First Week of School Activities
Before we know it, the first week of school will be upon us! Will you be ready? This blog post will highlight 8 must-do first week of school activities that you can use with your middle school students!
Activities for First Week of School
One of the most important things you can do at the start of a school year is have clear expectations and procedures. How do you want your students to enter your classroom? What are the first things they should do when class starts? Do you have a procedure for when a student is absent or has missing work? What is your device policy? There is certainly a lot to think about! Taking some extra time to brainstorm these procedures and display some visuals in your classroom can make a world of difference, and not having these ready when I first started teaching was one of my biggest regrets! To see examples of the types of procedures I have used, check out our classroom procedures visuals.
Distributing a class syllabus is also a must on the first day of class, and it is also a great handout to give to parents at open house! You can keep your syllabus simple, but be sure to include your contact information, course description, materials, grading policy, expectations, consequences, and a spot for students and parents to sign, if desired! If you’d like to check out our editable syllabus templates, take a look at them here.
Getting to know your students is also a priority during the first week of school, because it can help create a more positive classroom community and build trust with your students. Honestly, we have found it beneficial to spend about 3-4 days dedicated to building community, rather than rushing into course content. A fun game that I like to play on Friday of the first week of school is a variation on Two Truths and a Lie, teacher edition! I start by sharing a total of 10 truths and 10 lies about myself, and the students take turns guessing what is true and what is a lie. Here is the template that I used for this.
Then, I have students come up with three statements about themselves: two truths and one lie. We go around the room and give students a chance to share more about themselves (if they’d like to). You can see that template here.
A get to know you activity that you might not have heard of is the “What’s In My Backpack?” Collage Activity. In this activity, the backpack serves as a metaphor for student identity, and students must identify what they carry with them throughout their lives. This might pertain to their background, their interests, their heritage, their goals, and more! It is a creative assignment for Google Drive that you can learn more about here.
One additional get to know you activity is a student inventory. This is a must to get to know more about your students, along with their interests and learning preferences. We have created a Google Form version that is editable and allows you to go paperless, which makes it easier to refer back to the results of your students! Click here to get a copy of this student inventory.
A bonus teaching idea that will save you a lot of time is using classroom jobs! Many students love to take on a leadership role, and by assigning classroom jobs, you are able to reduce your workload while also helping interested students develop meaningful skills. Here is how we have chosen to use classroom jobs.
Lesson Plans for First Week of School
In addition to all of the activities described above, an often overlooked lesson is teaching your students how to write emails. The ability to write a professional email is arguably one of the most important skills students learn, especially in times of remote or blended learning, but it is rarely taught. However, that doesn’t need to be the case! Here is a walkthrough about how we teach email etiquette and the practice activities we use.
In case you are wondering how all of these different pieces fit together, you are in luck! We have a FREE resource in our TPT store that breaks down these activities, among others, for your first week of school! It also includes an editable Google Slideshow, which can help you and your students stay organized! Get your freebie here.
Of course, while this post has mentioned a lot of different activities to use with your students, the classroom environment matters as well. I love to have a variety of inspirational quotes hung up around my classroom! Here is a set of 20 inspirational posters featuring some quotes that help students be courageous, kind, and develop a growth mindset!
First Week of School Activities for Middle School
If the activities covered in this blog post seem like a good fit for your classroom, consider checking out our bundle of First Week of School Activities for Middle School Students, which contains all 8 of them (plus 2 additional resources)! All of the activities are compatible with Google Drive or even designed exclusively for Google Drive, which makes them a great option no matter what your school year looks like this year! Even better, if you choose to purchase the bundle, you will save 30%! Click here to check it out!
If you want to improve your classroom organization this year, check out this blog post to learn about the 13 types of classroom forms that are must-haves for all middle school teachers!
Are you looking for some new teaching ideas to engage your students in your social studies class? If so, you’ll love our FREE guide: 5 Creative Projects to Ignite Student Engagement in Your Social Studies Class. These activities have both printable and digital options and can work for any social studies subject!
