{"id":1596,"date":"2025-09-01T15:06:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seizethedayinela.com\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2025-09-01T15:24:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T15:24:17","slug":"the-best-back-to-school-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seizethedayinela.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/the-best-back-to-school-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Back to School Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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I\u2019m the kind of teacher who revamps her lesson plans every year \u2013 and aiming for the best back to school activities are no different.\u00a0 This summer, I sat down and really gave it some thought.\u00a0 What I came up with ended up being my best back to school activities yet.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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My General Plan for the Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Each year I start with the same general premise.\u00a0 What station-type activities can I plan that will help me get to know my students, my students get to know me, and help my students better understand my classroom?<\/span><\/p>

When thinking about the best back to school activities, my best advice is to avoid lecturing and syllabus reading at all costs.\u00a0 Unfortunately, kids are accustomed to this in so many other classes \u2013 namely at the high school level \u2013 that they won\u2019t be able to help but tune you out.<\/span><\/p>

An alternative to lecture-style plans is to have the students in the driver\u2019s seat.\u00a0 Give them more control with stations, group work, partner activities, or even good old independent time.<\/span><\/p>

Once I fully appreciate the learning modes I want to use for my best back to school activities, I set about planning individual tasks.\u00a0 Another piece of advice I can offer: don\u2019t try to do it all in one day.\u00a0 In my district, our classes run on block scheduling.\u00a0 That gives me about 80 minutes \u2013 give or take \u2013 every other day.\u00a0 I remember the feeling of wanting to jump right into curricular content.\u00a0 But now more than ten years into teaching, I know to slow things down for my best back to school activities.<\/span><\/p>

So I spread out my non-curricular lessons over the course of our first week.\u00a0 It\u2019s a four day week, meaning I\u2019ll see my classes twice each for a total of about 160 minutes.\u00a0 I\u2019ll plan roughly eight to ten activities, and calculate approximately how long I want to spend on each task.\u00a0 Note: for the best back to school activities this first week, I always over plan.\u00a0 There is no way we\u2019ll get through ten activities, but since I change it up year-to-year, I never know exactly how much time we will spend.\u00a0 It would be detrimental to my classroom culture \u2013 i.e. setting the tone \u2013 early in the year if we finish early and have nothing productive to do.<\/span><\/p>

With a general premise for the best back to school activities in mind, I set about planning the finer details.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what I came up with this year.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Day One of my Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Like I said, over-planning is a must.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want unproductive downtime.\u00a0 Even still, Day One of my best back to school activities was jam-packed with memorable and functional tasks.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Get to Know the Teacher<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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For years, I taught at the middle level in our district.\u00a0 We have two middle schools, so I taught roughly half of every graduating class.\u00a0 But about three or four years ago, I moved up to the high school and once again saw familiar faces.\u00a0 Last year\u2019s group of sophomores was the final group of students I had in eighth grade.<\/span><\/p>

This is the first year in a long time that I knew practically no students.\u00a0 I was nervous, to say the least.\u00a0 First, about learning over a hundred new names.\u00a0 Second, about not knowing so many of the students so well from the get-go.<\/span><\/p>

Don\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019m also very excited.\u00a0 It feels like starting with a clean slate.<\/span><\/p>

But when planning this year\u2019s best back to school activities, I thought to myself: <\/span>these students don\u2019t know me, either.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 So, for the first time in years and years, I built into my first day lesson plans a few slides about me.<\/span><\/p>

I told students about myself and my teaching style.\u00a0 I told them about my family and my pets.\u00a0 I shared with them my favorite hobbies and what kind of music I like to listen to.\u00a0 And I showed them lots of pictures.<\/span><\/p>

I tried to keep this portion at five minutes long, max.\u00a0 Remember what I preached about not lecturing the first day.\u00a0 I like to think it was the right amount of time, an appropriate number of photographs, and a good way to help ease some of the awkward \u201cget to know you\u201d stages.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Student Name Tags: One of the Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Prior to this year, I spend a good deal of my in-service time writing individual name tags for students on index cards.\u00a0 I\u2019d then ask the library assistants to laminate the cards.\u00a0 This is how I denoted student seating the first week of school and beyond.<\/span><\/p>

But this year I did something different.<\/span><\/p>

One of my best back to school activities was to have students create their own name tags.\u00a0 It offered so much more voice and choice and saved me a ton of time.<\/span><\/p>

To do so, I used Canva \u201cbulk create\u201d (initially intimidating but much easier than anticipated and so much fun to do!) to print a name tag template with each student\u2019s first and last name printed very small.\u00a0 The first step was for students to write their preferred name or nickname largely and decoratively (if they chose) on the front of the name tag.<\/span><\/p>

