excellent way for students to reflect on their feelings about the first school day and make meaningful connections with the text.
Do a classroom or school tour
Show your kiddos where all the classroom supplies are and help them know what areas are for them and for you only. Are students new to the school?
Take them around the whole school and show them where the bathrooms, the gym, the cafeteria, etc. Teach them the computer lab rules and lunchtime procedures. This is a great opportunity for new students to get to know their new school.
If your social studies standards include learning about maps, this is also a good time to lay a foundation for classroom and school maps.
Create a Scavenger Hunt
Take it a step further and create a scavenger hunt for students. Creating a scavenger hunt as a first day of school activity is an excellent way to engage students and break the ice on day one.
Create questions or tasks related to the classroom, school, or surrounding area, and have students work independently or in teams to find the answers.
Make a picture keepsake
Don’t forget this one! Take a picture of each student on their first day back to school, then take one on the last day of school. Turn it into a keepsake at the end of the year.
Better yet, let students draw a self-portrait on the first day and then again on the last day. Compare! They might have changed, and their drawing skills will surely have, too!
One-on-one time
One key first-day-of-school activity that I always make a point of doing is spending a few minutes one-on-one with each student. Get to know them, introduce yourself, giggle, and encourage them. Making that personal connection on the first day is so important! You may get teacher inspiration and insights into your students that you can use all year!
As you meet with each student, take along a clipboard or sticky notes. Jot down a few memorable notes about the student. At the end of the day, gather these notes together. Reflect on your class as a whole. What makes each student unique? How can they be an integral part of your class?
Take it a step further and turn these notes into words of encouragement. Write on students’ desks and leave a note about what you love about each student.
Back to School Craft
Are you ready for some downtime at the end of the first day?
You might need some, too! This is one of my favorite activities for the first day of school.
It allows the kids to wind down and still be productive. In this Back-to-School Bus Craftivity Flap Book students tell about themselves, review the rules, reflect on their day, and think about being a good classmate.
It makes a fun keepsake, too. Parents will thank you!
Teacher Q&A
Have fun with this one in a couple of different ways. Sit in a circle with your students and let them ask you questions like: What’s your favorite food? Color? Animal? Candy? Etc.
Or, make a quiz and see if they can guess the answers to these questions.
It’s a great way for your students to know more about you, a very important person in their day.
Start Your Community Circle
This is also a great opportunity to establish a community circle routine. Using a community circle in the classroom is an effective way to foster empathy and collaboration among students. A community circle creates a safe, non-threatening space for students to discuss their ideas and feelings with each other.
Community circles allow for a greater understanding and appreciation of different perspectives, which can help reduce conflict in the classroom. Creating an environment where all students are respected makes learning more meaningful and engaging.
Community circles also provide opportunities for teachers to guide conversations by introducing topics and raising questions that will help strengthen relationships. In this way, students are encouraged to think critically and find creative solutions to problems together.
Need some community-building question ideas? I’ve got 67 for you!
Make a classroom cheer
Who doesn’t love a good team cheer? Sit down with your students and brainstorm a catchy classroom cheer you can use throughout the year. This is a great team-building activity!
Discuss the Student’s and Teacher’s Roles in the Classroom
Do you know what your students expect out of the year? Do they? Have them do an activity with them to list their own personal goals for the school year.
This blog post has some great anchor charts that show how students define good friends, their role as students, a teacher’s role, and their parent’s role. It’s a great starting point for a discussion about classroom expectations.
Build community with a Class Mission Statement
Make a mission statement or class pledge/promise, and recite this each morning. Making a class mission statement aligns well with student goal-setting.
Once students define who they are as a community, they can set goals that align with the mission statement.
Create Name Labels or Name Tags
Make name cards for desks, lockers, or cubbies. Let students write their own names and decorate a border around them. Then, laminate, and voila!
Each desk or cubbie has a personal touch. At the end of the year, you could even add name tags to students’ portfolios.
Beach Ball Ice Breaker
Take a permanent marker and write questions on a beach ball. Sit in a circle with your students and toss the beach ball to each other. Each time students catch the ball, they answer any of the questions visible, then toss it to someone else.
