First week of school activities can make all the difference in how the rest of your new school year goes. After teaching first grade for 35 years, I learned that the beginning of the school year isn't the time to jump right into academics. Instead, it's a great opportunity to slow down, help your new students feel comfortable, teach important classroom routines, and begin building a strong classroom community.
Giving students a soft start pays off for the rest of the year. During those first few days of school, your main goals should be helping students make new friends, learn your classroom expectations, and practice the important skills they'll use every single day.
If you're looking for first week of first grade ideas, these are the exact lesson plans, craft activities, worksheets, and read alouds I used year after year. They're simple, engaging, and a fun way to ease students into school while creating a positive classroom environment.
Whether you're a veteran teacher or one of the many new teachers preparing for your first time in first grade, I hope these first week o school activities help you plan an amazing first week!
Why I Keep The First Week Simple
One of the best ways to start the school year is by remembering that your students are learning much more than reading and math. They're learning how to be part of an entire class, how to follow classroom rules, how to work in small groups, and how to build friendships with their new classmates.
I always planned plenty of fun activities and movement breaks throughout the day. Students need to build their stamina after summer break, and sitting for long periods is difficult for many first graders.
Instead of spending much time on academics during the first weeks of school, focus on helping students develop independence, confidence, and a positive attitude toward learning. Those early routines become the foundation for everything else you do throughout the year. And at the end of the day, you want your 1st grade students to have a great time and be excited to be a part of your class.
First Week Of School Activities
Day 1 – First Day Jitters
It's good to have a “soft start” on the very first day. Spend time getting to know each other, learning simple classroom routines, and talking about how everyone feels about starting school.
One of my favorite books for your first week o school activities is First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg. It's such a great book because students spend the entire story thinking it's a child who's nervous about school. The surprise ending always gets a laugh when they discover it's actually the teacher! And at the end of the day, you want your 1st grade students to have a great time and be excited to be a part of your class.
After reading the story, you can talk about feelings and create a simple class graph showing whether your students are excited, nervous, happy, or a little bit of everything. It's a great activity that helps students realize they're not alone.
Next, make some Jitter Juice to wash away their nerves and worries. This was always one of my students' favorite activities. We would meet around a table and the kids helped me mix the special jitter juice ingredients. You can make your own recipe – we just mixed together equal parts of Sprite and Hawaiian Punch. I always go the green punch and then our secret ingredient were the “anti jitter bugs” ( which were really just little candy sprinkles!)
Finally, you can have students complete a simple writing page about how they're feeling and make an adorable Jitter Juice craft. The craft was simple with only 3 pieces but it gave me the opportunity to see which students could hold and cut with scissors – an important skill! These first week of school activities are the perfect way to help students feel excited instead of nervous..
Day 2 – Stick And Stone Friendship Activities
The second day of school is all about building friendships. Some students already know one another from preschool or daycare, while others are meeting everyone for the first time. And so many kids come to school worried they won't have anyone to play with or eat lunch with. These friendship activities for the first week of school make sure that every child leaves school knowing they have a friend.
Begin this lesson by reading the book Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry. It's one of my favorite read alouds for teaching kindness and friendship. The story follows two friends through challenges and shows what it means to be a good friend.
After reading, pair students with someone new using numbered sticks and stones. This gives everyone a chance to work with someone they might not normally choose.
Next, the kids can rotate through friendship stations around the room. These activities include:
- Painting kindness rocks
- Friendship memory games
- Friendship bracelets
- Find-a-Friend activities
The kindness rocks are always a favorite. Later in the day we hide them around the playground for other classes to discover. It's such a fun way to spread kindness throughout the school.
Finish the day by making Friendship Soup. As you add each ingredient, talk about the qualities that make a strong classroom family using the friendship soup recipe and when the soup is read you'll have spelled the word FRIENDS!
By the end of the lesson, your students will understand that every person contributes something special to your classroom community. It's one of my favorite first week of school activities, and many students still remembered it at the end of the year.
Day 3 – David Goes To School
By day three, students are beginning to settle into their routines, making it the perfect opportunity to introduce your classroom rules.
I always start with David Goes to School by David Shannon. If you've never read the David books, you're in for a treat! David is a lovable little boy who makes plenty of poor choices, making this one of the best picture books for talking about classroom behavior during your first week of school activities.
After reading, you can discuss David's choices and decide which behaviors belong in your classroom and which ones don't.
Work together to create a “Class No-No's” anchor chart using interactive writing. Students can help write the word NO while you finish the rest of the sentence. Once you're finished, the kids can make a cute David craft that becomes an adorable bulletin board display.
Later, I create our permanent classroom rules using positive language.
Our rules were simple:
- Listen when someone is speaking.
- Cooperate with your teacher and classmates.
- Share with others.
- Act responsibly.
- Be patient and wait your turn.
I always numbered each rule and wrote it in a different color. If a student was struggling with behavior I could just say, “Remember Rule Number One,” or “Remember the Blue Rule.”
It's a small change, but it's one of the best ways I've found to reinforce expectations all year long.
We also did a pocket chart activity where we sorted things we should and should not do in school.
Day 4 – School Bus Safety
If many of your students ride the bus, bus safety is another topic to cover during your first week of school activities.
I loved reading Ten Rules You Absolutely Must Not Break If You Want To Survive The School Bus by John Grandits. It's a funny story about a little boy who's nervous about riding the bus for the first time.
There are also several excellent school bus safety videos on YouTube that work well with elementary students.
Day 5 – Pete The Cat Rocking In My School Shoes
We worked together to create a shared writing chart called “What Can You Do In Your New School Shoes?”
Students helped write words while I guided them through stretching sounds and forming letters correctly.
Can they hear beginning sounds?
Can they stretch words?
Can they form letters?
Can they hold a pencil correctly?
These observations can help you begin planning instruction across all subject areas for the following week.
Looking for more back to school ideas? Check out this post:
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, I'm Molly, the creative mind behind Firstieland. With over 35 years of experience in early childhood education, I'm your primary support for resources that will save you time and make learning feel like play. Learn more about my mission for Firstieland here.
I love your flip journals 🙂 Do you know what brand they are??
Thanks1. We order the journals from Really Good Stuff – Here's a link: http://bit.ly/2wDgJRp