But we didn\u2019t stop there.<\/span><\/p>

Then, I had students customize their name tag by sketching (or explaining in writing) what their phone\u2019s lock screen looked like.\u00a0 On each name tag was a little graphic of a smart phone.\u00a0 Each student was equipped with a box of crayons to also color the image if they wanted.\u00a0 I explained that students could draw their actual lock screen; maybe it was a photo of family or a significant other (cue the awkward giggles in the room at the idea of a teacher knowing student love lives exist) or maybe it was a symbol of a hobby.\u00a0 I emphasized that artistry was not a top priority here.<\/span><\/p>

It was a great way for students to further say something about themselves on their terms.<\/span><\/p>

Then we flipped the name tag over and I instructed students to simply \u201cdraw a pig.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ll share more details on this task further into this blog post.\u00a0 I did get quite a few confused looks.\u00a0 Depending on the student and the vibe I got, I might tell them literally: \u201cWe\u2019re going to use this next time to psychoanalyze you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

The final bit of the name tag design was to choose a quote from my provided list and explain why that quote means something.\u00a0 I displayed (first one at a time) a list of eleven quotes that I felt were pretty universal.\u00a0 Students were encouraged to write down any number quote they felt they liked.\u00a0 At the end, I displayed all eleven once more; if students heeded my advice, it was easy enough to find that quote again.<\/span><\/p>

Then I had students write a few sentences about why they chose that quote.\u00a0 How did it speak to them? Does it describe where they are in their life currently, or does it accurately portray a goal they have for themselves?\u00a0 Maybe the quote sums up who the student was but they feel they have changed in some way?\u00a0 I left the prompts relatively open-ended so students could have a say in what they wrote.\u00a0 Remember: voice and choice can go such a long way in these best back to school activities.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Student Inventory: A Must-Have in your Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Before we get into my personal favorite of the best back to school activities, I have students take a few moments to fill out a student inventory or student survey.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, I ask for their name and phone number.\u00a0 I always set up a Remind 101 course for each class section.\u00a0 I promise not to spam the kids; rather, I\u2019ll text them when we have a major assignment due or the end of the quarter approaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also ask for information like their birthday and closest friends.\u00a0 Who do they trust outside of school?\u00a0 What are their favorite and least favorite school subjects?\u00a0 What are they involved with in and out of school?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s quick and it\u2019s simple, but don\u2019t underestimate the value of this task.\u00a0 Again, it offers voice and choice.\u00a0 And it helps me get to know my students better.\u00a0 It\u2019s something I have used year after year for good reason.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also make this available in Spanish for my ESL students.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Blind Book Sort: One of the Best Back to School Activities of my Teaching Career<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The most exciting of all my best back to school activities has to be this one: blind book sorting.\u00a0 I\u2019ll definitely post a blog later on that details this activity more, but for now, here\u2019s a quick synopsis of an awesome activity.<\/span><\/p>

Not to belabor this point, but keep in mind my advice about keeping lecturing to a minimum.\u00a0 In previous years, I introduced the syllabus \u2013 and thus our course canon \u2013 on the first day, usually lecture-style.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Not this year!<\/span><\/p>

This year, to introduce the texts we\u2019ll read, I had students put themselves in self-selected groups of four to five students so they could work hands-on with the books we\u2019ll read.<\/span><\/p>

Ahead of time, I used heavy cardboard poster board from the Dollar Tree to make replica \u201cbooks\u201d of eight of our course texts.\u00a0 Once I cut the boards to size, I glued a book jacket of sorts to the board. On the front was the title and author, of course, with related images to help summarize the text.<\/span><\/p>

On the back of the book I wrote an overview of the text, sparing revelatory details (no spoilers here!) but infusing it with rich content-specific vocabulary and clues as to the time period, location, and themes.<\/span><\/p>

Each stack of eight books also came with an envelope containing the book\u2019s genres.<\/span><\/p>

The goal?\u00a0 Students had to work together to figure out which genre goes with which text.\u00a0 To make it more challenging, I also had my Advanced class figure out the time and place the text was written.<\/span><\/p>

I gave students about fifteen to twenty minutes, depending on how long each of the previous tasks took, to work together.\u00a0 In the past, I probably would have chosen the groups \u2013 or at least had students count off by fours \u2013 but this year I wanted them to choose the groups for a few reasons.<\/span><\/p>

First, doing so allowed students voice and choice.\u00a0 They were much more receptive to the task at hand if they felt comfortable with their group mates.<\/span><\/p>

Second, I could see <\/span>exactly <\/span><\/i>who should and should not work together in the near future.<\/span><\/p>

