How are you feeling about the back to school season? I know how overwhelming all the lesson planning, meetings, professional development, team meetings, and decorating can get. Not to mention, you are also trying to keep a hold of the excitement you are feeling for a brand new school year!
Let me help you plan your first week of school lesson plans! I truly love back to school lesson plans. Why? Because they are perfect for establishing your classroom community, getting to know your students, helping your students establish friendships, enjoying fun read alouds, and more! Check out the back to school writing projects and crafts listed below. Keep in mind, every picture is linked straight to the resource in my TPT store. Click on anything you find interesting! Enjoy!
Back to School Writing and Craft Activities
When planning my first week of school lesson plans, I like to pair activities with popular read alouds. Each of the projects below is paired with a common read aloud that you can enjoy with your students.
“Our Class is a Family:” Establish your classroom community with this writing and craft activity (or “craftivity”). This project is all about embracing a new class and establishing a sense of respect as a classroom family! Pair it with the popular book, “Our Class is a Family” by Shannon Olsen! Students will decide what a classroom family looks like and acts like. The adorable schoolhouse theme and craft adds to the back-to-school engagement and writing fun.
“Our Class Sticks Together:” Let’s make some new friends with this writing project! Students will find friends that match writing prompts and get to know their classmates better. Read “School’s First Day of School” by Adam Rex together, and then spend some time letting your students get to know their fellow classmates! Prompts include: “my teacher,” “a new friend,” “someone with cool shoes,” and more! Decorate an adorable glue bottle craft when the writing project is complete!
“All About This Smart Cookie”: Are you looking for a traditional “all about me” project? This back to school writing project includes fun prompts for students to share their likes and interests with you and their classmates. Pair it with the read aloud “The Smart Cookie” by Jory John and Pete Oswald.
“We Go Together Like…”: Let’s help students decide what it’s like to be a good friend in the classroom! Use this friendship activity during the first week of school or for a friendship refresher during the year. Students will describe a good friend, choose from one of the six included food pairs, complete the writing project, and decorate an adorable craft! Read “Peanut Butter and Cupcake” by Terry Border for added engagement!
Grab the Writing Project Bundle!
I have bundled together all four of these writing projects for you, with a discounted price! Yay! Your first week of school lesson plans will be super simplified with this back to school bundle! Grab all four projects for $9.50. Click the picture to check it out!
Each writing and craft activity comes with all the templates you need for a full writing experience. Students will brainstorm, spend time getting to know their classmates, use descriptive language, finish sentence starters, write a final copy, and more! Choose the templates that work best for your students.
And of course, the part that everybody gets excited about: THE CRAFTS! Each project comes with options for your students to complete a simple craft. Choose to color, use markers, or whatever else you have on hand. Each project makes for an adorable hallway display!
One More Thing!
Are you looking for some more ideas for your back to school lesson plans? Check out this blog post! I have listed activities you can do with read alouds, morning meeting activities, math activities, and more! I go through the exact structure I use to plan the first week of school lesson plans. Click the picture to check it out!
