First Day  and Beginning of Year Tips

How to Start School Successfully by Harry and Rosemary Wong
 

Smart Starts for the Best School Year Ever by Barbara

and Sue Gruber

Top Six Keys to Being A Successful Teacher

Setting Up Your Classroom for Success

Beginning of the School Year (10 Tips)

Top 10 Things to Do Before School Starts

First Day Checklist This checklist will help you to see if you are ready for that important first day

Back to School Checklist from Scholastic This checklist from Scholastic is a great reminder of things that need to be done. It will help new teachers, and remind experienced teachers of things to think about before school begins

Welcoming Students Back to School A Word template for a welcome letter and a Powerpoint template for class rules are included here along with other tips

Tips for Getting Organized Some excellent tips here that can save you some time later

Fabulous First Day Activities This is from Scholastic

Icebreakers These ideas from Education World help you get to know your students and helps them learn each others names. There are thirteen pages of ideas

First Day of School Writing Page (no lines)

Activities for the First Day 1 Getting to know you; ideas for that important first day

First Day of School Activities

Class Opening Activities  Most of these activities can be used for grades K -2. I also used my Counting Caterpillar during this time

Printable Name Tags These name beautiful animal name tags are from Jan Brett

Printable School Passes from Jan Brett Print these on card stock and laminate. I would print two of the same tags and glue together before laminating. Make an extra set in case one is lost. You might want to put your room number or teacher name on the bottom

Creating a Seating Chart from Digital Photos

Seating Chart Template for PowerPoint97 or later. This template from Microsoft can be used for many different kinds of room arrangements. You could include pictures of the students also

Seating Chart from Microsoft for PowerPoint 2003

Printable Classroom Set-Up Tool Set up and print your classroom layout. This tool allows you to place desks in any formation and put student's names on a numbered list (requires Flash)

Name Review An activity to help the teacher learn names quickly

Parent Resources These are excellent handouts to give parents at open house or parent conferences. They contain ideas on how parents can help their children at home. (Scroll down to "Your First Grader", etc.)

Classroom Job Ideas If you need a fresh idea for classroom jobs, check on these ideas at A to Z Teacher Stuff

A Classroom Job for Every Child Change jobs only eight times during the year

Helping Hands Job Chart (22 X 17 - 4 sheets) and Name Plates for the chart. Lay out sheets in order. Trim the left edge of the two sheets on the right. Trim the top edge of the two bottom sheets. Line up the letters and glue the top sheets together. Glue the bottom sheets together. Now glue the top and bottom sheets together. Print enough name plates for your student. Write their names on them. Tape the names on the chart. Change according to your schedule. Assembling Directions
 

Classroom Job Chart (pdf)(8.5X11in.)Write their name on the left and the job title on the right

Getting to Know Each Other Activity

Back to School Ideas A variety of useful back to school ideas from Hummingbird Educational Resources

Beginning of Year Ideas and Tips for Kindergarten Teachers  These ideas are from Kinderthemes.com

Also check the Classroom Management and Teacher Timesaver pages

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Back to School and Open House Bulletin Boards and Displays

Welcome Back to School Large, colorful banner (5 pages)

Welcome Sign - Large Individual Letters  w   e   l   c   o   m   e   !    in rainbow colors. Print and cut out each letter and attach to  the wall or large bulletin board. It could look something like this

Leap Into ____ Grade All parts of this bulletin board can be downloaded. All you have to do is put up a background, print and cut out the parts, write names on lily pads and put everything on the board. 

Download the 5 files below.

Frog    Banner Heading   Lily Pads

Grade Levels (1st - 4th)   Water Lilies 

Small Frogs to add to lily pads (12 per sheet) Frog Incentive Charts

Frog Name Tags

(by Audrey Smith)

_ Grade All Stars Bulletin Board Three files allstars1  allstars2 (k-3rd grade) allstars3   allstars4 (4th & 5th grade)Just cut out the parts from allstars1, choose and cut the grade level (k, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,) Run as many pages of stars (allstars3) as you have students (two to a page) Put all on a dark blue or black background. Make smaller stars to use as nametags. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture (from A. Smith)

Spelling Stars Banner Use this banner with the stars above. Set spelling goals for the class or for individual children to reach in their weekly spelling test. Put on blue background
 

Flying Into A New Year (banner) Make a bulletin board using the banner and balloons as follows Large hot-air balloons 1  2    3   4  Small balloons for students names

Small balloons in black and white for students to color   Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture of the bulletin board  Hot Air Balloon Nametags These can be printed on shipping labels (from A. Smith)

