Today's Classroom Activities :

Back to School Fun

How You've Grown
Math Have students trace their bodies on large sheets of paper on the first day of school and on the last day of school. Have each child measure his or her growth over the course of the year. Make a graph showing how much the children grew. Send the tracings home with the children after comparing them.

Where Were You?
Reading Ask students to bring in postcards or photographs of where they went this summer. Discuss setting. Divide the postcards and/or photos according to: country, city, beach, forest, inside, outside, etc. You can do this in large groups on a bulletin board, in small groups on poster board or in learning stations. Another day, use the same images to illustrate context clues. Can you tell what is happening by the picture?

September Sunflowers
Art/Math Create sunflowers that are the height of each student and the teachers, writing the students' and teachers' names on them. Invite other classes to do the same, and compare sizes between students of different grades, between students and teachers and between various teachers. Make graphs showing results and display the finished sunflowers in the hallways or lobby.

Our Year Ahead
Social Studies Set up a timeline that can be left up all year. Mark the first day of school, then have students mark significant events, such as holidays, field trips and report card times. Ask students to write descriptive phrases on the timeline about each event. Keep it updated throughout the year.