Back to School Activities and Books for the Primary Classroom

This image highlights some of my favorite activities that are included in my Back to School Activities and Centers unit.

As busy as back to school season can be, it’s always one of my favorite times of year. Those brand-new school supplies and freshly printed classroom decor get me every time! If you’re preparing for a new school year and excited to get started, I’ve got you covered! Today I’m sharing a good-old old-fashioned roundup of back to school activities and books to start the year off right!

Making Back to School Activities Count

Those first few weeks are a whirlwind, right?! I certainly think so! That’s why I recommend getting super strategic with which activities you plan to include. Think about the age and skill level of your students, things that worked well last year (and didn’t), as well as how you make those first few weeks feel special! I think as teachers, it’s really easy to get bogged down during back to school time. So take a breath and remember, you don’t have to have every day planned down to the minute. And in fact, going in with a flexible attitude is one that will serve you best!

This photo shows a teacher sharing a book with her students.

So what types of activities and books do I recommend? I’m so glad you asked! When it comes to making the most of back to school learning, I’m a big fan of a couple of things:

Keep in mind, these are just my own personal must-do’s for the primary classroom! Your list might look different. But if you’re at a loss, I think these ideas are a great place to start when choosing your back-to-school activities and books. You’ll want to keep these goals at the top of your mind as you work on planning to ensure what you choose aligns with them.

Back to School Books

Alright, ready to see some of my picks for fostering these goals? Let’s dive in and start with some of my favorite back to school read alouds. If you know me, you already know that I am an avid reader. I love picture books for the primary classroom and it’s usually pretty hard for me to narrow down my favorites! But here are a few great options to start with.

This image highlights some back to school books that are perfect for the first day of School like "Our Class is a Family" and "The Pigeon Has to Go to School."

Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olsen: This adorable picture book is the perfect choice to teach students about classroom community and teamwork. This book is great for communicating to children that while at school they should feel valued, safe, and cared for by everyone. This book is one of my all-time favorites and an excellent choice for those first few days!

We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins: If you teach primary learners, there’s no doubt that you’ve got some dinosaur fans in the bunch! Use this book to open the conversation about classroom rules and expectations in a fun, playful way!

The Pigeon Has to Go to School by Mo Willems: Have you read any of the hilarious books by this author? These are always a classroom favorite! In this book, Pigeon, who already knows everything, doesn’t understand why he has to go to school. This is a great read-aloud to use before a discussion on the purpose of the classroom and everything students will learn over the year.

These are just a small sample of my favorite back to school books! I have many more on my Amazon list if you need some additional information. There’s plenty of variety on the list, so you can choose what works best for your classroom needs and goals.

Back to School Activities

Now that you have some great suggestions for read alouds to use, let’s talk back to school activities! No matter what you’re looking for, there’s a little something for everyone on this list!

Back to School Activities for Thematic Lesson Plans

I’m a big fan of using thematic teaching, so I tend to use a “school theme” for the whole first month. This works great since we’re learning how to use school supplies and classroom procedures. Once you get started with annual planning and work your way through a year of themes, I think you’ll see how life-changing it can be too.

The resources in this image will help you teach primary students about school rules and people in the school. Teaching rules and procedures are crucial back to school activities.

Our back to school activities consist of a blend of small group lessons, hands-on center activities, educational crafts, writing activities, and no-prep printables. All of my thematic units use a blend of these activities because I have found that variety helps keep engagement high. Some of the activities in my Back to School Activities and Centers Unit include:

  • Vocabulary Tracing Pages
  • Alphabet Directed Drawing & Writing Prompts
  • Beginning Sound Match Game 
  • Search and Find Letters Activity
  • Composing Puzzles
  • Roll & Cover Games
  • Clip the Number Wheels 
  • Non-fiction readers (People in School, School Rules, Feelings at School) and more!

We use these activities throughout the first month of school. There are a lot of options in this unit, so we’re pretty much set when it comes to centers and activities! It works out well because many of the activities allow me to introduce the students to specific school supplies and how to use them. In the primary classroom, we all know how crucial this is for success! I also love that this theme sets the tone, welcomes students to the classroom, and familiarizes them with what to expect.

All About Me Crafts

This photo showcases an "All About Me" activity that will help you get to know students in your classroom.