It’s a fun way for students to get to know each other and you!
Survey Students
Create a blank bar graph on chart paper, or better yet, create a horizontal and vertical bar graph. Use it throughout the day and week to survey students about various favorite things. Give each student a sticky note. As a question, have groups of students place their sticky notes in the correct columns.
Your students will love the interactiveness of sticky notes and placing them on chart paper! This is a cheat sheet for getting to know your students better, AND you can weave in some math skill work, too! Teachers will learn about important ideas about their students, too!
When I was a kid, I loved filling out little surveys that asked me all about myself! Besides the standard questions about their hobbies, siblings, or summers, don’t forget to ask some silly questions to make it extra fun!
Rules and Procedures and Classroom Routines
While you’re busy making this the most fun first day ever for your students, don’t forget the rules and classroom procedures.
Don’t skip this.
It is an essential part of ensuring your school year runs smoothly. Knowing what is expected of them is of great benefit to your students—and let’s be honest with you as well!
Party! Party! Party!
How exciting is the first day of school? Exciting enough for a welcome-back party!
No, really! Why wait until the end of the year?
Serve baked goods, orange or apple juice (or jitter juice! See #1), bananas, and grapes.
Include circle time to share summer stories and dance those jitters away!
Eat lunch with your students
Consider eating lunch with your students. Especially on the first day, showing your kids that your class is “family.”
Read aloud – a lot!
Reading out loud to your students often instills a lifelong love of reading in their hearts.
Choose quality books that take their nervousness away, make them laugh, or build their self-esteem and team spirit.
Don’t be afraid of classics with harder-to-understand language. Kids can fill in the gaps; it builds their vocabulary, and when the storyline is riveting, they will get it.
The first day back at school is a great time to relax and read to your students.
Create a welcome swag-bag
You love free gifts. I love free gifts. I don’t think many people wouldn’t love a free gift. Do you want to know who loves them the most? Your students!
Create a little welcome bag with treats and gifts for each student. Give it to them right after greeting them at the door!
Or, give each student a gift at the end of the day to congratulate them on a great first day. If your classroom has a theme, you might want to consider a gift that matches that theme!
Greet Students at the Door
Adults love to feel important and to know that they are seen. So do kids! Your students want to know they aren’t invisible to you.
So, first things first: Greet your students at the door. Meet them at their eye level and let them know you are excited to be their teacher. Introduce yourself, learn their name, and make this a positive start of their day.
Why not do this every day for the remainder of the school year?
Create a Puzzle
Kids love puzzles! It’s a great community-building activity that encourages creativity and cooperation.
I love using this Community Building Puzzle on the first day of school. I leave a puzzle piece on each student’s desk first thing in the morning. As students enter, they find a seat, write their name on their puzzle pieces, and decorate it.
Create your own giant puzzle pieces, or save time and sanity and get this one.
Students can color the whole piece or decorate the borders. They can write their name or list their favorite things. The possibilities are endless!
After they finish decorating, you can sit in circle time or have students sit at their desks. Use the pieces to introduce yourselves to each other and/or glue all of the pieces together and post it to a bulletin board labeled “A Perfect Fit…For a Perfect Year!”
Find Someone Who . . .
It’s a classic icebreaker game! Make a list of characteristics/experiences your students might have in common.
Think of “Find someone who has the same color hair as you,” or “Find someone who has the same kind of pet.”
Don’t overthink it, but make it fun.
Students walk around the room, list in hand, and find other students who will have something in common with them. They write the name of the person they found next to the question.
It’s easy, it’s fun, and it’s a great community-building activity.
Read The Kissing Hand Book
You cannot miss this one if you teach a lower elementary class, such as Kindergarten or First Grader!
For example, have your students trace their hands (they might need you to do that!) and cut it out. Glue a heart in the palm of the paper hand and fold the fingers down (but don’t glue the fingers!).
Teach your students “I love you” in sign language & give them a note with a chocolate kiss at the end of the day.
