Collection
Welcome Back!
Ideas and getting-to-know-you activities for making students feel welcome and comfortable in their new learning environment.
- Grades: PreK–K, 1–2, 3–5, 6–8
Here are fun back-to-school ideas and getting-to-know-you activities to help your students get ready for a successful school year. Another great back-to-school idea is to have your students write reviews of their summer reading on Share What You're Reading.
Included Here:
- Articles (5)
- Lesson Plans (5)
- Unit Plans (2)
Articles
Fabulous First-Day Ideas
Primary- and intermediate-level teachers offer suggestions for first-day-of-school lesson planning.
Welcome to the First Day of School!
Try some of these getting-to-know-you activities, from new school year resolutions to welcome bags and more.
Top 5 Ways to Welcome Students Back to School
Make your incoming students feel at home through icebreakers and get-to-know-you activities.
Free Back-to-School Printables
New teachers will love saving time with these ready-to-print resources. These free classroom management reproducibles, student worksheets, and activities will help you get organized for the school year.
Make Class T-Shirts to Start the Year
Mentor teacher Andrea Spillett shares her best ideas for welcoming students to kindergarten with a T-shirt-making activity.
Lesson Plans
Getting to Know You
With this beginning-of-the-year icebreaker activity, new teachers help students get to know each other through alliterative descriptors.
Creating a Classroom Constitution
Students discuss the rules they have at home, in the community, and at school, before developing a class constitution.
The Relatives Came: A Family Read-Along
This writing prompt idea gets students to talk about themselves, their families, and their summer vacations through narrative writing.
Hey Teachers! Get to Know Me!
Kick-start the new school year with this lesson plan designed to help you get to know your students while they get to know each other.
Name That Child
This get-to-know-you activity requires children to use their language and observation skills.
Unit Plans
Unit Plan: A Beary Good Beginning
Tie in a fun and memorable bear theme when introducing your students to the classroom rules using the 3 lessons from this unit plan.
Unit Plan: Famous First Graders
In this unit, which includes four lessons, students interview each other and make a short film with the goal of foster teamwork and self esteem.
- Everything You Need:
- Subjects:Reading, Early Learning, Character and Values, Teacher Tips and Strategies
