The Best Back-to-School Activities for the New School Year

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The Best Back-to-School Activities

The first few weeks of school are all over the place. There are so many back-to-school activities to fit in beyond simply getting to know one another. There are classroom management and transition routines to teach (and practice!), schedules to navigate, assessments to administer, and so much more.

But probably most important are those first few days when students are learning about school, becoming members of a new classroom community, and figuring out where they fit. As teachers, we want them to feel comfortable, connected, and, most of all, good when they wake up in the morning and think about heading to school.

Over the years, I tried countless activities during those first weeks—and especially during those first few days. It’s such a critical time! The expectations and routines established during that first week help set the tone for the entire year.

Some of the activities I tried were fine. Some were complete flops. And others just stuck. They became my tried-and-true, dependable, year-after-year first-week activities. They not only helped us get to know one another, but also gave me opportunities to assess basic skills and begin establishing those all-important classroom routines.

I’ve gathered my tried-and-true favorites here—the back-to-school activities I actually used with my students year after year and honestly looked forward to doing every single time.

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Find a Friend Activity

Find a Friend was one of those super-easy activities I could fit in almost anywhere during the first day or week of school. It’s simple, gets kids moving around the room, and gives them a reason to start talking to one another.

Students read each prompt on the page and find a classmate who meets the criteria. They can only use each student’s name once—and they can use their teacher’s name too! My students were always amazed when I told them they could ask me questions too. It was such a simple way for them to learn a little about me while I was learning about them.

But there was more happening than just getting to know one another. Find a Friend also gave us a natural way to practice some of those important beginning-of-the-year routines: how to move appropriately around the classroom, how to approach someone and ask a question, how to listen to their answer, and how to respond kindly.

And because it’s so easy to use, it was one of those activities I could pull out whenever we needed a little movement, conversation, and practice being part of our new classroom community.

💚 Grab the FREE Find a Friend Activity

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All About Me Cube

It’s hard not to say this is another favorite, but it really is! The All About Me Cube takes a little more planning and prep than some of my other back-to-school activities, but when it’s finished, you’ll be so glad you did it—and your students will love it too.

Originally, I used milk cartons to create the cubes before we began. Students then completed all six sides by answering prompts about themselves—their age, eye color, birthday, and more. Once everyone’s cubes were finished, we used them to create 3D class graphs and gather data about our group. I loved that students were learning about one another while we were already beginning to work with graphing and data.

I’ve recently updated the activity to include a printable cube that simply needs to be folded and assembled. It’s not quite as involved as collecting and preparing milk cartons, but you can still use the finished cubes in exactly the same way.

And this one has a special place in my heart because both of my boys did this activity when they were in school—and they still have their All About Me Cubes tucked away in their “school treasures” boxes!

Want to see exactly how we made and used the cubes?

💚 See the All About Me Cube Activity

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How I Learn Best Glyph

While this particular glyph is new, asking students to reflect on how they learn was something I did at the beginning of every school year. I wanted to hear from the kids themselves about how they thought they learned best. I didn’t want to hear it from their parents or their former teachers—I wanted to hear it from them.

That’s why I created the How I Learn Best Glyph. Students answer six questions about their own learning preferences, such as where they like to work—a desk, the floor, or a comfy chair—and whether they need quiet while working or prefer a little music. Their answers determine the images they use to complete a picture of a student’s desk.

The finished glyph gives the teacher a glimpse into how each student sees themselves as a learner, but it can also help students get to know one another. The completed glyphs can be sorted by different responses, giving the class a chance to compare preferences and discover who likes to learn in similar ways.

💚 Learn More About the How I Learn Best Glyph.

Not ready for the full glyph? I also have a simple FREE Learning Preference Activity that gives students a chance to write and draw about how they learn best—all on one page.

💚 Grab the FREE Learning Preference Activity

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I Wish My Teacher Knew

This activity always made me smile—and laugh—and even once or twice, tear up. Before students began, I always modeled what I wanted them to do by sharing something I wanted them to know about me. I might tell them that I had two dogs or two boys, or that I liked to make quilts.

What they chose to share could be just about anything. Some students stuck with those safe, simple ideas and told me about their pets, families, or things they liked to do. Others shared adventures they’d had or something exciting that had happened. And every once in a while, a child shared something much bigger—a recent divorce in the family, the loss of a grandparent, or something else happening in their life that mattered to them.

Because I never knew what a student might choose to share, I didn’t put these on a bulletin board or make them public. I tucked them into each student’s folder instead.

Sometimes I pulled them back out during parent-teacher conferences to ask about something a child had shared or simply to recognize an event that had happened and was important to them. Other times, we’d look back at them together and laugh about something they’d written at the beginning of the year.

It was such a simple activity, but it gave each child a chance to decide, in their own words, what they wanted their teacher to know about them.

💚 See the I Wish My Teacher Knew Activity.

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A Letter from My Teacher on the First Day of School

I was a latecomer to A Letter from My Teacher on the First Day of School by Shannon Olsen. I had seen the book all over the internet and in other teachers’ classrooms, and honestly, it didn’t appeal to me at first. But then I finally sat down and read it—really read it—and decided it was a keeper.

