13 Fun Back to School Activities

With how much fun the summer break is, it is hard to get children back into the swing of things when the school year starts. Therefore, I decided to start looking for the best back to school activities that make your classroom fun. My goal has been to engage my students, make learning fun, and keep everyone alert and motivated. This led me to try out many different activities over the years, which has helped me learn what works best for my students. I wanted to share with my readers my top recommended back to school activities that I believe will work for a variety of teachers, learning styles, and classrooms. I am confident that you will find at least a few from my list that work for you.

After reading this article, you will officially know:

• 13 Fun Activities to do for students returning to school in the fall
• Both outdoor and classroom activities that you can integrate into your curriculum

There is one thing all schools have in common, which is the different emotions that the first day of school brings. Some students are happy, some are stressed, some are scared, and others are relieved. Therefore, teachers around the world are scrambling to make going back to school a good experience for every single child. The best way to do this is to come up with a plan of fun and creative back to school activities. I will provide you with a list of classroom activities and outdoor activities that I think work well with students. Altogether, there are 13 back to school activities on this list that you should try at least once.

If you would like to see an in-depth video of several activities you can do with your class, check out Pocketful of Primary’s YouTube video. These are icebreaker and community-building games that will keep your classroom entertaining https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ISaJzHqGk.

Classroom Activities

1. All about the bag

Hand each student a paper bag with a note inside of it. The note should give the directions of the game you are about to play. The directions should state that the students are to fill their bags with 4 objects that tell something about them. All objects must fit inside the bag. After they have placed all 4 objects into the bag, encourage them to decorate the bag with markers. You can either let your students find objects around your classroom or allow them to take the bag home and bring back objects from their home.

2. Figure Me Out

Hand each student a sheet of construction paper. Explain that the idea is to create a profile of themselves. This means that they should describe themselves in different ways, such as their age, shoe size, birth month, birth date, how many pets they own, how many letters are in their name, and how many people are in their family. If you are teaching older children, you can tell them to use multiplication problems underneath each answer to help other students guess. Also, encourage them to draw a picture of themselves to go with the profile.

3. M&M or Skittle game

This is a cute little game where students are given M&M’s or Skittles. Blindfold them and tell them to pick a color. Depending on which color they picked, they will be required to tell a story or answer a certain question. For example, if they chose red, they will be required to tell a story about something that happened yesterday. If they chose orange, they should describe a hobby that they are good at. If they chose green, they should talk about their favorite television show or movie.

4. Bingo

Everyone loves the traditional game of Bingo. However, you can change things up and your students will still love it. For example, I suggest creating a customized Bingo card involving getting to know your classmates. You can put in each square different things such as: lives close to school, likes eating hamburgers, likes chicken nuggets, loves playing sports, has two siblings, etc. The students can go around asking each other these questions. When they have a match, they will yell BINGO! BookWidgets is an excellent site that will help you make these customized Bingo cards.

5. Spin the Wheel Random Question 

Spin a wheel and watch it land on a number. If it lands on number 1, you can ask the student what they would buy with a million dollars. If it lands on the number 3, you can ask the student where their favorite place is to visit. If it lands on the number 5, you can ask what they want to be when they get older. Create your own creative questions to make it fun.

6. Find a Friend

Create a worksheet encouraging students to find a friend to get to know. The worksheet can ask different things like favorite food, favorite sport, favorite ice cream flavor, favorite color, favorite candy, and more. Give the students a certain amount of time to find a friend and fill out the sheet. Then, they can share with the class what they learned about their new friend.

7. Would You Rather 

This is a fun game that everyone usually enjoys. Some of the questions that you can ask are: Would you rather play outside or inside, would you rather go swimming or sledding, would you rather play at the beach or play in the snow, would you rather have a million dollars or have an unlimited supply of your favorite food. The questions can really get interesting!