Ensure your kids take this “kissing hand” back home that same day to show their loved ones.
Ask Parents to Get Involved
We often ask students to write about themselves, but what about asking the parents to write something about their children?
You will receive insight into your children’s personalities that will help individualize your attention, care, and understanding of each student.
Use GoNoodle for Brain Breaks
Hey, teacher! (Hey, what?) Are you ready? (For what?) To pop! (Pop what?) Pop See Ko! I love GoNoodle. Chances are, your students love it, too. If not, they will!
It is the silliest, goofiest way to keep your students active and giggling. Just pull up YouTube, get them out of their chairs, and shake off the jitters (and sugar… if you had a welcome back party or allowed them to eat the candy you just put in that welcome swag bag above).
Social Contract
This activity is fun for upper elementary or middle schoolers and helps establish classroom management expectations.
Create four posters with one question on each. The questions should be something like:
- How do I want to be treated by the teacher?
- How do I want to be treated by other students?
- How do I treat the teacher?
- How do we solve conflicts?
Have each student write answers to each question on a sticky note and place the notes on the poster. Once everyone has placed a sticky note on each poster, break the classroom into four groups. One group for each poster. Each group will then sort the sticky notes into commonality. The group will agree on and write the best answers (multiple) on the poster.
Display the four posters in a prominent place and tell your students that this is the Social Contract of the class. It’s a great way to build community and set boundaries. Your students will love it because they helped set the rules. It will give a sense of ownership and understanding of others, too.
Getting to Know You Small Group Craftivity
Break your students into small groups for a fun craftivity that will help them build community and treat others with kindness.
Each group has paper shapes that each student can cut out and decorate. On each shape, write sentences for the students to complete.
Start the sentences with things like “I feel appreciated when…” or “I feel ___ when ___”. You can find a fun example already prepared for you here.
When I grow Up
What are your students’ dreams? What are their hopes beyond the first or last day of school? Do they want to be doctors, astronauts, or Lego designers?
Ask them!
You can utilize a “When I grow up, I want to be ___” or “When I grow up, I want to ___” in various ways.
Make it part of a giant puzzle (see # 2) or an icebreaker (see #3).
You can use it as a calm-down activity in circle time or at their desks. Ask each student and listen to their answers. Their dreams might surprise you!
Read The Name Jar
Students love this book and will talk about it throughout the year. You can make a fun assignment from this, too. Have your students go home and find out how they got their names. It’s a fun, investigative activity they can do with their families.
After they find out how they got their name, have them write about it. It makes an excellent first writing assignment for the year.
They’ll learn and appreciate their name, plus the names of their classmates—another tremendous community-building activity.
Who Goes Where?
This one is really important and cannot be skipped. Before school begins, ensure parents know to show up with their kids on the first day of school. They can help with what we call the “who’s going where?” sheet.
It helps you know which students will be picked up by their parents, which students ride the school bus, and which students stay for after-school care (and who will pick them up later).
Each student has their own card. For students with parents picking them up right away, take their picture with the parent. For bus riders, take their picture with a bus sign and the student. For after-school care, take a picture of the student, the parent who will pick them up, and the school mascot.
Later, all the pictures are added to cards, laminated, and attached to a binder ring to hang by the door. If students have different pickup days, you can write that on the back of the card as needed.
This is a great help in remembering who belongs to whom and keeps your students safe!
Two Truths and a Lie
This is a fun icebreaker game to play. Have each student think of three “facts” about themselves they want to share with the class. Two of these “facts” must be true, and one must be a lie.
The rest of the class has to guess which one is the lie. Prepare for some off-the-wall answers and lots of laughter. This is also a great way to learn fun facts about your students!
What I Really Want to Learn
Make a poster with the words “What I really want to learn” at the top. Have each student write something on it that they would love to learn during the school year.
It’s a great insight into their hobbies and interests. Use the ideas from the list as random activities and lessons throughout the year.
Summer Postcards
Before school starts, get a list of your students as soon as possible. Over the summer, send each student postcards.
