The first day of school is always filled with butterflies and so much enthusiasm… and not just for the students, but for us teachers too. The first day is the chance to set the stage for a successful year.
That’s why it’s important to balance fun activities with introducing routines and procedures that will help this day feel positive for you and the students.
Keep reading to see what the first day of school looks like in my classroom.
MORNING ENTRY
To start each day, including the first day of school, I like to have a welcome morning slide for the kids to see. This is the actual start of one of our routines – morning entry. The expectation is that they come in and look at the board for instructions so I will explain that once we get started!
The class slides (check them out here) will tell students to find their name tags and start decorating them in a way that represents them while we wait for the morning announcements.
In that morning routine, I will take attendance and review basic/housekeeping expectations such as lockers, cellphones, washrooms, how we sit at our desks, participate, etc.
On the morning of the first day of school, I only share the big things that students need to know for success that day or first week. While these expectations will apply beyond the first day of school I want to keep things in check to avoid overwhelming them with information!
ACTIVITY 1: CO-CREATING CLASS EXPECTATIONS/PROMISES
After our morning routine, we move into co-creating class expectations. I frame these as promises to ourselves and others in our classroom.
We read “I Promise” by LeBron James to start. Once students have heard the story of how they can achieve anything if they put in the hard work, we shift to brainstorming their promise ideas. These ideas are about guiding our class for the year.
Once students have had some time to brainstorm, they’ll vote on the top ones. Since it’s the first day of school and students might not feel comfortable sharing out loud I don’t present that as the only option. Instead, I want to create a space where students can add their thoughts but not worry about being put on the spot. This can be done with sticky notes and sharing in groupings.
For example, some students have yellow sticky notes, another set has pink, and so on, the number of colours will depend on the number of students in the class and how large you want to make these first groupings.
The students then get together with their colour group and place their sticky notes on big paper.
From there, that same group can pick their top ideas to share or you can have students wander to see what different groups have shared and then decide which ones would be up for voting.
Then, as a class, we vote on the promises we most want to make. We write them down on poster paper and display them in the classroom.
ACTIVITY 2: GET TO KNOW THE TEACHER
Next, I want to shift the focus to a fun but still skill-based activity so they can get to know me as their teacher.
We play Facts about the Teacher Game, which is all about making assumptions and inferences.
Start by giving groups a piece of paper that has “this or that” type questions about you (e.g., am I a dog/cat person, do I prefer Netflix or Disney, sweet or salty, etc.). Have students in their groups answer these questions based on their first impressions of you.
Take up the answers on a slideshow (include some personal pictures if you’re comfortable!).
REVIEW BREAK EXPECTATIONS (Lunchtime and recess)
This is usually a simple few minutes to share timing, location, and the overall expectations for those shifts in the day.
ACTIVITY 3: BACK TO SCHOOL STATIONS
After this, it’s time to get to my favourite style of activity – stations!
Back-to-school stations are a low-stress, easy way to get kids talking to one another on the first day of school. And they’re also amazing at reviewing a number of expectations without just talking AT students
The first thing you want to do is review some expectations about how stations work.
Sure, students have probably used them before, but this is the first day of school and their memories might be clouded by excitement and butterflies! Review when they would rotate, how they move their bodies around the room, expectations for noise level, and so on.
The stations included in this set for the first day of school are:
A classroom scavenger hunt where students walk around the classroom to locate specific zones and supplies they’ll be using during the year.
A student survey they complete independently so you can get to know them a bit better.
An investigate the teacher activity where students look around the classroom and make three observations and analyze what these may mean about you.
A get-to-know-you game where, in small groups, students discuss silly debate question topics. The goal is a low-pressure and fun icebreaker that doesn’t require students to come up with fun facts about themselves but does allow them to learn about each other!
And finally, a classroom expectations activity where each group will come up with a list of what they think a classroom should look like, sound like, and feel like.
I use stations throughout the year so on the first day of school I want students to get a feel for how they work.
For more about how I use stations in guided reading rotations later in the school year as part of students’ regular routines, check out this post.
ACTIVITY 4: CUE CARD STEM CHALLENGE
After students have had some time to complete the stations, shift focus to another group activity with a STEM focus and a chance to be creative and collaborative.
Each group gets a stack of index cards. For this, you might change up the groups from stations or earlier activities so students have a chance to spend time with a variety of people in the classroom.
The goal is to build the tallest tower (think card-stacking).
BUT there is one catch…
Before they stack a card, they must find something the group members ALL have in common and write it on the card. Avoid physical traits or characteristics (e.g., we all have eyes…) since these are too easy! Think favourite foods, TV shows, subjects, whether they have siblings, or anything else that goes beyond the basics! Everyone in the group must agree on the statement before it’s stacked.
ACTIVITY 5: ALL ABOUT ME ACTIVITY
The last activity we do on the first day of school is focused on art and creativity. Students will get a printout of a Polaroid camera and a Polaroid (1 or many, depending on how you choose to do the project). They fill them in with personality traits and/or things they love.
This will become our first personalized display of the year. It can be presented or shared with the class and then put up as a bulletin board for everyone to be celebrated.
Make sure to get your no-cutting required All About Me First Day of School Set.
Check out these posts to help with the first day of school and beyond:
