Back to School No Prep Ideas
1. All About Me Biography Poem
This is a fun get-to-know-you activity for back to school - and can also be used for an easy display for Open House.
Write the following All About Me Biography Template on the board, and then have students use the template to write their poem on a blank sheet of paper.
Line 1: First Name
Line 2: 3 Adjectives to You
Line 3: Daughter/Son Of:
Line 4: Who Loves…
Line 5: Who Feels…
Line 6: Who Needs…
Line 7: Who Gives…
Line 8: Who Fears…
Line 9: Who would like to…
Line 10: Resident of…
Line 11: Last Name
2. Classroom Scavenger Hunt
Help your students get to know their new classroom by sending them on a classroom scavenger hunt! Have students look for different items around the classroom, like:
- a book with a green cover
- something that starts with the letter m
- something that is plugged in
- something tiny
- a poster with a title
Make a list of items on the board for students to find, or use these 4 printable scavenger hunts (includes a scavenger hunt that students complete while staying seated, a Find a Friend scavenger hunt, and more).
3. Interview A Friend
4. Preposterous People - a Fun Ice Breaker
For this fun ice breaker, all you need is a blank sheet of paper for each of your students!
In small groups, students will create preposterous-looking people. The quick instructions are:
- Students fold a piece of paper into fourths and draw a head on the top section.
- Students pass the paper to someone else and draw a shirt with arms.
- Repeat with the 3rd section (legs) and the 4th section (shoes).
You can find more detailed instructions for this ice breaker here, as well as pictures!
5. Find the Fib
This activity is a personal favorite of mine. It's easy, fun, and can be used both as an ice breaker and to review different content areas.
The idea is simple - students write 2 true statements and one fib about themselves or the content you are covering. Then, have them see if a partner can find the fib. You can find ideas on how to use find the fib in your classroom here - and get a free printable!
6. Compare and Contrast With A Friend
Partner students up and have them discuss their similarities and differences. Have them consider things like:
- families
- foods
- sports
- school
- pets
They could fill in a table or a Venn Diagram as they discuss. This makes a great introduction to comparing and contrasting!
No Prep Ideas for Emergency Sub Days
7. Free and Reusable Sub Plans
8. The Day After A Sub Letter
Free Worksheets and Activities for September
9. Free Daily Math Practice
10. Free Character Trait Slideshow
11. Free POV Worksheets
Get these 3 free worksheets that help students think about 3 different aspects of point of view:
- Who is the narrator of the story?
- How does author bias impact how a writer presents information?
- Do you agree or disagree with an author / character?
Bonus: Want to give your students more practice with biased texts? Check out my children's book.
12. Free Noun Worksheets
13. Make a Character Trait Mobile
14. Johnny Appleseed Freebie
Other No Prep Activities for September
15. September 11th Worksheets
16. Storyline Online
Storyline Online is a free website that has actors read aloud popular children's books.
Students can watch and listen to books like Brave Irene - and then you can supplement the story with one of these activities.
Or listen to the classic Thank You, Mr. Falker - and then check out these ideas to go along with the book.
17. Partner Students Up & Ask Questions
This is a simple, self-explanatory activity, but it's meaningful and can be used repeatedly. Instead of asking questions to the entire classroom, partner your students up and have them talk about the answers together. Once you establish good partnering procedures, you can use this anytime, for any subject.
It's a great activity to pull out if your principal does a surprise walk-through!
18. No Talk Line Up
Pull this fun idea out anytime you need a quick time filler - or just need a few moments of silence!
Have 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students line up in a certain order WITHOUT TALKING to each other. There are a lot of different options for lining up:
- alphabetically
- birthday
- number of siblings
- height
- by hair color (darkest to lightest)
- number of pets
- shoe size
19. Caption a Silly Picture
Find a few silly, school-appropriate pictures with a quick Google search. Then, have students write a caption or short story for the pictures!
A good place to find silly pictures with an animal theme is the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. Check out:
20. Practice Fluency Using Silly Voices
Rereading texts is one of the best ways to improve student fluency. Make this more exciting by having students reread a text using silly voices. They can use voices like:
- a baby
- a robot
- a whisper
- a monster
21. Count - But With Big Numbers
Students struggle with place value. One of the easiest ways to practice - as well as to clue you in on what exactly students are struggling with - is to have them count on paper.
Don't start with 1 - start with a number that will reveal their place value skills, like 995. Some numbers that will be particularly revealing are:
- 1,001
- 1,010
- 1,100
- 1,101
This may seem like a tedious activity, but many students will love the predictability of it. And any of your competive students will love the challenge of writing as many numbers as possible.
22. Take a Brain Break with GoNoodle
Concentrating for extended periods of time is difficult, even for adults. Upper elementary students need brain breaks throughout the day - and GoNoodle makes this easy!
There are a huge variety of videos - some designed to get students moving, some to teach students skills, some to help students practice mindfulness, etc.
Some of the videos might be a little to juvenile for your upper elementary students, but there are plenty of videos that they will love!
Try:
23. Table Group Reading
24. Rewrite the Ending of a Story
25. Fall Squiggle Story
26. Fill in the Blank Vocabulary
Have students write a sentence using one of their vocabulary words - but instead of writing the vocabulary word out, students should draw a blank. Then, they share their sentences with a partner or the class so that they can guess the missing vocabulary word!
Explain to students that good sentences will include a lot of clues, making it EASY for the vocabulary word to be guessed.
27. Draw a Story Timeline
After reading a story together, have your students draw a story timeline of the most important events.
They should pick 4-5 of the most important events of the story, and then illustrate them in the order they happened.
28. Partner Reading
29. Go on a Prefix Suffix Word Hunt
After introducing your students to prefixes and suffixes, send them on a word hunt in search of words that have prefixes and suffixes!
If you want them to practice specific prefixes and suffixes, tell them exactly what to look for; otherwise, let them search word walls, bulletin boards, and your classroom library for any word that contains a prefix or suffix. Have them make a list of all the words they find and share them with their classmates!
This Prefix and Suffix Resource includes 2 scavenger hunts with specific prefix or suffix prompts, as well as a variety of other resources to help students learn how to decode multisyllabic words that contain prefixes and suffixes!
30. Read Outside
Take advantage of the beautiful fall temperatures and have your class read outside! Whether you do a class read aloud or have students read with a partner or independently, changing up the setting is an easy way to make reading more engaging!
You might also like these other outdoor learning ideas.