Now that summer is behind us, all the attention is toward the first day of school. Kids, especially first graders, are probably feeling them most excited and a little anxious. Everyone is! Regardless of how well we prepare ourselves, first impressions are an unforgettable experience that puts pressure on both teachers and students. To shake things off and start on the right foot, we’ve prepared some ice-breakers and other fun first-day-of-school activities for first-grade students.
First day of school activities are important because they help set a positive atmosphere, stimulate interactions, and get students talking to each other. In just a few minutes, you’ll feel the tension leaving the classroom, allowing students to develop connections, and feel confident and safe in the new environment.
What activities are best for first graders? You’ll want something simple and easy! Keep reading to check out our suggestions.
First Day of School Activities for First Graders
When kids enter the classroom, greet them with a big smile. Say a few welcoming words to make them feel more relaxed. After this, ask them (one by one) to stand up, say their name out loud and a few other words about themselves, while the others greet them.
Once the introductions are out the way, you can choose some of the following activities to break the ice and set the stage for an awesome first day of school. However, keep in mind that you don’t have to do all of the activities on the first day – choose the one(s) you think your students will like the most, and leave some for the rest of the week.
Finding a New Friend
One frequent source of anxiety for young children is new environments and unfamiliar people. Therefore, the sooner the kids get to know each other, the sooner they’ll feel the classroom is their own safe space. This can be accomplished with the “Find a new friend” activity.
Give students name tags and ask them to list three words that best describe them or three things they like. Then, ask them to find another student with the same or similar words under their name tag. Encourage them to share why they listed that word and ask the other student to share their experience as well. But, they don’t need to focus on one-on-one conversations. If they see two students already talking, they should feel free to join in – the more the merrier.
With this activity, students will quickly see that the others share the same thoughts, worries, and insecurities, as well as the same wishes, interests, and joys as them.
Student Surveys
As a teacher, chances are you already have a lot of information about each of the students. In our article, “The Ultimate Back-to-School Checklist for Teachers”, we explained why that’s an important practice.
However, gathering information first-hand, from the students themselves, serves a completely different purpose, helping you in your daily decisions such as which activities would be most interesting and beneficial to the group as a whole.
This type of survey is best done in the first week of school, and these are some of the questions typically included:
- What are some of the things you love doing?
- What’s your favorite color?
- What subject are you most excited about?
- What’s your favorite food?
- Do you have pets? Do you love animals?
- What’s your favorite cartoon?
- What’s your favorite book? Why?
“Would You Rather” Questions
The famous party game “Would you rather?” is actually a great ice-breaker, useful team-building activity, and one of the best conversation starters. We love it because you can easily adjust it to any subject, topic, or grade level by tailoring the questions. For instance, as a first-day-of-school activity for first graders, you can ask them the following questions:
- Would you rather listen to a story or watch a movie?
- Would you rather work in groups or alone?
- Would you rather play a game or solve puzzles?
- Would you rather take a field trip in nature or in a museum?
- Would you rather spend the day drawing/painting, playing sports, or solving riddles?
Depending on the class that you teach, you can make the questions more relatable, and depending on the children’s capabilities, you can make the questions easier or harder (more complex dilemmas) to make sure they feel the activity is an interesting challenge.
To do the activity, ask the question out loud and instruct students to answer by raising their hand on your cue.
Decorating the Classroom
There’s no better way to make students feel at home than giving them the chance to contribute to how the classroom is set up. Of course, the physical layout should be decided beforehand, but other details such as where to hang the posters, which posters to hang, how to organize the items in the workstation, or what to paint on the windows, are all decisions that students can also take an active part in.
Giving them a little control goes a long way as they’ll feel like they’ve made the classroom their own personal space where learning takes place.
Two Truths and a Lie
Similar to “Would You Rather?,” “Two Truths and a Lie” is a fun game that will bring a lot of laughs on kids’ faces, but more importantly, it will bring them closer and correct a lot of wrong assumptions as a result of the first impressions.
To play the game, ask each student to think of three sentences that relate to them out of which one is a lie and two are true. Give them an example, so they have a better idea of what’s expected of them. For instance, they might say “I’m an only child. I love dogs. I play the piano.” Other students need to guess which sentence is a lie.