It was so cool to see students piece together all the clues.\u00a0 I loved how they called me over again and again to check their answers (even though I promised we\u2019d go over the answers together as a class soon enough).\u00a0 And I loved that I could productively wander around the groups and have brief but meaningful conversations with my students on this very first day.<\/span><\/p>

In an effort to keep students busy, I also over-planned here: I gave each group a handout that had them record their answers and defend their choices.\u00a0 Once it became abundantly clear to me that students were having meaningful conversations and would run out of time to write their responses, I made a class-wide announcement that they didn\u2019t need to worry about recording their answers if they ran out of time.\u00a0 You know how some students are: they get very anxious about not doing everything the teacher prescribes.\u00a0 My announcement seemed to alleviate those concerns.<\/span><\/p>

With about ten minutes left in class, I had students return to their seats and we went over the answers together.\u00a0 I built in slides in my presentation for this purpose.\u00a0 At this time, I covered the title, author, genre, and setting details while also tapping into my inner sales woman.\u00a0 I included details from past years \u2013 i.e., \u201cThis is always one of students\u2019 favorite units\u201d \u2013 and zingers like \u201cAnd for this unit, we\u2019re going to Hell\u201d (it\u2019s my Dante\u2019s <\/span>Inferno<\/span><\/i> unit) to grab students\u2019 attention.<\/span><\/p>

I\u2019m mindful to keep my lecturing to a minimum, even here.\u00a0 And before I knew it, Day One of my best back to school activities was complete!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Day Two of my Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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One of the best back to school activities I ran out of time for on the first day was a brain break of sorts.\u00a0 It\u2019s called \u201cLost at Sea.\u201d\u00a0 For this task, students work in a group \u2013 or it could be done independently \u2013 to prioritize which items are most vital should you ever be stranded.\u00a0 Though I ran out of time for it on the first \u2013 and second \u2013 day, I did plan for this to be a brain break the second week of school when we\u2019re still covering non-curricular items but starting to get into content.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Student Folders<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Though I used students\u2019 name tags to help me learn names, another simple task to get to know names is to hand out folders this second day.<\/span><\/p>

One of the best back to school activities isn\u2019t glitzy, but it\u2019s functional: distributing a folder to each student.<\/span><\/p>

Each year, I provide my students with a two-pocket folder; I build this cost into my budget annually.\u00a0 On the cover is a label with the student\u2019s first and last name and the course title (i.e. World Literature, \u201cAdvanced World Literature,\u201d \u201cBritish Literature\u201d).\u00a0 On the inside this year, I\u2019m trying something new.\u00a0 I also printed labels that say \u201cKeep (Old Units)\u201d and \u201cCurrent Unit.\u201d\u00a0 My hope is this will help my students \u2013 primarily my sophomores \u2013 find a simple yet effective organizational system for keeping or discarding course paperwork.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Draw the Pig: Recap<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Remember one of the best back to school activities on the first day included drawing a pig on their name tags?\u00a0 Today, we recap what that means.<\/span><\/p>

Over the summer, I found this scientifically non-proven but fun idea: how you draw a pig can reflect certain aspects of your personality.\u00a0 Again, this is <\/span>non<\/span><\/i>-proven from a scientific standpoint, and I make that quite clear to my students from the start.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want anyone offended this second day.<\/span><\/p>

I have students look again at their pig.\u00a0 Then I take them through a brief set of slides in my presentation that cover what different aspects might mean.\u00a0 For example, if you drew your pig towards the top of the paper, you are most likely an optimistic person.\u00a0 Or, if you drew a pig with a lot of details, you might be an analytical person.\u00a0 The larger the ears on your pig, the better listener you are.\u00a0 And the larger your pig\u2019s tail, the smarter you might be.<\/span><\/p>

Once I\u2019ve done my spiel, I direct students to an independent writing activity.\u00a0 I want them to reflect on what they learned, or, for those who may have found the activity total baloney, I want them to tell me about themselves.\u00a0 Here, I set the timer for ten minutes and direct students to fill that time productively and quietly.<\/span><\/p>

Like most of my best back to school activities, this one serves more than one purpose.\u00a0 This independent time allows me to see who works well under such circumstances and who might be a little antsy.\u00a0 It also allows me to get to know my students further from their perspective.\u00a0 I don\u2019t grade this task, but I do read every response to see what students think about themselves.<\/span><\/p>

The reflection also allows me to get a preliminary understanding of students\u2019 writing ability.\u00a0 And, as it always seems to be the case at least once, I can have a documented example of student handwriting should the need arise (i.e. in scenarios involving cheating).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Course Syllabus: A Necessary \u201cEvil\u201d for the Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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In my head, I hear Rafiki from <\/span>The Lion King <\/span><\/i>say, \u201cIt is time\u201d when I think back to my syllabus introduction.\u00a0 I want to try and avoid lecturing as much as possible, but I do think there is value to its inclusion if used wisely and consciously.<\/span><\/p>