Run the Race with Perseverence Bulletin Board- View finished board
Banner - "...and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." Hebrews 12:1b KJV   Same banner NIV    Running Shoes    Running Nameplates  Use on bulletin board or on desks  Picture of a Group of Runners (Click thumbnail to see a large view of the board - design - A. Smith)

Welcome To Our School Door Decoration or Bulletin Board -            Banner   Fish1   Fish2  The fish can also be used as nametags. Cover door or bulletin board with blue paper. Print, trim, and assemble banner. Print fish on various colored sheets - as many as you need for your class or print on white and have children decorate them. Cut them out. Write students names on fish and attach to blue paper on the door or bulletin board. Add tan package wrapping paper on the bottom of board for sand, and then add other sea creatures  (Board design from A. Smith)

Welcome To Our Hive Door Decoration or Bulletin Board Print out the large bees,  nameplates and banner . Enlarge  hive pattern (use an overhead projector) If using for a bulletin board, keep hive in one piece. If using for a door, cut as in example here.  Words to add to door  Bee Nametags These can be printed on shipping labels

I have added larger popcorn nameplates and a popcorn machine to this bulletin board.
Look Who Is Popping Into Our Class Bulletin Board  print out the banner,  popcorn machine (one page) large popcorn (two to a page) Write student's names on the popcorn.  small popcorn (four to a page) and bowl of popcorn.

Sharp Students in Room An easy to make back to school board. Here is a large pencil  (new banner - 3 sheets) to use on a board like this. Instead of Room, I would put the grade level. You can use these.  In Gr.1 - 5 black               In Gr.1 - 4 blue  or  Gr.1-3    Gr.4-5

Keys To A Great Year Bulletin Board The banner for this board is here. The keys are her - Keys 1   Keys 2     Keys 3 (There are 2 keys to a sheet  - Listen, Work Hard, Respect Others, Follow Directions, and Do Your Best)

Go for the Gold Bulletin Board - Banner  -    Incentive Cards  Click on the thumbnail to view a larger picture of the bulletin board (from A. Smith)
You can also use gold medals and ribbons next to student names for a beginning of the year board

Large Gold Medal This is for a bulletin board

Small medals  Gold    Silver     Bronze    Ribbons for the medals

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Look Who Is In Our Room

Some Welcome Back Board Ideas (with photos)

Make a Counting Caterpillar Instructions and downloadable files to make a Counting Caterpillar. Count by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's. Use to teach evenand odd numerals

A Great Line-Up    A large one page t-shirt pattern

Two Back to School Boards from edumart.com " I've got a hunch this is a bright bunch" (with sunglasses pattern) and "My new class suits me to a "T" . A larger T-shirt pattern is here

Back to School Bulletin Boards  Nine pages of back to school bulletin board ideas (with large photos)

Bulletin Board, Halls, Walls, and Door Decorating Ideas from Garden of Praise (with photos)

We All Fit Together -  Each child decorates a piece of the puzzle. Blow up this puzzle(30 pieces) with an overhead projector and outline the pieces on posterboard. Cut out the pieces and have students decorate and sign them. Put the puzzle together for open house.   16 piece template   24 piece template   Hint: Number the pieces for easy completion. Here is a door with the same idea

We All Fit Together Banner Use with the above bulletin board

What a "Grape" Bunch of Kids Templates are included on this DLTK page as well as a printout of John 15:5

Let's Get Acquainted (Crossword Puzzle Board) You could

have a clue for each name. You might use a crossword puzzle maker to make a small puzzle first. You can find one here. Choose Criss-cross puzzle. Lay out large squares in the shape of your puzzle. Number them, tape together and attach to the board. Tell something about each person in the clues.

School is a Bushel of Fun

Classroom Jobs Bulletin Boards  Two boards are pictured here. "Keep Our Class Afloat" could also be used with the balloons listed above with the job and students' names on each one

Ode to Fifth Grade This is a clever and nice looking board with the students' names on the beginning notes of "Ode to Joy"

A Special Bunch

Flip Over School

Sail With Success (includes patterns)

Start Your __ Grade Engines (includes patterns)

We had a T- riffic Summer   A t-shirt pattern is here 

I am Special Each child tells something about themselves an decorates a shape. This could be a board for Open House. A shape pattern is here

Who Am I Lesson This is from Scholastic and could be used with the bulletin board above or with a bulletin board entitled "Who Am I"

*More Fall bulletin boards are here
 

Birthday Boards and Displays

Happy Birthday Banner

Birthday Balloons Use these balloons with the happy birthday banner above for a birthday board. Run off a balloon for each child in your class. Write their name on it and attach a piece of yarn.