The students with the most correct guesses win the game, becoming the social bees of the class, meaning they got to know the others the most!
Practicing Common Area Procedures
Every school has specific rules and regulations that all students must follow. On top of that, every classroom has additional rules and procedures that students need to respect. For first graders, all of these procedures and regulations might be a bit overwhelming and learning will be a process that requires patience. However, to help them out, you can always practice the procedures together as a group.
A good example would be asking students whether they remember the regulations for using the schools’ library. Go over the procedures step-by-step and then take students to the school’s library to demonstrate how they can ask for books they want to loan.
Writing Anonymous Letters
We all know that feeling when we want to say something or share our opinion but we don’t because we’re afraid of what people will think – a phenomenon that’s very prevalent among students, especially first graders. But, social anxiety is crippling both for the students and the teacher because the feedback is unrealistic and biased, leading to wrong conclusions and unfounded decisions.
This is why we love the anonymous letter activity. Not only does it provide valuable feedback to the teacher, but it also shows students that the opinions they were scared to say out loud are shared among the majority of students.
To do the activity in the classroom, ask students to write down how they feel toward the start of the new school year, what are their first impressions, what they like and dislike (needs to be improved or changed). Then, ask them to fold the piece of paper and put it in a bowl with all the others. After this, draw the papers and read each of them out loud so everyone can hear.
We suggest doing this activity at the end of the first week of school so that kids have experienced a little bit more of the lecture structure and requirements.
Completing a Personal Table of Interests
Give students a white piece of paper and ask them to draw a table with empty squares where they’ll write (or draw a symbol of) their favorite activities, items, people, and things to do in general. Alternatively, you can give them a printable of an empty table that they can simply fill out. This is their personal table of interests.
Next, gather all the finished tables and sort them out. Match the students who have most in common (it can be groups of more than two students) and ask them to think of school or extracurricular activities that the school can offer to students as a way for them to pursue their interest and gain valuable skills. A good example of this would be grouping students who’ve written that they enjoy reading comic books. And, just like a book club, you can help these students to organize and encourage each other in doing the things they love. Another example is grouping students who love playing a particular sport or are interested in the same topic (chess, a musical instrument, writing, etc).
Keep in mind that if a student stands alone in their interest, you can always find them a match from other classrooms, or even other grades. Seeing that there are other students in the school who share their interest is incredibly beneficial for their academic, cognitive, and social development.
Build a Birthday Board
Another great one on our first day of school activities list is the building a birthday board activity. Okay, this is more of a classroom tradition than a one-time activity, but it’s most students’ favorite, which is why we decided to include it. Plus, it is perfect for first graders as they’ll have the chance to carry it on as they grade up.
The idea is to ask students for their birthdays and together with them create a calendar illustrating the months of the year as boxes in which you’ll write the day and name of the student’s birthday. Then, hand the calendar on the wall so everyone is reminded of a classmate’s birthday coming up.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for a student to have a birthday on the 1st of September or during the first week. Think of a simple and affordable way to celebrate, which might also turn into a classroom tradition.
Take a Group Photo
Finally, our last recommendation as a first-day-of-school activity is taking a group picture. It’s an incredibly wholesome experience for kids to have photos with their classmates the first day they met and one the last day before they finish school. Those are the memories that will stay with them forever and make them appreciate the time spent in school. Plus, you can frame and hand the group photo in the classroom. Then, each year on the 1st of September make another one and add it below the previous one. Kids will have a nice timeline that reminds them of how much they’ve changed each year.
Before You Go
The first day of school is very important. Not only because kids form first impressions about others, which last, but because they also form opinions and attitudes toward school in general. Make sure you give off a friendly, kind, and fair vibe, but not without a firm attitude that inspires respect and discipline. It’s not an easy job to find the right balance, but that’s why we’re here to help.
Aside from the September topics, such as the first day of school activities article, we’ve prepared a couple of others including an ultimate checklist for teachers before the start of the year, back-to-school crafts, and back-to-school activities for kids of all ages. Follow the links or visit our blog to read more.
When it comes to the rest of the year, we support both teachers and homeschooling parents with our high-quality interactive worksheets packs, which you can find on our main website. Simply choose a subject or topic, and see all of our offers. Alternatively, you can subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with everything.
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