Key takeaways
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Foster a positive, welcoming classroom environment where every student feels comfortable and included.
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Use interactive games, icebreakers, and self reflection activities to encourage fun and friendship.
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Take time to connect with your students before focusing on academics.
Starting a new school is full of fresh beginnings, plenty of excitement, and more than a few jitters for students, parents, and teachers. The best way to help students feel comfortable, build friendships, and settle into the classroom is by intentionally creating a welcoming, supportive community. Of course, establishing school routines and expectations is essential, but starting the school year with excitement and positivity is just as important.
With that in mind, we rounded up a variety of fun first day activities for preschool through 5th grade. These activities encourage creativity, promote teamwork, and can easily be adapted for your unique classroom.
First Day of School Activities for Preschool Through First Grade
First Day of School Books
Sharing first day of school books with your class is a wonderful way to calm jitters and to remind students that everyone feels nervous about starting something new! Ask students to gather together on the floor as you read the book. Some of our favorite picture books for preschoolers-1st graders include: Chrysanthemum, We Don’t Eat Our Classmates, Puppy Bus, and The King of Kindergarten. Giving children time to ask and answer questions about the story helps foster a caring and encouraging classroom environment.
Playdough Trays
Set out playdough for students to explore on the first days of school. Working with playdough is a calming sensory experience that can help alleviate some of those worried feelings and help children settle into the classroom. All you’ll need are several wide, high-lipped plastic trays, colorful playdough, and objects that can be pressed into dough to create a design (be sure the objects aren’t too small for the youngest children.) This activity can be as flexible or as structured as you’d like. Create trays with googly eyes, yarn, or buttons for an “All About Me” theme, encourage kids to make a rainbow, or simply let them play! It’s a perfect activity for arrival or dismissal on those first few days.
Self Portraits
Create self portraits on both the first and last days of school is a wonderful way to measure students’ growth and development in drawing, handwriting, and self-reflection.) Give students either a blank sheet of paper or a self portrait template to guide their work, and encourage them to make their portraits as colorful as they’d like. After students create their end of year portraits, send them home as a special keepsake.
Color By Number
Color by number sheets give students time for creativity to be creative while practicing basic number skills. Plenty of printable options are available online, including many with a back-to-school theme–buses, classrooms, school supplies, and more. Although many students will be familiar with the activity, be sure to model how to match each number with the correct color to make sure they understand.
Friendship Paper Chain
To make friendship paper chains, students each choose a colorful strip of construction paper, write their name, their favorite thing, or the answer to “what makes a good friend” and decorate it using markers, crayons, or stickers. For younger learners, write their names on construction paper ahead of time or encourage them to trace their names before decorating. Link each chain together to form a banner that symbolizes unity and friendship in your classroom community.
First Day of School Activities for Second and Third Grade
Classroom Constitution
Every student should have a voice in the classroom, and creating a classroom agreement allows everyone to share their opinions. Give each student a small pile of sticky notes and encourage them to write a word or phrase that describes what they think makes a good classroom community. Read their thoughts aloud and group similar answers together. Then, brainstorm specific ways to create that environment. For example, if the word is “respectful,” discuss what respect looks like in the classroom, such as listening when others are speaking or holding a door for a classmate. Use large flip chart paper to write up the agreement and invite each student to sign.
Find Someone Who…
This activity is a fun icebreaker that encourages kids to get up and moving while learning about their classmates. Create a bingo-style card with a 5×5 grid. In each square, write a statement that finishes the sentence “Find someone who…” such as, “has a summer birthday,” “can speak another language,” or “loves to read.” Students find someone who matches each square and writes their name. When everyone is finished, discuss the answers as a whole class.
All About Me Bags
“All About Me” bags are a meaningful way for students-and teachers-to share their interests and personalities. On the first day of school, model the activity with your own paper bag filled with items that represent you and share why each is meaningful. Then, each student receives a bag to bring home, fill with their own special objects, and decorate the outside to show off their personality. Presentations can be spread out over a few days and are easily incorporated into other first week of class activities.
Supply Sort Scavenger Hunt
Make organizing supplies fun with a supply sort scavenger hunt. Instead of telling students where everything belongs, students search for labeled stations throughout the classroom. This activity gets kids up and moving, encourages independence, and helps them become familiar with the classroom.
Photos with Homemade Frames
On the first day of school, take individual photos of students holding signs that read “First Day of (Grade).” Print the photos that evening and pass them out the next day for students to create their own picture frames. Each student should get four large popsicle sticks, washable paint, glue, and stickers or buttons to decorate. Have students paint their popsicle sticks and allow them to dry. Then, help them glue the four ends together and attach their photo to the back of the square frame. Encourage them to express their creativity by decorating however they’d like.
First Day of School Activities for 4th and 5th Graders
Silent Lineup
Silent Lineup allows students to practice communicating in different ways while also learning more about their classmates. To play, students line up according to a certain category: height, birthday, or alphabetical order. They must be completely silent and rely on hand movements or other gestures to determine the correct order. This game requires a lot of teamwork, which is perfect for building community during the first few days of school.
Interview a Classmate
Interviewing a classmate is a perfect way for students to practice their speaking and listening skills while developing curiosity about fellow classmates. Create a worksheet with several questions about their favorite subject, sport, movie, or music. Combine these with questions like “what three items would you bring to a deserted island and why?” or “ if you could switch places with anyone, who would it be?” Ideally, pair students with someone they don’t know well in order to foster new connections. After the interviews, have each student stand up and introduce their partner to the class.
Purposeful Online Activities
Back to school time is filled with new routines, expectations, rules, and schedules. Although real life interactions are the best way to get to know your students, it’s ok to incorporate some educational screen time into a busy first week. Discovery Education’s Dreambox Math, Dreambox Reading, Mystery Science, or other online solutions enhance teaching and engage learners with fun, purposeful games and activities.
Two Truths and a Lie
This easy, no prep game is always a huge hit and sure to get a lot of laughs. Each student, either written or verbally, tells the class three facts about themselves. Two are true and one is a lie. This is the perfect welcome activity for the first day of school.
Letters to the Teacher
The only materials required for this activity are a pencil and paper. Invite students to write you a personal letter, emphasizing that it will remain private and won’t be graded. Each student can decide if they’d like a written response or if they simply want you to read what they have to say. Students can share anything they’d like, but write guiding questions on the whiteboard, such as:
- What do you like and dislike about school?
- What subject makes you feel confident/what subject makes you feel nervous?
- What questions do you have about the school year?
- How can I help you when you feel discouraged?
- How do you learn best? (Alone, in partners, with a small group, etc?)
These low-pressure letters encourage students to share more than they might otherwise and helps establish a trusting relationship with you from the very beginning.