Tell them how excited you are to meet them on the first day of school. Write them silly things about what you’re doing over the summer.
Make it adventurous or funny. Above all, make them feel valued before they even meet you.
Just Like Me
This is a fun icebreaker to play. Have the entire class sit in a large circle or oval. One student stands and tells the class something that they did over the summer (or over the weekend, if you play this at different times during the year) like “I flew on an airplane,” or “I went to the beach.”
If any other student (or you!) did the same thing, they get to stand up and enthusiastically say “Just like me!” Then, the next student stands and says something. The game continues until every student has a chance to tell something they did.
Human Bingo – Find Someone Who Activity
Another great way to change up the get-to-know-you icebreaker. Make bingo boards with activity or characteristic squares. Each square should say something like “Flew on an airplane,” “plays the piano,” “plays soccer,” etc.
This activity is also called Find Someone Who.
Give each student a bingo card. They go around the room to find other students that fit the square’s description. When they find someone, they write their name over the square.
The first student to fill the whole board wins a prize like a homework pass or something similar.
Kindness Quilt
This is a craft your students will treasure throughout the year. Give each student a square of fabric they can decorate. Have them write kind messages and color their squares.
When they finish, take the squares and have them sewn together into a quilt. Hang the quilt up in the room as a kindness reminder. Your students will love that they helped create something beautiful for the class.
Self Portrait
On the first day of school, have your students draw self-portraits. Make it fun or silly with googly eyes or yarn for hair.
However, if they want to draw themselves, let them. Hang them up in the hallway as part of a large poster that introduces them as your students.
Dear Me Letter
Ask your students to write a letter to themselves. Have them write about what they are looking forward to for the year, or what they might be nervous about, or how they feel.
Keep the letters and return them to the students on the last day of the year. They’ll be amazed at how much their handwriting improved and how much they’ve grown during the year.
Do a STEM Challenge
Kickstart your science lessons with engaging team-building activities and STEM challenges right from day one of the new school year.
These STEM challenges foster cooperative learning and ignite curiosity and critical thinking, setting the stage for an exciting and immersive learning experience for your new class.
Encourage your Grade Level Team
Be a team encourager! Put together a small gift for everyone on your teaching team (or the whole school staff). Include a note wishing them the greatest year ever.
Create a Small Booklet
Teach students to create a small booklet from a piece of paper. Have them jot down things they want to remember from the first day of school.
Don’t forget you on the first day of class!
This one’s for you. If you haven’t already done so, go to your classroom well before school starts, organize your desk, pour yourself that coffee, and put all that dark chocolate in your drawer.
This blog post about my favorite Teacher School Supplies will give you a few more ideas to add to your teacher area!
Walk through the school to get a feel for the school climate and meet the people you will be working with this year.
Smile
Last but not least, Smile! Be a positive you. Be approachable, laugh, and enjoy yourself!
EVEN More Back-to-School Ideas and Activities
Are you looking for more back-to-school ideas? Here are a few more:
- 9 Ways to Start the Year Off Right
- Five Things to Keep in Mind on the First Day of School
- Cooperative Learning Activities for the First Day of School
- 3 Tips to Get Ready for Back to School
- Teacher School Supplies You Can’t Live Without
- 80 Sponge Activities: A Teacher’s Guide to Making Every Minute Count
- Virtual Icebreakers for Distance Learning
- Create a School Time Capsule
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Supplies, procedures, and letting each student personally know that I am excited they are in my class. No matter the grade (preK- 8th), the school, or the situation these are the three things I do every year without fail.
I always read the book “Miss Maple’s Seeds.” Actually, I do this every first AND last day of school! It’s a beautiful book, and students have very different reactions (all wonderful) on the two days I read it.
I have the students fill out a questionnaire sheet Bout themselves that they later share with the class and a “how well do you know your teacher” sheet and tally up how many questions they get right. It’s so much fun.
I always take a closeup of my firsties, then have them decorate a gingerbread cutout with their clothes for that day. I then place the closeup picture on their gingerbread boy/girl. I use these characters to keep track of AR points, math facts, or high frequency words. In that past, I would repurpose these characters as a cover for an All About Me book for the end of the year.
