The end of summer signals one of the busiest times for teachers as you set up your classroom, polish your lesson plans, and prepare to welcome students to the new school year. It’s a lot to juggle, and whether you’re feeling overwhelmed or just looking for the perfect icebreakers to get students engaged and motivated, these printable packets are exactly what you need to make the first few weeks back at school as relaxing as a summer vacation. (Well, almost.)
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PreK–K
Get to know your students—and have them get to know each other—with a collection of “All About Me” drawing and early writing activities that encourage students to share their favorite things, activities they enjoy, and more. Two school word dictionaries, “My Book of Back-to-School Words” and its Spanish companion “Mi libro de palabras de regreso a la escuela”, will help students build important classroom vocabulary they can use all year long. The Back to School PreK–K Printable Packet also features a mini-play, alphabet name games, two additional mini-books, early math, and back-to-school stationery. Get it here!
Grades 1–2
Not sure how to get students fully engaged from day one? “The Very First Day of School Song” is a fun read- and sing-along that will get students excited for the new school year, as will the three back-to-school-themed mini-books and two draw-and-write prompts, “The First Day of School” and “Our Classroom”. You’ll learn all about your new students with a “Student Interest Survey”, “A Book About Me” (and its Spanish version, “Un libro sobre mí”), “Class Names Bingo”, and even more activities that encourage students to share their interests and personalities while reinforcing important language and math skills. Check out the Back to School Grades 1–2 Printable Packet to get started.
Grades 3–4
Even older students need to warm back up to the new school year, and “Scavenger Hunt: Classmates, Parts I and II”, and “Scavenger Hunt: School” are the perfect icebreaker activities to introduce (and re-introduce) students to each other and their school. The “All About Me” fill-in poster, a flip book, and a time capsule activity will give students plenty of opportunities to write about themselves and learn about each other. And If the summer break left your students a little rusty with their math, the Back to School Grades 3–4 Printable Packet includes a “Welcome Back Math” hidden picture (revealed by solving addition and subtraction problems), “First Day of School” word problems, and a coordinate graphing page to polish up kids’ math skills and get them ready for another year of learning. Download it now!
With more than 30 pages of curated activities, each of these ready-to-go packets are an easy and constructive way to reinforce whole-class lessons, small-group teaching, independent work, and build excitement for the new school year.
Scholastic Teachables makes it easier for you to engage students with fun and enriching activities that save you time when you need it most. These packs are available for individual purchase through the links above, or are included for subscribers of Scholastic Teachables. Log in or subscribe today for all the teaching tools you need to keep your students engaged in learning all year long.