Of course, once I decided I loved the book, I needed an activity to go with it! I created a set of templates students could use to write a letter to their teacher and tell me a little more about themselves and how they were feeling about the new school year.

Students can share where they’ve been, their favorite part of school, what they’re looking forward to, and something they’d like to learn about during the year. They also get to tell their teacher how they’d like to say goodbye at the end of the day—with a handshake, a high-five, or a hug.

Once finished, the letters also made a great back-to-school bulletin board display. It was an easy way to share some student work right away while we were still settling into our new classroom.

I loved that their letters gave me another little peek into who they were, but they also gave students a chance to think about the year ahead and tell me what they hoped it might look like.

💚 See the A Letter from My Teacher Writing Activity.

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Summer Memories Beach Ball

Like the Find a Friend activity I shared earlier, this was another super-easy activity I could pull out whenever we had a little time during those first few days of school—before summer already felt like a distant memory!

Students use the beach ball template to share some of their summer memories. They draw a picture and add a label, if they can, for prompts such as their favorite summer activity, a summer visitor, a summer adventure, their favorite summer treat and drink, and their favorite quiet summer activity.

It’s simple, but that’s part of why I liked it. During those first few days, students are adjusting to a new classroom, new routines, new classmates, and a new teacher. This activity gave them something familiar and comfortable to think about while making that transition back to school.

And some of the best parts happened while they were working. As students sat at their work spots filling in their beach balls, conversations naturally started. They’d notice something on a classmate’s beach ball, compare summer experiences, ask questions, and begin learning about one another—all in a very low-risk way.

The finished beach balls also made a colorful and easy back-to-school bulletin board display.

💚 See the Summer Memories Beach Ball Activity

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My Hopes & Dreams for the School Year

I first learned about framing students’ thoughts about the year ahead as “hopes and dreams” during a Responsive Classroom training, and the idea stuck with me. I liked it so much better than focusing only on academic goals because a child’s hopes for the school year can be about so much more than academics.

One student might hope to learn to read or master multiplication, while another might hope to make a new friend or finally learn to tie their shoes. All of those things matter to the child.

This was another pretty easy activity to use during those first days of school. Students could complete it after reading This School Year Will Be the BEST! by Kay Winters, another back-to-school book, or simply on its own. The finished pages also made a great back-to-school bulletin board display.

I also asked parents to complete a Parents’ Hopes & Dreams activity at Back-to-School Night or Meet the Teacher Night, sharing what they hoped and dreamed for their child in the year ahead. And you know what parents wrote more than anything else? They hoped their child would be happy and love school. That always stuck with me.

I saved those parent responses until the end of the school year. Then we’d pull them back out and see which hopes and dreams had come true. We could do the same with the students’ responses throughout the year—revisiting them to see what they’d accomplished, what they were still working toward, or whether their hopes and dreams had changed along the way.

💚 See the My Hopes & Dreams for the School Year Activity

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First Day/Last Day Self-Portraits

This activity is sooooo fun! Oh my gosh, the development you can see in one short school year is incredible!

On the very first day of school, I ask my students to draw a self-portrait. At this point in the year, I often have to remind them to add hair, a nose, eyes, and other details. I also ask them to write their name on their picture—you’ll see why in a minute.

The pictures are typically pretty basic and absolutely adorable.

Then, during the last week of school (because you need a little time to put everything together), I ask students to draw another self-portrait and write their name again. I do NOT show them their first drawing before they create the second one.

Once everyone is finished, I ask each student if they’re comfortable sharing their first-day and last-day portraits with the group. Most say yes, but some say no—and that’s completely fine.

Then comes the best part.

So. Much. Laughter.

Students get to see for themselves just how much they’ve grown over the course of the school year. And it’s not only in their drawings. Putting the two portraits side by side can show incredible growth in fine motor skills, letter formation, and name writing. A child who struggled to write or spell their name at the beginning of the year may be writing it confidently by the end. You might see changes in letter size, formation, and the use of capital and lowercase letters.

And then there are the drawings themselves. Those simple first-day portraits often become much more detailed by the end of the year. The strokes are bolder, colors and features become more intentional, and suddenly there might even be a whole background!

The first time I did this activity, I wasn’t expecting such a huge reaction from my students. But it happened again the next year…and the next. They could actually SEE their own growth, and they thought it was hilarious and amazing at the same time.

As a teacher, I loved seeing all of that development captured in just two pieces of paper.

I. Love. This. Activity. So. Much.

💚 See the First Day/Last Day Self-Portrait Activity

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Making the Most of Those First Days

Those first few days of school can feel a little chaotic, but they are also some of the most important days we have with our students. We are learning about them, they are learning about us and each other, and together we are beginning to figure out what it means to be part of our new classroom community.

These activities became my tried-and-true favorites because they helped make all of that happen. Yes, we were writing, drawing, graphing, sharing, and practicing important skills and routines, but more importantly, we were getting to know one another.

And hopefully, little by little, we were creating a classroom where students could wake up in the morning and feel good about coming to school. 💚