10 Things to Do in the First Week of School

From classroom setup to lesson planning and room decor, the first week of school is a busy one!

So let me help make life easier for you!

I’ve put together a list of 10 things to do in the first week of school including ready-to-go resources you can use right away.

You’ll love these activities because they’ll introduce your students to you, your classroom, the school, and each other!

Activities for the first week of school — Fun lesson ideas for the first week of school!

1. Start with an “on the desk” activity each day

Set up an easy activity that your kids can do independently to start the day. Many kids come in late or need help finding their classrooms so it’s important to expect arrivals at different times the first few days. I’ve created a set of Back to School printables that are perfect for this, including secret code messages, a crossword, word scrambles, and more! Find the resource here.

2. A collaborative classroom display piece: Classroom Puzzle

Set kids up with an activity they can do when they finish their work so that when it’s all done, it can become a stunning classroom display! One example is a class puzzle where each student gets a puzzle piece to personalize with their name and to color. Then you assemble the whole thing and make it say something like, “In Ms. Beltran’s class, we all fit in!”

Can you believe I did this activity for YEARS and this is the only horrible photo I can find? This was back when phone cameras were a very new thing.

3. Build expectations for behavior together

Making expectations clear to your kids is such an important step in setting up your class for a wonderful year. A great way to do this is to build expectations together! You can ask students to visualize what a great learning environment looks like, feels like, sounds like, etc., and brainstorm a list of expectations to achieve a classroom climate that everyone can be happy in!

Collaboratively building classroom expectations — A great way to collaboratively build classroom expectations with your kids!

4. Take a classroom tour

A new classroom can feel tricky for some kids so it’s a great idea to help them feel familiar as quickly as possible. So, why not tour the classroom in a creative way by doing a Classroom Scavenger Hunt? Give your kids a chart to find and mark off or color each item as they find it around the room.

Classroom Scavenger Hunt — A fun, visual way to tour the classroom with your
kids in the first week of school!

5. Reading survey

Learning what your students love to read is a great way to get to know them! You can also include types of books, themes, and authors they love in your future lessons. Reading surveys are one way to collect this info from your kids – and luckily, here’s a free one!

A free reading survey ready to download!

6. All About Me

Kids love to share about themselves! A simple All About Me worksheet is perfect for recording what kids are good at, what they like learning about, who is in their family, their favorite snack, and more. When they’ve finished, kids can share with a partner to learn more about each other or put them on display for all to see!

7. School tour scavenger hunt

Kids of all ages can do with a refresher of where things are in the school at the start of the year! And a School Scavenger Hunt is a fun way to do it. Students can work in teams or alone to find and mark off each place on the scavenger hunt list. Places to focus on can include parent pick-up spots, nurse’s offices, fire drill locations, and more.

8. Have them apply for Classroom Jobs

Classroom jobs are so great for teaching kids about responsibility and community! Asking your students to apply for their jobs is a creative way to get kids to think about their interests and strengths and how they can contribute to making the classroom a great place to be. It also replicates this process in the real world – another great learning experience!

Classroom Job Applications — Everything you need to set up a job application process in your classroom!

9. Read aloud a great back to school book

Kids of all ages love being read to! So picking the perfect back to school book for the first week can help reinforce routines, or show kids it’s okay to have mixed feelings about starting something new. I’ve compiled a great list of mentor texts, including back to school books, that you can download for free here.

10. Get kids to write about themselves: All About Me

Perfect as an extension to an All About Me worksheet, or to challenge older kids, asking students to write about themselves can help you get to know them and build positive relationships from the get-go!

A creative way to do this is an All About Me Flipbook where kids imagine they are different objects and describe what they’d be and why. Some fun ideas include what color crayon they’d be, what song, snack, animal, or sport they’d be! Kids will love sharing about themselves in this funny way!