Birthday Chart  August - January (4 sheets)    February - July (4 sheets) Trim sheets and glue or tape together.   Borders for Names (10 to a sheet) Write names in borders and attach for each month. Write the date of the birthday in the date column. Assembling Directions

Birthday Bear and Balloons Downloadable Display The names of the months are on the balloons

Ideas for Birthday Boards

Birthday Cakes for Each Month of the Year Print out a birthday cake for each month and put the children's names on the candles. This is from Enchanted Learning

Some months to use on your birthday board are here These are from Jan Brett's web site

Birthday Chart from Jan Brett A printable birthday chart for each season. There is room for thirty names on each chart

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Back-to-school at Christianbook

Bulletin Boards  at Christianbook
 

Miscellaneous Room Decoration

Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag Poster

Pledge to the Christian Flag Poster

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Borders and Trimmers

Bulletin Board Borders to Print I put these in a graphic program and resize them. These are from preschoolprintables.com

Borders to Print Three pages of borders to print. You will probably need to resize them

Some printable borders (or trimmers) I made:

Scalloped Border Template (pdf) Print or copy on any color paper or card stock
Back to School Border (pdf) Apples and teacher at a desk
Suggestion - Print on light green or yellow cardstock
Back to School Border (pdf) Apples and books
Suggestion - Print on light green or yellow cardstock
Book and Pencil Border (pdf)
Fall Leaves Border (pdf)
Smiley Face Border (pdf)
Colorful Triangle Border (pdf)
Leaf Border (pdf)
Pastel Flower Border (pdf)
Outer Space Border (pdf)
Patriotic Border (pdf)
Scalloped Border Template (pdf) Print or copy on any color paper or card stock

Backgrounds and Borders Ideas for using things other than paper for backgrounds and borders

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January, February, March, and April,
May and June, July, and August,
September, October, November, and December,
There are 12 months in all.
©2009Audrey Smith

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Back to School Crafts

Make a Name Mobile If I were doing this, I would cut card stock into four pieces, and hand out the appropriate number to each child for their first name. Encourage the students to make each letter large and color in the rest of the card

Fall Friends Paperdolls to dress in their new school clothes from Makingfriends.com. This site also includes other school related crafts

Back to School Craft Ideas from DLTK

Back to School Craft Ideas from Familyfun

Preschool Activities and Crafts

Back to School Bus Craft A cut and paste activity

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Custom Search

"Go fo the Gold" Olympic theme incentive chart.  Use with Go for the Gold Banner  or Hebrews 12:1b banner (NIV)

 or Hebrews 12:1b (KJV)

All Purpose Sticker Charts These incentive charts can be used for a variety of purposes. Print these on cardstock and use stars or other small chart stickers (pdf) Two charts to a page

More All Purpose Sticker Charts

Homework Sticker Charts  Sticker charts with "Be Sharp and Do Your Homework" on them. These are from Unique Teaching Resources

Back to School Sticker Charts (two to a page)

DLTK Back to School Printables  DLTk has a large number of back to school printables, such as coloring pages, doorknob hangers, treat bags, and worksheets.

Black and White Calendar(month) from Carson Dellosa. Print the same calendar in color

Printable School - Year Calendar

Printable Calendars There are a variety of calendars that you can print at this site.

2009 Printable Calendar

Free 2009 Printable Calendars Just select a month and print

Editable Calendar Grid Use this grid for any month. Type a title, day numbers, and any other information

Back to School Numbers for the Calendar These are from play2learnprintables.com

Apple Calendar Numbers These are from play2learnprintables.com

Printable Page of Apples, Ladybugs and Pears from Alenka's Printables. These could be used for a variety of purposes such as nametags, calendar numbers, magnets, and more

Gradebook Based on Averages A Microsoft template. It requires Excel 97 or later

Gradebook Based on Percentages A Microsoft template. It requires Excel 97 or later

Gradebook Based on Points A Microsoft template. It requires Excel 97 or later

Check the Teacher Timesaver Page for more Center Signs, Templates, Forms Printables, and other Timesavers

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Word Searches and Puzzles and things to do when work is completed

Back to School Excitement Jigsaw Puzzle (20 pieces)

Back to School Excitement Jigsaw Puzzle (56 pieces)

A Basket of Apples Jigsaw Puzzle (80 pieces)

School Word Search

Back to School Word Search

Easy School  Word Search 

School Supplies Word Search

What's wrong in the Picture? Find 11 things wrong in the picture (requires registration)

Brain Binders These are challenging activities involving folding a sheet of paper to match a finished picture. Choose two, three, four, or five folds

Brain Boosters

School Daze An online word search puzzle (requires flash)

Printable Fact-filled Bookmarks Choose from reading, math, science or social studies. These are for upper elementary or middle school students

Also check my Puzzles and Games page for many more ideas for printable board games and more

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Miscellaneous Back to School Activities

