Facing History and Ourselves
What's In a Name?
Rumpelstiltskin understood the power of names. The second lesson in the First Days of School series focuses on building community by recognizing the importance of the relationships among names, identities, and cultures. Learners engage...
Curated OER
First Day Lesson Plan
Students participate in a first day icebreaker activity. For this icebreaker lesson, students are paired up and film their partner doing something unique. Students continue to film eachother while conducting a short interview.
Curated OER
Board Game: Race to 100
Who can get to 100 first?! It may be in the hands of chance, but either way kids will have to practice counting and adding along the way. Partners take turns rolling two dice and moving their game pieces that many spaces until one pupils...
Curriculum Corner
Classroom Hunt
Make connections with the biggest advocates for the children in your class—their parents! A set of classroom tools includes parent communication forms, opportunities for parents to volunteer, and a page for them to help you get to know...
Curriculum Corner
All about Me T-Shirt
Encourage learners to wear their interests on their sleeves, literally. Class members decorate a blank t-shirt with personal information, including their hobbies, favorite part of school, and details about their family and self.
Stories on the Way
The Temptation of Jesus
Temptation is the focus of this lesson plan, which was designed for the first week of Lent as an introduction to the tradition of Lenten fast. It includes reading of biblical scripture, hands-on activities where learners design cards...
ThoughtCo
Back to School Means...(Concept Web)
Going back to school doesn't have to be scary! Brainstorm what Back to School means with a concept web graphic organizer.
Center for Civic Education
Constitution Day Rap
Engage your class while learning about the US Constitution with this fun primary grade social studies instructional activity. After viewing a picture of the US Constitution, young learners piece together a US flag...
Project Tahoe
Does the Use of Torture on Enemy Combatants Violate the 8th Amendment?
Tackle ethics in your high school history classes with a Socratic seminar about torture as a means for obtaining information. The plan allows for pupils to take the reins during the seminar. On the first day, class members read several...
Peace Corps
Starting Off the Day (and School Year) in Ukraine
Students compare the first day of school in Ukraine with the first day of school in the United States, including the challenges students and teachers both face in each country. They respond in class, in their journals, to the following...
Curated OER
Planning and Drafting a Personal Narrative
Bring your learners together to write a class narrative about the first day of school. Start off by teaching them about sequence with a quick oral activity. Then, work together to fill out a story map. Finally, compose the class...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Froggy Goes to School (London)
Just like your budding readers may have felt, Froggy is nervous on his first day of school. Use Johnathan London's book Froggy Goes to School to practice vocabulary in context. Prior to reading the story aloud, pre-teach the new words...
Baylor College
Needs of Plants
What better way to learn about plant life than by creating a class garden? Young botanists start with a brief discussion about radishes before planting seeds and watching them grow. To determine the importance of water,...
Curated OER
Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the Most Meaningful Way
Lead your class on a journey into the Deep South so that they understand the true meaning of what inspired this holiday.
Curated OER
First Day Photo Frame
In this first day of school frame worksheet, students showcase photos of themselves as they decorate and cut out the 3 by 5 frame template to be used to attach their own photo to.
Curated OER
St. Patrick's Day Old School Limerick Writing
Bring in Poetry Month a little early with a little St. Patrick's Day rhythm and rhyme.
Curated OER
Preparation Tips for the New School Year
A back-to-basics review to prepare you for a smooth and memorable first day of school.
Curated OER
First Day Protocol
While this is not really a step by step lesson, it's a fabulous idea to do a presentation instead of the usual drone lecture on the first day. This project takes a little work each year to take digital pictures throughout the year to use...
Education.com
Back-to-School Letter
Treasure your summer memories with a letter to yourself, ten months in the future. Think about the fun and memorable things you did this summer, as well as the things you want to accomplish during this school year, and write a letter...
Curriculum Corner
All About Me
Get to know the kids in your class with a worksheet that features pictures and personal information. Pictures include one of the scholar and one of their family. Personal information details likes, talents, and hopes.
Columbus City Schools
Rocking the Cycle!
Time to rock out! Discover the "life" cycle of the average rock using an illustrative stations lab and stimulating pairs game. Roll the dice to determine your fate: will it be melting in magma or chilling out to form igneous rock? The...
US Department of Education
A Close Reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...
Curated OER
1,2,3 Art (First Day of School)
Learners participate in a first day of school survey. In this art activity, students answer three questions about art class, such as one thing they don't like about art class and their goals for art this coming year.
Good Karma Applications, Inc
First Then Visual Schedule
Here is an app especially designed for care providers of children with autism or other developmental delays that will help them build customized picture schedules to help support the behavioral needs of their students.