As elementary teachers, we’re always on the hunt for engaging beginning of the year activities that will help us get to know our students and build community! Even better, we’re looking to give students’ active summer bodies a chance to channel their energies into the classroom context. Read below for some of my favorite back to school activities that get students moving and set up for a student-centered school year!
These out-of-your-seat beginning of the year activities are all ones I’ve tested through my 14 years in early elementary education. They’re tried and true and I hope at least one is new to you. Once your finished reading, don’t forget to comment and share your favorite ways to start the school year! I want to learn from you!
Why get kids out of their seats?
Great elementary teachers know the true NEED young students have for movement. The beginning of the school year can bring sometimes draw a sharp contrast between the unstructured, active days of summer and the “sit down and listen to rules” nature of a traditional classroom.
Providing many opportunities for safe, fun movement at the start of the school year is such a powerful way to meet your elementary students where they are and build a fun student-centered community!
Approaching beginning of the year activities with an equity mindset
It’s critical for teachers to consider equity when choosing beginning of the year activities for their class! First, educators should be thoughtful of the content of their statements and prompts. For example “find someone who took a trip this summer” is less inclusive than “find someone who likes the same color that you do.”
For these movement-based activities, it’s also necessary to keep students’ physical abilities in mind. Ensure that all students are able to meaningfully participate – or find creative ways to adapt the activities!
5 Engaging Beginning of the Year Activities that get students moving!
A great wind blows…
This is a simple game that helps students get to know one another. The teacher places themselves in a central location and says a statement: “A great wind blows for…”. They finish the sentence with something that may be true for several students. The students for whom that statement is true need to get out of their desks and switch places with someone else who also stood. Here are some of the statements I’ve used when playing this beginning of the year game:
- A great wind blows for… students who walked to school today.
- A great wind blows for… students who have a younger sibling.
- A great wind blows for… students who really love math.
- A great wind blows for… students who were in ________’s class last year.
You get the idea! Think musical chairs + getting to know you 🙂
That’s me / that’s not me
Like “A Great Wind Blows,” this second beginning of the year activity helps students get to know one another. Students start by forming pairs and standing back to back. The teacher calls out a statement; for example, “I love art class!” The teacher counts down from 3, then students then jump to flip around and shout either “That’s me!” or “That’s not me!” After a bit of chat time for students to share their reasoning, students find another partner and prepare for the next round.
Agree/Disagree Corners
Coming into my classroom at the beginning of the school year and you’re sure to find corners labeled with “Agree” and “Disagree” signs. I use this super simple game as both a beginning of the year activity and throughout the year to prompt students to share their opinions.
Similar to the other games, the teacher says a prompt with which students can agree or disagree. They then move their bodies to the appropriate side of the room. Pro tip: ask for a few students to share their reasoning for why they went where they did and use it as a chance to introduce class hand symbols for “agree” and “respectfully disagree.” Use this activity to find out students’ preferences or as a fun introduction to learning about a new topic!
Silent birthday timeline
In this beginning of the year activity, students are prompted to form a chronological timeline that shows their birthdays in the order of the academic year – without saying a word. The teacher gets to choose the level of challenge, depending on the grade level and/or communication skills of their students:
To really encourage a challenge, the teacher provides students with very little prep time and no visuals to use during the activity. Most students will use some sort of hand signals as a code to represent their birthdates. That said, I’ve seen some very creative other ideas over the years!
To make this activity easier, the teacher can provide time for students to write down their birthdays before they begin trying to organize themselves. They can do this on something as simple as a post-it note or, to make it a bit jazzier, on a birthday cake or cupcake they can also color. As an additional support, prompt students to strategize with one another in small groups before starting the silence period as a whole class.
At the end of the activity, consider asking students to debrief the experience, sharing out what worked well and what was challenging. This can be a powerful way for students to begin thinking about how they want to communicate and make decisions throughout the school year.
Find someone who…
In this final beginning of the year activity to get students moving, kids continue to get to know their new classmates with a fun scavenger hunt type activity! The teacher creates a simple BINGO-type board with boxes that complete the sentence “Find someone who…” After students have recieved their copy and written their names at the top, they circulate the room to find classmates who match that description. Their classmate writes their name or initials in the box. The goal is to fill up your sheet with all unique signatures!
The statements can be as surface-level as “has the same hair color as you” to deeper prompts like “read the same book as you this summer” – and beyond.
Looking for more back to school ideas for your student-centered classroom?
Check out these other posts on Lit By Learning!
- An Empowering Learner-Centered Start to the School Year!
- 4 Easy Steps to Create Classroom Expectations
- What are 20 Questions to Ask Parents as we Return to School?