That\u2019s how I feel about the syllabus.\u00a0 Sometimes you just have to deliver the information in a straightforward manner.\u00a0 Do I expect my students to remember every single detail?\u00a0 Absolutely not.\u00a0 But I do want to set the precedent and the tone early on.<\/span><\/p>

So we tackle the syllabus.<\/span><\/p>

A lot of it we can cruise over.\u00a0 For example, I include a section of course canon in the syllabus.\u00a0 Thanks to the Blind Book Sorting, we can skip over that.<\/span><\/p>

We do hit hard some of the nit-picky details like grading policies and submitting late work.\u00a0 I take students on a little \u201ctour\u201d of Schoology to show them some valuable information.<\/span><\/p>

This bit probably takes about 15-20 minutes.\u00a0 In the past I\u2019ve also included a Kahoot to \u201ctest\u201d what kids know.\u00a0 This year, given all else I planned with my best back to school activities, I knew we wouldn\u2019t have time.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Socratic Seminar: A Daunting Idea for the Best Back to School Activities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Keep in mind some of my goals with this year\u2019s best back to school activities, namely voice and choice and group work.<\/span><\/p>

Part of my syllabus I somewhat glaze over are the course expectations.\u00a0 In general, there are five big ones:<\/span><\/p>

  1. Bring a charged computer to class each day<\/span><\/li>
  2. No food or drink other than water in this classroom<\/span><\/li>
  3. No cell phones, earbuds, or smart watches (this is a miraculous school-wide policy in my district, but I\u2019ve been implementing it longer than that)<\/span><\/li>
  4. Understand the AI policy (more to come on that later)<\/span><\/li>
  5. Behavioral expectations<\/span><\/li><\/ol>

    To speak more on the behavioral expectations: here I spend a greater deal of time than the other expectations for various reasons.\u00a0 One of those reasons: this is arguably the most important of the classroom expectations.\u00a0 I make it very clear to students that I aim to have fun but at the end of the day, I have two jobs: to keep you safe and to ensure you can be successful in your learning.\u00a0 If student behavior ever compromises either of those jobs, then I have to step in. Whether a student hinders his or her own learning or the learning of others will dictate the measures I take.<\/span><\/p>

    This year, I wanted to try two things: offer more voice and choice when it comes to expectations and see how students can handle a Socratic seminar-type discussion.<\/span><\/p>

    Looking back on previous years, I\u2019m often regretful that I didn\u2019t try a Socratic seminar sooner.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually because I\u2019m too scared (full disclosure) of releasing so much control with sophomores.\u00a0 So I usually try the first with my Advanced classes and not until January.\u00a0 When we finish, they usually provide feedback like, \u201cCan we do more\u201d and I think to myself, \u201cWhy didn\u2019t we try this sooner?\u201d<\/span><\/p>

    So for this year\u2019s best back to school activities, I decided to give it a go.<\/span><\/p>

    Once again, I allowed students to choose their groups.\u00a0 Each group was tasked with reviewing the core expectations with the goal of evaluating them.\u00a0 Which do you agree or disagree with?\u00a0 Are there any that are confusing or that should be worded more clearly?\u00a0 What expectations are missing entirely and should we add for our course?<\/span><\/p>

    I knew this was a tall order, so I provided each group with a \u201cthink sheet.\u201d\u00a0 It reminded them of the core expectations but also explicitly stated those questions (and more) that could help them get started.<\/span><\/p>

    On the board, I set a timer for about ten to fifteen minutes.\u00a0 I bounced around the room, sometimes just listening to conversations and more often than not, interjecting some guiding questions to help the group refocus or dig deeper.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    The \u201cthink sheet\u201d had a total of about eight or nine questions, so most groups, I knew, wouldn\u2019t have time to answer all.\u00a0 I assured groups \u2013 much like the day before \u2013 that they didn\u2019t have to get to all the questions; they could pick and choose which were more interesting to them.\u00a0 If they ran out of time to write down all answers because their conversations were that in-depth, that was a sign of a good discussion.\u00a0 I told them I trusted their judgment, which I like to think goes a long way these early days.<\/span><\/p>

    When the timer expired, we came together again as a large group.\u00a0 For some classes, I directed them back to their assigned seats.\u00a0 Others were allowed to remain with their groups.\u00a0 Honestly, it depended on how productive each class seemed to be.<\/span><\/p>

    Most students have never engaged in a Socratic seminar, so I laid some ground rules, namely that the goal is for the teacher to take a total back seat.\u00a0 Students could choose who would speak without raising their hand and waiting to be called on.\u00a0 I modeled some phrases like:<\/span><\/p>