Another great theme to use alongside your “Welcome to School” activities is “All About Me”. It’s important to me that children feel valued, understood, and cared for. A great way to do that is by allowing them to share about who they are and the things they like. Not to mention, these are great get-to-know-you activities to help ease those first week jitters! I love using writing crafts to facilitate this!

This All About Me Crayon Craft and the All About Me Rocket Craft are great options for back to school time. They each include a variety of pages that share details about the student such as favorites, family, friends, and more! It’s fun to complete a page or two per day during the first few weeks of school. Once all of the pages are complete, they are bound together into a book. Then, the cover is crafted to create a cute crayon or rocket.

After everyone is finished, consider allowing students to share their books with the class. You can select 2-5 volunteers per day, making sure to work through your whole class by the end. This will give everyone a chance to share a little bit about themselves. It’s a great way for you and the students to get to know each other. Not to mention, these are SO cute and when complete make a great keepsake that families will treasure for years!

Back to School Bookmarks & Reading Challenges

Printable bookmarks, like the one shown in this photo, are a great back to school activity for primary classrooms.

As I mentioned before, I am a big fan of fostering a deep love of reading. For this reason, I’m a big fan of using fun reading challenges every month to excite students about books. These challenges are more exciting than a standard reading log and allow students to decide what type of book they will read each day based on the included prompts. The prompts include things like “read a book about animals” or “read a book in a quiet place”.

The best part though is that these reading challenges include editable options! There are pre-filled templates with set prompts, as well as blank options so you can choose what works best for your classroom. There are also writing pages and crafts included so that students can write about some of their favorite books. These are great for displaying on a bulletin board each month.

Oh and if your students are going to be doing so much reading, they’ll need a bookmark, right? Check out these Back to School Bookmarks that make the perfect student gift. You can prep them ahead of time and even laminate them if you’d like! There are also black-and-white options available if you’d prefer to use them as a coloring activity instead.

Back to School Coloring Activities

With this worksheet, students will color themed pictures using a code.

Every teacher needs a trusty supply of no-prep printables! I like having some engaging activities on hand to fill some time when needed or add in additional opportunities to practice a specific skill. Color-by-Code is always my classroom hero for this need! It’s engaging, versatile, and everyone’s favorite way to practice! In my Back to School Color by Code Bundle, you’ll get activities for:

  • Letter recognition
  • Number identification
  • Sight Words
  • Number sense and editable options

The best part about my color by code activities though is that they are editable! This means you can swap out these skills for anything under the sun! This feature comes in handy as your students progress in skill level. You’ll also be able to differentiate among your group with a few clicks! And don’t forget you can use other skills too! The editable options mean you can use spelling words, vocabulary words, and even math facts!

Back to School BINGO

This image shows a printable BINGO game that targets CVC words and is the perfect addition to your back to school activities.

Last on my list of engaging back to school activities is BINGO! I’m a firm believer in the power of learning games, and BINGO is one of my favorites. I like to print, laminate, and store these Back to School CVC Word BINGO Cards in a plastic tub with school-themed mini erasers. Then, we can use them at a moment’s notice! It’s a great whole-group game to end the day, a small group learning activity, and even a center game if you assign a specific student to be the caller!

The resource includes pre-made BINGO cards for short vowel CVC words, calling cards, a call list, and even an editable file! The editable file allows you to add your own words, numbers, or anything else you’d like to use in your BINGO game. This versatile activity is great for a beginning of the year review and is sure to be a hit in your classroom. But. . . if you are in a grade that hasn’t taught CVC words, you can use this game any time too!

Back to School Activities That Make An Impact

I hope you found something fun on this list to try in your classroom this year. From thematic activities to no-prep printables to crafts, books, and more, there’s a little something for everyone on this list. When it comes to planning back to school activities in your room, remember to keep your goals top of mind! This will help tremendously with narrowing down your activities! You can find all of these, and more in my TPT Shop if you still need inspiration! Happy planning!

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This post is jam-packed with all of my favorite back to school activities and books! Pin this post on Pinterest to make your lesson planning a breeze!

Looking for some fun and engaging back to school books and activities that are sure to engage students in your primary classroom? In this post, I share some of my favorite ideas and resources for the beginning of the year including activities that will help you build relationships, teach school procedures and ease students into the classroom routine!