What's in my Back to School Box?

It is hard to believe school is winding down here in Ontario. One thing I highly recommend doing before school wraps up is always to set aside some of your favourite activities for back to school so you can check something off your list so that back to school stress is minimal. I love keeping my Back to School Box packed full of engaging, fun activities that build community, set routines & set the year off on the right foot. Here are some things I like to have prepped and ready to go for a stress-free (ish) back to school season.

1. Left Brain vs. Right Brain activity from TreeTop Teaching. This is a fun one to do for students to understand themselves a little better but also recognize the unique differences in how our brains work

2. LINKED - my back to school icebreaker/community builder that was designed to acknowledge difference while finding connection

3. My Back to School Conversation Guide for parents. I send this to parents ahead of school to help guide conversation around home before the new year starts. It comes with open ended prompts! This one is a freebie.

4. THE FIRST FIVE: ready to teach slides and activities for the first week back. Why? So you can soak up the sun

5. Colouring Sheet from Teaching with a Point. I usually have a colouring sheet on their desks for when they first walk in

6. "Biographony" - I came up with this one this fall. It is a typed up biography of my life with a few little lies in it....Students read and highlight to see if they can spot the lies. It was a fun way for students to get to know more about me.

7. 1-4-5 Square Challenge

8. Back to School Read Alouds

   1. The Day You Begin

   2. Our Class is a Family

   3. The Name Jar

   4. The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors paired with this fun activity that combines movement, STEM and team building that I shared last summer

9. Learning Skills Posters & Drama Activity - I use drama to explicitly teach expected and unexpected behaviours in the classroom & we do a lot of co-creating learning skills "look fors"

10. Class Job Application - there are tons of these available on TPT or you can create your own based on the jobs you use in your classroom

11. Cue Card STEM Challenge - this is one of my favourite teambuilders/icebreakers that combines STEM while students learn about each other. I shared this one two years ago and enjoyed seeing everyone take it on and share it with their classes!

12. More Than One Story - great prompts to generate conversation and build community

13. I am a Math Person activity to discuss growth mindset & build confident math learners

14. Numbers Activity from Sara VanDerWerf

15. Find Someone Who...there are tons of templates for this one on TPT

16. Letter to My Future Self Template - I always start writing with having students just write a letter to their future selves. I keep it pretty open and use it as a diagnostic opportunity but also save it to give to them on the very last day of school so they can see their growth as a writer

17. Back to School "Playbook" with teambuilders and icebreakers. I like to keep a running Google Doc that I add to every year with my favourite activities so I can refer back quickly

What are some of your favourite things to keep in your Back to School Box?

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