We always partner with someone else to create a Venn Diagram to learn what we have in common with someone else in the room. It is a good way for new students to make a friend.
I always have the kids make their own name tags complete with pictures that represent themselves.
We always read First Day Jitters and drink “jitter juice”. We also do a short writing about being nervous on the first day of school. My students always love this story!
First day of school, I would have a questionnaire
I always have my students work on an “All about me page”. Then they will share with the class to get to know each other.
I take pictures of my students to give to parents at conference time. They have such eager looks on their faces.
On the first day, I put out play doh and take photos of the kids interacting. I always read Mr. Peabody’s Apples too.
One thing that I always do is a getting to know you activity that gets the kids up moving and interacting with their friends.
One thing I do on the first day of school is make sure the kids go home with a little something. A principal many years ago told us newbies that this always make a child happy! 🙂 It could be a pencil or a treat or just a little note.
I always take a first day of school picture! I also start building a strong classroom community.
For the past two of my three years of teaching, I have had my students write what they need from me to be successful, what they need from themselves to be successful, and what they need from their classmates. It’s been a great way to get the students thinking about the school year, setting goals, and starting off on the right foot. So far the students have always written down things that encompass my classroom rules so its a GREAT way to have them feel invested in our classroom rules.
I read Chrysanthemum to the class and do an exercise where we crumple a huge paper heart every time we hear something hurtful. Then we try to smooth out the wrinkles and make it new again, like the hurtful things were never said. Of course that doesn’t work. It is a great introduction to using kind words, and demonstrating that emotional hurts aren’t so easily healed. Some kids just need to hear that over, and over, and over…
I always read about Chester in “The Kissing Hand” with my forties & do an art project tracing their hand, cutting it, & gluing a heart inside while folding the fingers down. I teach them the “I love you” sign in sign language & give them a note with a chocolate kiss at the end of the day.
One of the things I plan on doing every year on the first day of school is having students write about what they DIDN’T do over summer. Kids have all kinds of crazy answers!
I’ve been doing this for three years now, and it has been great. First greet the kids with a huge smile as they enter the classroom, right after practicing a little procedures we read Wemberly Worried and Chrisantemum, we do a little crafting and then we GoNoodle. It´s so much fun.
One thing I like to do at the beginning of the year is to find out about the students. We sit in a circle and I start (by holding a ball of yarn) by telling them something that they may not know about me. I roll it to a student across from me. When they are done, they hang on to the string and roll it to someone else. This goes on until all have a chance to share something. Then we reverse it and they roll it to the person who rolled to them. This is a great way to get them talking about themselves while they can focus on holding their yarn and who will get it next.
I always do an activity called “Find a Friend.” They move around the room talking to their peers finding people that match each description. I love that it gets them talking to each other as well as me! So important to build those connections from the beginning!
I like to give each student a piece of a puzzle made out of poster board. Each student decorates their piece with their favorite things. We use the puzzle pieces to introduce ourselves to each other at morning meeting and then put the puzzle together as a class. I glue the puzzle together on bulletin board paper and add, “A Perfect Fit… For a Perfect Year!” This hangs in our room all year long.
I always do something called marshmallow toes. My sister told me about it right before my first year as a second grade teacher. It has worked beautifully every year. I give each child a big marshmallow. We describe the way it looks, feels, smells, tastes and sounds. I tell them that we will always walk down the hallways “like marshmallows.” We practice by popping the whole thing in our mouths and taking a walk around the school! It’s a SWEET way to start the first day of school. 🙂
I always let the kids our their new supplies. I try to make sure we color, cut, and glue on that first day.
On the first day of school, I have each student write a letter to themselves, setting goals for the year, and telling about their favorite things and current events. They can share if they want but the fun is that we put the letters in a shoebox or poster tube and create a time capsule! On one of the last days of school, we give the letters out and share again!! They get to see if they met their goals, how they have changed and how much they have learned in their writing skills.
