Collection
Welcome Back!
Give students a warm welcome with these fun getting-to-know-you activities and unit plans.
Unit Plan
The New and Improved "What I Did on My Summer Vacation"
Engage your new students in sharing about themselves, their families, and their summer vacations through a variety of learning activities.
Grades
3–5
Duration
5 WEEKS
Quick links to unit plan resources:
Overview
The start of the new school year is a time to get to know your students, assess their abilities, and determine learning styles, but time is short. These introductory activities will give you insight into your class and their families while providing several baseline samples.
Using children's literature as a guide, students retell the story of a family vacation that leads to a surprise-culminating event at the end. Students will also share background information through their "All About Me Museum" displays, a project that integrates four core social studies strands. As a bonus, you'll be able to create a stunning hallway display just in time for your school's Meet the Teacher Night using student created poems and photographs derived from the third lesson, The Best Part of Me.
Objectives
Students will:
- Put events in sequence from both a short and long time
- Write a descriptive poem that describes their favorite feature of themselves
- Create a multi-dimensional project that focuses on each student's individual history
Supporting Books
Books for The New and Improved "What I Did on My Summer Vacation" Unit
The Relatives Came: A Family Read-Along
Use The Relatives Came to help students think about and discuss their own summer vacations and family customs.
GRADES
3–5
DURATION
5 DAYS
All About Me Museum
Help students adjust to the new school year and get to know their classmates by presenting visual displays of their work.
GRADES
3–5
DURATION
4 WEEKS
The Best Part of Me
Kick off the school year by asking students to identify their favorite parts of themselves through descriptive poetry and a visual display.
GRADES
3–5
DURATION
3 CLASS PERIODS
Featured Book
Featured Activity
GRADES
1–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12
Featured Reproducibles
Appears in This Collection
