Back-to-school time is so much fun! In first grade, the first week of school should be filled with meaningful activities that help your students feel "at home" in their new classroom and ease into the school year. There are a few activities I always like to include during the first week to ensure a great start! Here are 5 of my favorite ideas and activities for the first week of school!
1. Read Some Back To School Books
In first grade, we read books every single day, but I especially love stories for back-to-school time. Books for the first week of school should help calm those nerves and encourage students to settle into their new classroom. I like to choose books that will make my kiddos laugh and help break the ice a little during those first few days.
Some of my favorites include:
Any of these books are a great place to start, but be sure to check your local library too! I have found there always seem to be a few new ones for back-to-school every time I look! Also, don't forget to stock your classroom library shelves with some fun back-to-school-themed books for the first week of school. Books like these really help to form a community in my classroom and make my new students feel welcome!
2. Play Some Games
Next up, I always make sure to include some games during my first week of school planning. It's no secret that kiddos love games, and using them is a great way to kick off the year on a positive note. When it comes to game choice, I like to keep things simple and choose something most kiddos are familiar with.
Bingo!
I love playing BINGO in the classroom and use it for many different topics. At the beginning of the year, I like to pick something that will be a bit of a review for my students, like CVC words. Most kiddos have worked with CVC words at some point in kindergarten and so this makes it a great topic for the first week of school.
Try BINGO out in your room to help break the ice with your kiddos by grabbing my FREE Short A CVC BINGO set.
These simple words will be perfect for new first graders settling back into a school routine! It's a bit of review and community building all in one. I love playing BINGO as a whole group, but this game is also great for small groups.
I Have, Who Has
Another fun icebreaker game is "I Have, Who Has". This is a great one for the beginning of the year since it only takes a few minutes and allows every student a chance to speak. If you're not familiar with the game, it's super simple!
First, pass out the game cards to students. I like to use a set that focuses on the recognition of numbers to 20 since it's a topic that students are likely familiar with. Next, you will choose a student to start with. They will read their number and then count how many dots are in the tens frames on their card to ask who has that card. The student with that number goes next, and this continues until all the cards are read. This is a super simple game, but kiddos always love it! And . . . it's another great way to get in some beginning of the year review.
Scoot
Scoot is another great game to play at the beginning of the year because your whole class can play together at one time. If you've never played before, don't worry - it's simple! Lay out a task card on each of your students' desks and give everyone their own recording sheet. You will then set a timer and allow them to work until it goes off. The fun in this is to choose an amount of time that is challenging but not so hard that they can't complete the task. This might take a few tries to determine the appropriate length of time. When the timer goes off, everyone will scoot to the next card, and the process is repeated.
I love this game at the beginning of the year because it helps students practice following directions, working alongside their peers, and allows them to review important concepts in a fun way. If you're not sure what task cards to use, this Kindergarten Math and Literacy Review is a great option! Included, you get 24 numbered task cards that focus on reviewing skills that students learned in kindergarten, such as letter sounds, math skills, and beginning phonics. There are 3 different recording sheets included, so you can tailor this activity to the needs of your group.
3. Set The Stage For A Year Of Adventure
During the first week of school, I love to make sure I reserve some time to work on back-to-school memory books. There are so many fun ways to do these, but in my classroom, I like to use a simple booklet that students can fill out.
The booklet we use has a safari theme and hints at preparing for a year filled with adventure! I love this little memory book because it makes the perfect project to set on students' desks during that back-to-school open house. Each page has a different prompt and includes things like the student's name, age and a drawing of themselves, the teacher's name and a drawing of the teacher, drawings of friends, classroom rules, and so much more!
Your students will love filling out the pages and drawing the illustrations. As I mentioned, I love to save these for back-to-school night and have them waiting on the desks for parents to flip through as they arrive. It's a really great way to welcome new families and let them know their child is already learning and having fun in your classroom!
4. Do A Fun Craft
After we finish our safari adventure memory books, I like to continue with this theme and have my students create a little writing craftivity as well. For this, students will complete a writing prompt and then design a safari kid of their own to hold the prompt. These are SO cute displayed on a bulletin board and especially fun if you can get them up before back-to-school night to tie your whole theme together!
To do this, I have my students start out with the writing prompt. I have used several different prompts over the years and even let students pick which one they want to use. Two of my favorites include: On my adventure this year I want to learn... and I think this year will be an adventure because...
I've also provided blank writing pages in the past, depending on the skill set of my group. With lots of options, you can customize this activity to make it suit the needs of your students!
After your students have finished writing, they can cut and assemble their safari kid and glue the whole project together. Hang on a bulletin board for the perfect back-to-school display!
5. Ease Into The Curriculum
In the first week of school, I like to make sure our lessons provide a gentle transition back to school work and plenty of review for my new firsties. For this reason, I like to use worksheets and activities that are always a hit in the classroom. Using fun activities that I know my students love helps build confidence and independence in my new students right off the bat.
I always have some basic review worksheets ready for use during the first week of school. No prep worksheets are a great way to review some concepts my kiddos had experience with in kindergarten. They also give me a chance to see where each of my students is starting on a variety of skills and concepts.
Safari Back to School Worksheets
In my classroom, I have a set of Back To School Worksheets that I love to pull out this time of year. The worksheets feature the same fun safari theme as many of our other activities and offer a review of both math and ELA concepts. Some of the things we cover include ABC Order, Beginning Sounds, Addition to 10, Missing Numbers, and more!
These skills are familiar to my students and offer a great way to ease back into daily work while also building confidence. These worksheets also feature fun formats I know my students love like color by code, dot-to-dot, word search, and more. You can find these worksheets along with the safari booklets and craft in the bundle!
Hidden Words Worksheets
Another fun option that is perfect for the new school year are these Back to School Hidden Words Worksheets. These are so fun for students and offer a low-stress way to ease into schoolwork. To use, the students will search the picture on their page for words with specific letter sounds, CVC words, or sight words. Make this even more fun by adding magnifying glasses to the activity and encouraging students to be detectives to find those hidden words!
As they find them, they will write them in on the lines below the picture and then color the picture when they are finished. This is a fantastic way to review important phonics skills at the beginning of the year! Try weaving them in as morning work, center time activities, and independent work options.
Start Planning Your First Week Of School
Ready to dive into some back-to-school planning? I hope these ideas were inspiring to you as you prepare for your own first week of school activities! I have many other Back to School activities in my TPT store as well. Have fun picking and choosing which activities to include in your first week of school!
Save these Back to School Activities!
Don't forget to save this post on your classroom Pinterest board so that you will have plenty of inspiration to plan your first week of school!
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