Back to School Time

Engaging Back-to-School Activities to Connect with Your Students

Back-to-school time is filled with excitement and anticipation for both students and teachers. It's a fresh start, an opportunity to build new connections, and a way to set the tone for a successful academic year. One way to kick off the school year is to help students get to know you as their teacher and for you to get to know about them while keeping students engaged from the moment they step into your classroom. 

Welcome Students with a Personalized Word Search

Create a welcoming classroom environment by having a personalized word search about YOU, their teacher, waiting on their desks. This simple activity fosters an immediate connection and gives students a familiar task to settle into as they arrive. Here's how to do it:

1. Write a Short Paragraph about Yourself: Introduce yourself and your expectations for the coming school year. Keep it engaging and relatable by including your hobbies, favorite subjects, and what you are looking forward to this year.
2. Underline Keywords: Highlight important words from your paragraph that you want your students to remember, such as your name, subjects, and hobbies.
3. Create a Word Search: Use an online word search tool, such as Discovery Education's FREE Puzzlemaker, to turn your keywords into a fun word search puzzle. 
4. Combine the Puzzle with Your Paragraph: Once the word search is generated, copy and paste it into a document, placing it above your introductory paragraph. You can also print the puzzle and attach it to the paragraph.

This activity can easily be adapted for different grade levels by adjusting the length of the paragraph and the complexity of the words used. You can also customize the size of the word search grid.

Encourage Students to Create Their Own Word Search

To further engage your students, have them create paragraphs about themselves or their summer vacations and then generate their own word searches. The completed word searches make a great classroom display for the beginning of the year!

Classroom Word Search Exchange

Students can place their word search into a plastic sleeve and switch with a partner. Using a dry-erase marker, students can learn about their classmates while completing a word search!

Icebreaker Activity: Two Truths and a Fib

Have you ever used Two Truths and a Fib? This activity can be used as a get-to-know-you activity at the beginning of the year to help students learn some things about you.

1. Prepare Your Statements: Write down two truths and one fib about yourself. Picking the not-so-obvious truths makes for an interesting introduction. 
2. Share with your Students: Present your statements to the class and have students guess which one is the fib. What a fun way for students to learn interesting facts about their teacher. 
3. Students Create Their Own: After guessing, have students create their own Two Truths and a Fib to share with their classmates. This beginning-of-the-year activity helps students discover common interests with their classmates.
   

Click on the image below to grab the FREEBIE.

This activity can also be used later in the year during a novel or content area study, allowing students to reflect on characters or historical figures.

Setting the Stage

These back-to-school activities are not only fun and engaging but also serve as a way for students to connect with you and their classmates. Building these connections from the start lays the foundation for a positive and meaningful school year.

Wishing you all a fantastic start to the new school year!