What back to school resources are must-haves for starting the school year?
Honestly, I think every teacher would have a different answer to this question, but below are my must-have resources for the beginning of the school year!
Sometimes after a long summer break, I find myself wondering “What is it that I do here again?”
A prep and procedures checklist is so helpful for remembering the things you need to prep and the procedures you want to teach the first few weeks of school.
Something I could not live without at the start of the school year are routines and procedures slides.
There is nothing better than having your expectations ready to review with your students each year.
Having pre-filled routines and procedures slides come in handy every school year and anytime your students need a reminder of expectations throughout the year.
Parent and student surveys are perfect for gathering information about your students, their personalities, interests, parent/guardian contact information, and more!
You can send surveys home in student folders at the beginning of the school year OR you can have surveys ready to be filled out at your “Meet the Teacher” night.
Surveys are such a useful tool for building connections with your students and their families from the very start of the year.
There are so many options for morning work, but you want to make sure that anything you choose for that first morning of the school year can be done INDEPENDENTLY!
Here are some fun ideas that you can use with your first graders on that first morning:
- Coloring
- Making their names with play dough
- Tracing letters and writing some letters on their own
- Free choice building with play dough
My students color in a first day mini book when they come in to the classroom. Later in the day, we complete the sentences as a whole class activity.
Students love having a cute book that they made to take home and share with their families!
During the first few weeks of school, the focus in early grades is getting familiar with routines and procedures, but it is also an excellent time to learn about their abilities.
You will want to provide students with some simple review activities. These simple review activities make great informal assessments and will help guide your lesson planning in the weeks to come.
Some ideas for first week activities (in the first grade classroom) are self-portraits, name writing, tracing and writing the alphabet, counting and writing numbers, identifying 2D shapes, and writing beginning sounds.
If you are interested in any of the resources in this blog post, you can find the links below:
Prep and Procedures Checklist FREEBIE
Routines and Procedures Slides
One Response
Thanks for the great article!