Getting to know my students, is one of my biggest goals the first few weeks back to school! It’s important to build a classroom community where all my fifth-grade students feel safe and a part of our class.  This year’s Back to School activities will look different, but getting to know my students will still be on the top of my list. How can I get to know my students individually no matter what type of classroom environment we have?  How do I keep my students safe while actively engaging them in learning?

• distance learning
• remote learning
• blended learning
• on-site learning

Elementary teachers everywhere are trying to answer these questions!

Back to School: Find Someone Who… Getting to Know Your Class Bingo (Free) is a fun activity where students go around getting their peers signature on their worksheets.  This year I’m going to modify this activity by making it on shared Google Slides.  Each slide will have an event or activity and students can write their names on the slides that they can answer.  

Get to Know You Activities:

I have a set Get to Know Your Class Cards (Free) that my students use while interviewing their peers.  Back to School Activity gets my students collaborating and learning about the interest of each others.  (I’m now thinking of ways to do this activity so it’s engaging but also safe for our students to do!)

Back to School Family Bulletin Board:

I send a note home saying to bring a family photo for our Class Family Bulletin Board.  (I also take photos the night of open house, so I can make sure I get one from everyone). I feel like this gives my students a feeling of family and hopefully safety. 

Back to School Read Alouds:

• Just Ask! By Sonia Sotomayor This is a great book to read to your class, it talks about brave students who live with challenging conditions and how they preserve through life’s challenges.
• The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson is also one of my favorite first day of school reads! This helps us rank how nervous we were about meeting our new classmates.
• I Wish You More by Amy Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

This is the perfect book to start the school year with. I wish you more… and we set goals for our great. Here is a link for a free printable worksheet My wish for you for students to use.

I have a ton of favorite read alouds to start the year off! If you want to check out all my favorite pictures books on Amazon, click here!

Looking for other activities for the first week of school.