14 First Day of School Activities to Beat Back-to-School Jitters

The first day of school is exciting for both you and your students, but students are often nervous. They don’t know what your class will be like or if they’ll get along with the other students.

As a teacher, you know how important it is for your class to form strong bonds. Not only will you have a good year if your students get along, but you’ll also be able to accomplish so much more. A well-bonded class can have in-depth discussions and work well on partner and group projects.

While you can’t force your students to get along, you can orchestrate some first day of school activities to help foster a friendly classroom environment. Below are some awesome back-to-school activities to start the year off right.

First Day of School Activities for Elementary School

Elementary students, especially the younger ones, are often extremely nervous on the first day of school. For many of them, it’s their first time away from their parents. A noisy classroom full of unfamiliar kids can be intimidating.

The best first day of school activities for elementary school kids gets them up and moving. Funny activities are a great way to break the ice and cut through any nerves.

1. Classroom Scavenger Hunt

Kids can be intimidated by a new room. This scavenger hunt lets them explore their new classroom and saves the teacher from having to tell everyone where everything is.

How to Do It

Create a list of items around the class that students would need to find, such as the pencil sharpener, tissues, and the garbage can.
Ask a specific question about each item, such as “what color is it?” to be sure students find it – or if all students have a tablet, have them do a photo scavenger hunt.
You can also do a hunt as a class across the entire school.

2. Human Knot

This game is physically fun and doesn’t require any talking, making it perfect for shy kids.

How to Do It

Put the kids in groups of eight to ten and have each group stand in a tight circle.
Have them take turns reaching in the middle and grabbing the hand of another student.
Students should only grab one hand, otherwise, they may get a knot that can’t be untangled.
Once all the students are joined, they have to untangle themselves.
They aren’t allowed to talk.
Teams can race one another to see who wins.

3. M&Ms Getting to Know You

Kids love a first-day-of-school treat. This game gives kids a yummy method for getting to know each other.

getting to know you M&Ms — by She’s Crafty

How to Do It

Give each student a fun-size packet of M&Ms and sort them into groups of five.
Each group will get a copy of the sheet with color-coded instructions.
You can easily customize a worksheet for your class. You’ll need a getting-to-know-you question for each color.
Students will take turns pulling an M&M from their bag and answering the question associated with their color.
They may then eat the M&M.

4. Class Puzzle

Creating a class puzzle is a fun bonding activity for your class that leaves you with a unique piece of artwork to display.

classroom puzzle — by Top Teaching Tasks

How to Do It

Purchase a blank puzzle or make your own out of poster board. This one from Amazon has a border that you can decorate or let the students create.
Give each student a piece of the blank puzzle.
They can decorate it however they want but should include something that represents them in some way, such as a favorite hobby or something important to them.
The class can put their puzzle together.
You should discuss how each student is unique and how they bring their unique traits together to form a class.
Hang the puzzle in the room as a reminder.

5. Wrinkled Heart

Kids often hurt one another’s feelings, so it’s a good idea to set a tone of kindness on the first day. The Wrinkled Heart activity is excellent for younger kids, as it gives them a tangible example of how damaging bullying can be.

How to Do It

Cut out paper hearts and give one to each student.
Make sure the students understand that the heart represents someone’s feelings.
Students will take turns saying things people can do or say that can hurt someone, such as pushing or making fun of someone’s clothes.
For each comment, students fold their hearts.
Then have students unfold the hearts.
Help them notice that while they can fix their hearts, the wrinkles never completely go away.
Explain that this is how unkind actions affect others.

6. Create a Time Capsule

Time capsules are great because they let students see how far they’ve come and how much things have changed over a while.

back to school time capsule — by TeachStarter

How to Do It

Have the kids fill out a back-to-school questionnaire.
You can ask them to bring in meaningful items and include photos.
Kids will put everything in the capsule.
You can put it up to be opened on the last day of school.

7. Four Corners

Four Corners is a popular game for all ages as it’s a fun spin on the paper surveys kids often take on the first day.