When Does School Start Where You Live?   Students will read a chart and answer questions about it. This is from abcteach.com

Jeffrey Can't Wait  A back to school reading comprehension activity. This is from abcteach.com

Ugh! Back to School A back to school reading assignment for upper elementary or middle school. From abcteach.com

Back to School Treasure Hunt

Back to School Activities (look for the yellow free samples sign)

Time for School Mini-Book  This mini-book is from DLTK and is for K-2

Make a Back to School Book Have students make this book near the beginning of school. In this book the students write about themselves, their families, and their favorite things. If you want students to make the book later in the year, have them make their own cover

Make Class Yearbooks (elementary)Use this template for Microsoft Publisher to make and assemble class yearbooks at the beginning of the year. Students can add pictures and information as the year progresses

When Does School Start Where You Live? A beginning of year activity for grades 3-6 that involves reading a table, answering questions, and writing. This is from abcteach.com

Back to School Ideas These ideas are from other teachers

Back to School Spelling (primary) There are seven pages for this back to school theme with word scramble, story writing, cloze, and more (from abcteach.com)

Back to School Spelling (upper elementary)There are seven pages in this theme with word scramble, word search, and dictionary skills (from abcteach.com)

Make a Name Mobile If I were doing this, I would cut card stock into four pieces, and hand out the appropriate number to each child for their first name. Encourage the students to make each letter large and color in the rest of the card

Back to School Theme from Kinderkorner

Back to School Writing Paper (elementary)

Back to School Resources for Teachers A collection of articles, ideas, and activities for the start of school

Back to School Activities A large selection of back to school activities from abcteach.com

Back to School Safety  Four pages on bus and bike safety for grades 3-5 (this file is in PDF format so you need the free Adobe Acrobat to read and print it

Fall Friends Paperdolls to dress in their new school clothes from Makingfriends.com. This site also includes other school related crafts

Tools and Templates from Education World Award certificates, back to school templates, and forms, assignment sheets, and more

Make Your Own Whiteboard Make individual whiteboards for students. I used  individual chalkboards for guided practice in math. These could be used for small group activities for a nice change of pace. You will need window cleaner for cleaning them and old socks or pieces of felt for erasing. There are links to whiteboard activities here as well

Write On, Rub Off Boards With Foam Frame

Parent Involvement  If you want to get parents involved, check out this page for all kinds of ideas

"Back to School" from the electronic library classroom.  A series of instructional sessions designed specifically for librarians and library staff who have had little or no experience with the Internet. 

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Back to School Templates and PowerPoint Presentations

Back to School PowerPoint Presentation A colorful presentation with 17 possible slides. You will need PowerPoint 97 or later

Back to School PowerPoint Presentation This is an editable, colorful, PowerPoint presentation that can be used at Parent Night, or edited for other purposes. The only way I could get this to work was to scroll down to the presentation, right click the link and "save target as" and save to a folder on my computer. Then when you click on the file on your computer it will come up in PowerPoint. It is a great presentation.

K-3 Class Rules A PowerPoint presentation. Requires PowerPoint 2000 or later

An Editable PowerPoint Presentaion You will need PowerPoint 97 or later

Classroom Newsletter Template You need Word 97 or later

True or False Test Template You need Word 97 or later

Brochure Template This brochure template could be used for a variety of reasons. You could hand it out at Open House with classroom rules and procedures in it. Change the graphics and insert your own text. You need Word 97 or later

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Open House and Other Communication with Parents

Welcome Letter Template This welcome letter template from Education World will save you some time. Edit sections and add information where needed (Word document)

Countdown to Open House There's some good information here as well as some open house activities

Suggestions for Preparing for Open House

Planning a Successful Open House All the tools you need to make your open house a success. This is from Microsoft

Open House Invitation Just write in the date, time, and room number

Back to School Night Invitation Write in the date, time, and room number

Colorful Open House Invitations (four to a page)

Open House Invitation (editable) (pdf) This is from Education World

Welcome Parents A Microsoft template. Requires PowerPoint 97 or later

Classroom Newsletter Template Requires Word 97 or later

Conference Record Use this template from Microsoft to record parent conferences. Requires Word 2003

Open House Tips (bottom of page)

Open House: When First Impressions Matter

Parent Night Ideas from Other Teachers

Parent Resources The "How to Help Your Child...." series are excellent handouts to give parents at open house or parent conferences. They contain ideas on how parents can help their children at home

Homework Notification Note For missing or incomplete homework

Make-up Assignments for a student who was absent

Homework Checklist

Reward Charts for Parents to use at Home  Help reinforce positive behaviors by having parents use these at home

Also check Teacher Timesavers

© 1997-2010 Audrey Smith. All rights reserved.