It is pretty safe to say that in the history of our country, we have never had so many children start the school year virtually.
Since March, we have all said over and over again that we are in uncharted territories. And still to now, everything that we have experienced because of COVID-19 has been UNPRECEDENTED.
However, as new and different as this situation is for us, we can still make the first week of school special and UNIQUE for all of our students.
No one knows if our students will ever experience a pandemic again while attending school (hopefully not), but with technology on our side, we can make this first week of school as FUN and MEMORABLE as we can for our little ones!
Below are 10 fun activities for the first week of virtual school!
1. First Day of School Selfies on Padlet– Since all of our students will have a laptop or tablet to use, have them take their first day of school selfies and post them on Padlet! Once you have created a wall and customize the directions for your classroom, students can easily click on the direct link to your wall to add their selfie! This is a great way for students to take turns to introduce themselves to each other!
2. First Day of School Selfies on Google Slides– If your students are younger and you would like a more guided template, click on the image before to download the First Day of School Selfies for Google Slides!
3. All About Me Digital Poster– In the past, I would have students complete an All About Me graphic organizer and then share a few each day during Morning Meeting to get to know each child better. Since we are online, students can complete these activity digitally with their parents’ help! Simply insert pictures and type in the text boxes to complete. Students can share via SeeSaw or Google Classroom! Click below to download!
4. Play I Spy– As students introduce themselves and share a little more with the class, take notes and use the information to play I Spy as a class. This is great way for students to see how well they remember information of each other. For instance, the teacher can say, “I Spy someone who has two dogs and loves eating pizza.” The rest of the class would have to rely on their memory to call out the student’s name.
5. Show & Tell– What a great opportunity for students to finally show and tell something from home that was TOO big to fit in their backpack! 🙂 Maybe it’s there playground set or pet or HUGE stuffed animal, this is their chance to SHINE!
6. Talent Show– Either students can do it live or record themselves and share on Flipgrid a talent that they have. The best part is that students can even leave comments and reactions to each other’s videos on Flipgrid!
7. Popcorn Sharing– In this fun activity, teachers simply ask a question and students ‘pop in’ to share, if they wish to. Here are some sample questions: What makes a good student? How can your teacher help you this year? What is a good friend? What makes your excited? What makes you scared?
8. Virtual Tour– Take a Virtual Tour of the Classroom and/or School- Since students can’t physically be in the classroom or school building, use Nearpod to upload pictures of your student and classroom! This is a great way for your students to see what their classroom and/or school like without being there physically.
9. Vision Board on PicCollage– Have students create a vision board of what they hope to accomplish this year on PicCollage to share! This is a great way for students to set goals for themselves! They can use words, stickers, and pictures to fill their board before sharing on Google Classroom or SeeSaw!
10. Word Cloud of Attributes– Have your students describe themselves using positive words by creating a word cloud! Once complete, students can use this to share more about themselves.
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