The first week of school is over, and I am absolutely loving my class of "Wild Things!" This first week of school, is generally spent going over rules and getting to know one another. I wanted to find a lot of really fun activities that got the kids up and moving around the classroom!
I purchased a packet from Teacher Pay Teachers,
Super in Second by Babbling Abby, that had a ton of wonderful resources that made planning for the first week extra easy. One of my very favorite activities in this packet was "Find a Friend." This was an first week of school activity I remembered doing all the way through college. In college it was lame...but to a second grader it is the most exciting thing ever! They got to get up out of their seats and talk to their friends without getting into trouble!
Another activity in the packet was a "New Friend Interview" I paired the class up into partners and gave them a place to sit on the floor. They did a great job interviewing and illustrating their classmates. My favorite part was hearing the students introduce their new friend to the class. This activity was also extra helpful for the two new students to our school!
My school is currently working towards adopting the Common Core standards, which place a big emphasis on writing. I have decided to start from the beginning with a lot of writing. This packet had several activities that gave the students an opportunity to write...providing me with a great beginning of the year writing example.
Writing activity number one was very simple. The students finished the sentence "Second grade is going to be super because..." I loved reading the sweet answers the students gave.
The next writing activity had the students writing three sentences with a little help from me! I broke it down using transition works "First, Next, Last" It was really interesting to read what the students remembered from the night before second grade!
Miss Amanda did this writing prompt with her first graders, so I borrowed this and had my students share about their summer. I gave the students an opportunity to share with their classmates.
The last activity was not in this packet...and I am having a hard time finding the link for it! If I can find it I will add later. This activity went along with the book
"What if Everybody Did That?" by Ellen Javernick. My favorite page discussed what would happen if everyone in the class shouted out! It was funny to watch my "blurters" really think about this issue!
After reading the story, the students were given a scenario and a blank story page. They had to come up with the "then" part of the story. This was one of my favorites!
All in all we had a fabulous first week of school, and my "Wild Things" have really impressed me with their ability to follow directions! It makes my job a lot easier, once the class understands the rules and procedures for the class!
Wishing all my teacher friends a WONDERFUL start to the school year! Good luck with your group of "Wild Things!"