I love to read “First Day Jitters” on the first day, take the students’ pictures, and play get to know you scavenger hunt games.
I always read First Day Jitters!
I will welcome everyone with a high five! I read the thingamajig book of manners and play a fun activity related to how to use our manners in the classroom. This then leads into the school expectations. I also send the family a note with a questionnaire about their child and family. This allows me to get to know them quicker.
I take a photo of each student holding a first day of kindergarten sign. We take a tour of the building and they are so excited when we get to the playground
One thing I do on the first day of school is take pictures of the students. I take several of them and use these for their 2nd grade scrapbook, class story book, and for the “I AM…” pictures that hang on my wall all year. The student chooses a positive I AM statement and we cut out letters and glue them onto the picture. For instance: I am creative or I am a leader. The kids love to see their pictures on the wall.
I always buy an extra large coffee!!!
I’m a second year teacher and so far each year we have had a class “motto”. It’s either a short song or chant that reminds them the expectations of the classroom but is fun and encouraging. We add movements to it and it becomes something that gets us focused and ready for the day every morning!
I let the kiddos pick where they sit on the first day. It gives me a chance to learn who knows who and to get a sense of their precious lil’ personalities. I also have the students share what they’re looking forward to learning and doing this year.
I love doing some sort of Back to School Task cards to get the kids talking and getting to know each other.
I always take pictures of students with their parents so I can remember who belongs with who.
One thing I always do on the first day of school is to take a photo (head shot) of each student. I then make about 15 copies of each one and use these for file folder games, getting to know you activities, future artwork, and a whole lot of writing activities. I usually take one at the end of the year, too, so they can each see how much they’ve changed! Lots of fun!
I always do a Getting to Know Your Teacher Quiz. I create a PowerPoint Quiz about me. The kids guess what the answer for each question will be. Then I go over each answer so the kids can get to know me better.
One thing I always do on the first day of school is read my favorite children’s book, Arnie the Doughnut.
I have my kids do team building and get to know gig activities. Such as saving Sam, friend bingo, or the m&m game where everyone gets some m&m and each color represents something they have to state about themselves.
I love good team building activities, as well as a first day read aloud. Thanks for the great resources!
I always start with getting to know you activities and then some stem challenges.
I always take a close up and a regular picture of the students. I use these for books, name games, crafts, center board etc.
I give students an index card and have them write “2 Truths and a Lie” about themselves. Throughout the first few days I read the cards and we try to guess who the card belongs to and which one is the lie. The kids love it and so do I!
I always read “First Day Jitters.” The kid love discovering that the teacher, not a little girl, was the one with jitters. I also give the kids a chance to wander the room for about 3 minutes, return to their seats or the rug, and let them ask me questions about what they’ve seen/discovered. I then answer their questions.
I write questions all over a beach ball using a sharpie. We stand in a circle and toss the ball to whomever they choose, so long as they pick someone who did not have a turn yet. Whichever question their left thumb lands on is the one they share. Most are general getting to know you questions, but I throw in some silly ones too! They can bring it out at indoor/outdoor recess or during breaks throughout the year. I always look for opportunities to
take a lesson outside, and this is definitely a good activity for that! I’m a special education teacher and have always done this in a small group-smaller class size up to 12. Hopefully this would still be useful with a normal class size, but I’m not sure how long it would take. ***Check your class’s reading level and/or review the questions with the class before playing for struggling readers, and only write with words you’re confident they’ll know so they feel safe and successful from the first day!
I always have my students write a letter to themselves about what happened over the course of the year. Then, I give it back to them at the end of the year.
On the first day of school I always complete an “All About Me” activity. This gives me a chance to learn about my students and my students are able to learn about each other.
I always start the year with a read aloud. I want to develop a trusting relationship with my students with a good read. Thanks.
We go to the park on the first day of school.
Something I like to begin the year with is an all about me page with the students. It’s good info for me as a way to get to know their interests, and it also gives me a quick assessment for spelling and handwriting. Tghe students love to look at them at the end of the year!