8. Two Truths and a Lie

Tell your students to think hard and come up with two truths and a lie about themselves. They can write these down and announce them to the class. The students will guess which statement is a lie. This game brings a lot of entertainment to the classroom!

Teacher Kaye has created a short video showing you a few activities to try on your first day of school. These activities are fun, creative, and engaging. I recommend watching this video to gain some ideas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9t8neI4vrA.

Document cameras are great tools for teachers who need to show the entire class one object. An example of this is if you only have one worksheet and need the whole class to see this one worksheet. All you need to do is place the sheet or object underneath the document camera, and everyone can easily see it. These tools will make your life a lot easier as a teacher. If you are interested to know more, check out this article about the best document cameras on the market.

Outdoor Activities

1. Beach Ball game

Purchase a beach ball and use a marker to write down questions on it. Tell everyone to form a circle and start throwing the ball to different students. Wherever the students left thumb lands on the ball is the question they must answer. A few examples of questions you can write down are: What is your favorite animal, what is your favorite movie, what color is your toothbrush, how many siblings do you have, when is your birthday, and more. After the student answers, they can choose who they would like to throw the ball to next.

2. Create a Time Capsule

Buy something big that can represent a time capsule for your students. Have everyone put something inside that they would like to dig up and see at the end of the school year. For example, you could take a class picture, place a favorite toy inside, or encourage them to write a letter about what they hope the new year brings. Dig up a hole and place the time capsule inside, bury it, and don’t forget to dig it back up at the end of the year.

3. Paper Snowball Fight

Tell every student to take out a sheet of paper. Encourage them to write down three interesting facts about themselves. Make sure they are creative as these facts should be hard to guess. Tell them not to put a name anywhere on the paper and crumple it up. Once it is crumpled up into a ball, tell them to throw it at other students. They can have a snowball fight for a few minutes to get their energy out. Afterward, everyone should grab one snowball and open it up. Encourage each student to read aloud the facts on the snowball they found and determine to who the facts belong to.

4. Scavenger Hunt

Set up a scavenger hunt outside. Place different items in different areas and create a list explaining the items that the students need to look for. Give them time to run around and find each item on the list. This will give them the freedom to get to know each other, work in groups, have fun, and get their energy out.

5. Create a Giant Puzzle

Cut a large sheet of construction paper into different puzzle pieces. Hand each student a puzzle piece to decorate and color. The goal is for them to create a puzzle piece that represents themselves. They can draw their favorite food, favorite dessert, favorite sport, favorite animal, and so much more. Go outside and have everyone put their puzzle pieces together to form a large puzzle.

For an interactive activity to try with your students, take a look at Rania English’s YouTube video. She provides all the details and directions for this activity that is guaranteed to bring lots of laughs, creativity, and entertainment to your classroom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdieIr1PBWA.

My advice is to consider purchasing an interactive whiteboard if your classroom does not have one. These devices are excellent when it comes to playing learning games with your students as well as assisting different types of learners in the learning process. I have written another article about 10 of the best interactive whiteboards that you can read by clicking here. If you are in the market for one, it will be worth your time to check it out.

I hope this article helped you find fun back to school activities that work for your students. Each has been a success in my classroom and makes learning much more engaging. After students have had the summer off, it is difficult to get them to stay focused, pay attention, and become more involved. Therefore, I hope these activities can help teachers around the world combat this issue. Good luck and happy teaching!

What kind of activities do you do at the beginning of the school year? Share in the comments.

About the Author: Simona Johnes is the visionary being the creation of Science and Literacy. Johnes spent much of her career in the classroom working with students. After a lot of thought, she decided to pursue creating a next generation curriculum to prepare high school students for future success. She left her position as a principal and developed Science and Literacy. Johnes used her years of experience in the classroom to guide her in creating an ideal curriculum that would help set students up for success in the 21st century.  Simona worked to create a curriculum to help high school students build their literacy skills as they engage in learning and exploring scientific theories.

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5 Must Do Back to School Activities (Week 1) 

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