How to Do It

1. You’ll need to create four signs and hang one in each corner of your classroom. The signs should say:

Absolutely
Probably
Probably not
Hard pass

2. You’ll then read off a list of statements. You can get serious or silly with statements like:

Pizza is better than ice cream.
I’ll do all my homework this year.
I learn best when I get to use my hands.

3. Kids will then go to the corner that fits them.

First Day of School Activities for Middle School

The middle school years are often the most awkward age for kids. Kids may be reluctant to participate in class because they don’t want to embarrass themselves in front of the other kids. If you can get your class comfortable with each other as early as possible, you’ll see a lot more participation throughout the year.

8. Find Someone Who…

Middle schoolers may be reluctant to approach kids they don’t know. This simple activity gets them moving around the classroom and encourages them to speak to everyone at least once.

get to know you BINGO - find someone who

How to Do It

Give each student a copy of the “Find Someone Who…” worksheet.
Each sheet has a grid with phrases that finish the “find someone who…” prompt.
Phrases may include items like :
- Has more than 4 siblings
- Plays hockey
- Likes broccoli
- Listens to K-pop
Depending on class size, you can limit the kids to using each student only once or twice.
Students will race to see who can finish first.
They’ll also learn some interesting facts about their classmates in the process.

9. Building a House of Cards

Middle schoolers love a challenge, so why not go with the classic house of cards?

How to Do It

Put your kids in groups and challenge them to build a house of cards.
See who can build the tallest.
After they give their best effort, allow them to do some online research and try again.
This challenge builds communication and teamwork.

10. Class Rules

You’ll have a lot more buy-in with middle school students if you let them help make the rules for your class. You can even tie this to a lesson if you teach social studies. There are several ways to structure this activity so that you guide students toward appropriate rules.

How to Do It

Let kids work in groups and give each group a topic, such as rules for treating others or taking care of the classroom.
You can also let each group work on each topic.
The class can then vote on the best rules.

11. How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Kids dread writing a paragraph about what they did over the summer. It’s a cliché first-day activity, so why not make it fun and different?

How to Do It

Each kid will get a sheet of paper.
Get students to write one sentence about what they did over the summer.
Once everyone has had a chance to write their sentence, everyone will pass their paper to the person next to them.
They’ll read the sentence their neighbor wrote and then add another sentence.
Switch again until everyone has had a chance to add to everyone’s story.
Kids can get as silly as they like with the sentences.
Be sure to let the class share their summer vacation stories.

12. Two Truths and a Lie

Two Truths and a Lie is a classic for a reason. It’s always good for a few laughs and can help to ease first-day jitters while students get to know one another. Let kids write them down in case they get nervous when speaking in front of the class.

How to Do It

Give students a few minutes to secretly write down two things that are true about themselves and one lie.
Remind students that the game works best when they share things that could be true about themselves.
If the group already knows each other well, encourage them to share little-known facts.
Students will take turns sharing their three statements.
The rest of the class will try to guess which one is a lie.

13. Get to Know You Beach Ball

Middle schoolers love the chance to get up and move a little bit. This beach ball toss and answer game let students get to know basic details about each other.

How to Do It

Write questions on a beach ball with a marker.
Get students to stand in a circle and toss the ball to each other.
Each student answers the question that’s closest to their right pointer finger.

You can ask basic questions about likes and dislikes or more serious questions if the group already knows each other well. Or, you can customize the questions:

Make all questions related to your subject
Would-you-rather questions
Answer the question about the person next to you

14. In One, Five, and Ten Years

Middle school is a time for students to start thinking about their futures. Setting goals is important in helping them stay focused.

How to Do It

Students will write three short letters to themselves.
The first should be dated one year from now, the second five years from now, and the third ten years from now.
Each letter should focus on what the students hope to have accomplished in their professional and personal lives by that time.
Keep the letters and return them at the end of the year.

Set the Tone for the Year With First Day of School Activities

These fun first day of school activities are sure to inspire your students and set the tone for a great year. You can choose one to do on the first day or do several of them over the first week of school. It’s important to remember that bonding doesn’t happen in a day.

A mixture of physical and sit-down activities will help calm the first-day jitters while also helping you get to know your students. Once your class has become a community, your year will be off to a great start!