The first week of school sets the tone for your entire year… this Back to School unit makes it easy to teach classroom routines, build classroom community, and create a positive classroom environment in Pre-K, Kindergarten, or First Grade.
Whether you’re planning for the first day of school or the entire first week, this back to school unit helps Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade teachers start the year with confidence, structure, and ease.
Want to see it in action? The preview has screenshots of each camping activity so you know exactly what you’re getting.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THIS BACK TO SCHOOL UNIT:
With low-prep printables and step-by-step teaching guides, you can focus on building classroom community and teaching expectations from the first day of school.
First Week of School + Social Studies Activities
These back to school lessons help your students learn how to be good friends, follow classroom rules, and work together. A teacher lesson guide with read-aloud suggestions and step-by-step instructions is included.
- Making Connections – Students reflect on their first day and draw what they did at school.
- Friendship Sorting – Sort images that show kind and unkind behaviors to spark class discussion.
- Problem Solver Headbands – Create simple headbands that show students are ready to solve problems and work together.
- Crayon Craft + Class Display – Decorate a crayon to represent themselves and build a classroom display: “The COLORS of our CLASS!”
- Good Friend Reader – A simple emergent reader that reinforces friendship and classroom expectations.
Back to School Reading Activities
These literacy-based activities support fluency and vocabulary using thematic content focused on friendship and classroom behavior.
- Interactive Poem – A predictable, back to school poem where students swap picture cards to reinforce key vocabulary and back to school routines.
- Emergent Reader – Introduce classroom expectations and SEL themes with a simple, repetitive reader ideal for early learners.
- Read-Aloud Book List – Suggested read-alouds for the first week of school that connect to your back to school and classroom routine lessons.
Back to School Writing Activities
These writing options are flexible for whole group instruction, centers, or independent work during your first week of school.
- Predictable Chart – Build a class book using the sentence starter “At school, I see…” to promote classroom language.
- Writing Center Word Cards – Thematic word cards (like glue, friend, teacher) provide vocabulary support for independent writing.
- Differentiated Writing Pages – Scaffold writing with tracing, labeling, sentence starters, and open-ended prompts.
- Directed Drawing – Students follow simple drawing steps and label their work using classroom words.
BONUS: Classroom Supplies Songs + Practice Pages
Help students learn how to use scissors, crayons, and glue with practice pages and simple songs. These activities reinforce proper use of classroom materials and help students feel confident and independent from the start.
SKILLS COVERED IN THIS BACK TO SCHOOL UNIT:
- Practicing classroom expectations and daily routines
- Building classroom community and cooperation
- Identifying kind vs. unkind behaviors
- Developing early reading fluency with predictable text
- Strengthening vocabulary with thematic word work
- Expressing ideas through drawing, labeling, and sentence writing
- Practicing fine motor skills (cutting, gluing, coloring)
- Following step-by-step instructions
- Participating in whole group discussions and shared writing
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