Back to school activities for middle school students are important to implement the first few weeks of school. These engaging classroom activities help establish a welcoming classroom environment. In addition, these activities set the tone and expectations of your classroom for the rest of the year. Within the first two weeks, teachers want to emphasize classroom community and learning. Due to the pandemic, administrators encourage the teachers to incorporate social emotional learning activities into their lessons. Therefore, it is vital to include “Getting to Know You” activities, group activities, and just overall “fun” lessons into your first two weeks of school to establish community and learning expectations. Here are five activities to implement during your first two weeks of school.
Back to School Activities
First, you are definitely going to want to start with some “Getting to Know You” Activities. Your students appreciate that you want to learn about them and their lives.
In this flip book activity, your students can either assemble or be given the flip book. You can also have them move through six stations-A Little About Me-Instagram Feed; Growth Quotations & Goals; Teacher Inquiry & Investigation; There’s a Rule for That!; The Power of One Word & Book Interests. In these stations and in their flip books, your students will make inferences and draw conclusions, participate in group discussions, color, be creative, and they will use their imagination! You can check this resource out RIGHT HERE!
Would you like your students to get to know your classroom, your syllabus, and your expectations?
Engage your with this back to school or first day of school activity. Are you looking for some fun icebreakers and collaborative activities? In this Digital Escape Ⓡ, there are nine different activities, and your students will complete activities, “Would You Rather…”, Syllabus/Requirements and Expectations Activity, Getting to Know Your Peers, and Class Goals.
In this Digital Escape Ⓡ, Mr. Buttercakes, the principal, has lost his assembly notes that are taking place in 45 minutes. These notes are extremely important, and he has enlisted you and your group to help him backtrack to find his notes. GRAB THIS RIGHT HERE!
Here is a quick back to school activity for you class. In this Ice Breaker Bingo activity, your students are asked to walk around the room and find peers who can match their answers. Their peers have to sign their sheet to validate the answer. This is an engaging activity will help break the awkwardness in the room. This is a perfect activity for upper elementary, middle school, and high school students.
Social Emotional Learning Activities
Are you looking for a social emotional learning activity? Would you like to encompass more empathy and compassion into your classroom?
Teaching empathy, compassion and kindness is an integral part of education, and it is also an integral part of a teenager’s life. Teaching a student to “walk in another’s shoes” is an essential part of perspective and character. Your students will complete journal entries, watch a few short videos on empathy, compassion, and kindness, and complete a shoe activity. This activity will change their mindset and how they look at others. They will learn what it is like to “walk in someone else’s shoes”.
I hope these ideas are helpful! If you ever have any questions, just reach out to englishohmy@gmail.com.
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