Summer break is ending, and it’s back to school time. Get ready for the new school year with this collection of the best back to school ideas and resources. Click on the tiles below to jump to a popular topic, or read on for our top tips, printables, and more.
Back to School Essentials
Take some of the angst out of planning for the back to school season with this collection of teaching ideas, lesson plans, and printables. You’ll find all the essentials to help ease you into the first weeks of school - from icebreakers to classroom organization tools - plus collections of printables and lesson plans to support differentiation and curriculum planning for the new school year. And, of course, we have teacher self-care resources to help you through the inevitable ups and downs. Read on for our top recommendations, or browse the full collections to discover more.
Back to School Ideas & Activities
Here you’ll find our top tried and tested icebreakers and getting to know you activities, as well as ideas for the first day of school, and bulletin board inspiration.
Icebreakers and Getting to Know You Activities
Icebreakers are a fun way to help get new students acquainted and situated, and build classroom community. Use these fun activities, printables, and worksheets to get to know your students, and help them get to know each other, at the beginning of the school year.
Try these top 10 icebreaker to help your students get to know each other (and you) in the first week of school.
- Icebreakers and Getting to Know Your Students Classroom Kit
- Getting to Know You Activities Packet for Middle School
- Getting to Know You Activities Packet for High School
- Back to School Jokes Icebreaker and Writing Activity
- Getting To Know You Fortune Teller
- All About Me: Getting to Know You Questions
- Back to School Name Tag/Tents
- Figure Me Out
- Dicebreaker
- Design a Coat of Arms Getting to Know You and Bulletin Board Activity
Browse the full collections of Icebreakers and Getting to Know You Activities for more ideas and ready-to-use printables.
Bulletin Board and Classroom Decoration Ideas
There’s nothing better than starting the new school year with a classroom that’s organized and looking great. Here are our top 5 resources for helping you decorate your classroom and create inspiring and engaging bulletin boards ready for back to school.
- Organizer Labels and Decorations Classroom Kit
- Bulletin Board Ideas Kit
- One-of-a-Kind Welcome Back Bulletin Boards
- 7 Tips for Back to School Door Ideas and Decorations
- 15 Bulletin Board Ideas to Liven Up Your Classroom
Browse the complete collection of Bulletin Boards for more ideas and inspiration!
First Day of School Activities
Calm those first day of school jitters with our top 5 first day of school resources to get you organized and ready to start the new school year.
- First Day Of School Checklist & Teaching Tips
- Back To School Classroom Routines And Procedures Checklist
- First Day Activities For Elementary School Students Themed Packet
- First Day Activities For Middle School Students Themed Packet
- First Day Activities For High School Students Themed Packet
Browse the full First Day of School collection for more helpful printables and teaching ideas for those first days back at school.
More Back to School Activities
If you’re looking for more fun back to school teaching ideas and activities outside of the traditional icebreakers, we’ve got you covered. If you're looking doe goal-setting activities and ready-to-use activity packets for elementary school, middle school, and high school grade levels check out our top 5 back to school printables.
- Back to School: Goal-Setting Activities
- Back To School: Welcome to 6th Grade Packet
- Back to School Activities Packet for Grades K-2 - Coming soon!
- Back to School Activities Packet for Grades 3-5
- Back to School Expectations for Middle School
For more printables and ideas, browse our entire collection of Back to School Resources.
Back to School Templates, Forms & Planners
There are so many details to keep track of as we go back to school. Here are our top 5 ready-to-use printables to help get you organized and prepared for the upcoming school year.
- Teacher Planner 2023-2024 - our popular printable planner is back with new customizable covers, and a huge range of editable templates, forms, and calendars.
- Organizer Labels for Bins, Cubbies, and Hooks - this bumper pack of printable labels has everything to get your classroom super organized and looking great.
- Back to School Routines and Procedures Checklist - use this handy printable to remember everything you need to set expectations and classroom rules in the first week of school.
- The Complete Classroom Jobs and Helpers Kit - perfect for lower elementary school grades, use this packet of posters and templates to assign classroom jobs and helpers at the start of the school year. Or try this Classroom Jobs Collection for older grades.
- Student Awards and Certificates Kit - celebrate your student's achievements with this colorful collection of printable awards and certificates.
Lesson Planning Tools & Templates
Looking for useful templates to make lesson planning easier and less stressful? We’ve got you covered with our top 10 lesson planning templates.
- Lesson Plan Template
- Weekly Lesson Planning Template
- Unit Planning Template
- Daily Lesson Planning Template
- Priorities List Template
- Small Group Lesson Plan Template
- Weekly Overview Planning Template
- Teacher's Toolkit of Teaching Strategies and Templates
- Classroom Games Templates Kit
- Vocabulary-Building Activities and Templates
Browse our complete collection of Lesson Planning Tools for more helpful resources.
More Forms, Passes & Templates
Browse these collections for more essential printables for back to school and beyond.
- Classroom Forms - editable permission slips, templates for substitute teachers, assessment charts, behavior management templates, and more.
- Classroom Passes and Notes - includes bathroom passes, classroom library passes, homework passes, and teacher stationery.
- Awards and Certificates - more ideas and printables for celebrating your students’ achievements throughout the year.
- Graphic Organizers - all the ready-to-use templates and graphic organizers you could ever wish for!
Curriculum and Instruction Resources
A broad collection of resources to enhance your teaching, supplement your lesson plans, assess student performance, and deliver high-quality instruction regardless of which curriculum you use.
Pre-Assessment and Differentiation Resources
Pre-assessments at the beginning of the school year are a great way to gather data about where students are at in their learning. This data can help inform lesson planning and differentiation strategies for your student. Use these ready-to-use printables to help you plan and differentiate students’ learning.
Pre-Assessments for Elementary School
- Elementary Division Pre-Assessment
- Elementary Multiplication Pre-Assessment
- Elementary Addition Pre-Assessment
- Elementary Subtraction Pre-Assessment
- Elementary Reading Pre-Assessment (K-2)
- Elementary Reading Diagnostic Pre-Assessment for Grades 3-5
- Elementary Writing Diagnostic Pre-Assessment for Grades 3-5
- Self-Assessments Packet
Pre-Assessments for Middle School
Differentiation Strategies for Elementary School
- Reading Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Elementary Grades
- Writing Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Elementary Grades
- Math Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Elementary Grades
Differentiation Strategies for Middle School
- Writing Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Middle School
- Reading Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Middle School
- Math Differentiation Strategies and Activities for Middle School
Differentiation Strategies for High School
Teaching Guides and Lesson Planning Support
Here we’ve featured our most useful resources for teaching any grade or subject, plus a collection of our favorite resources for elementary grade levels. Choose from no-prep teaching guides with detailed lesson plans and accompanying printable resources to handy templates and teacher guidance.
Top 5 Teaching Resources For Any Grade Level
Top 5 Teaching Resources For Elementary School
Classroom Management Strategies
Keep your classroom safe, make all students feel welcome, and invite families into your classroom with these resources on classroom management, communicating and building relationships with parents, and creating an inclusive and culturally responsive classroom environment.
Classroom Management Tips
Your classroom atmosphere directly affects learning. Strategies for classroom and behavior management can have a lasting positive impact, and the sooner boundaries are set, the better. Here are our top 5 classroom management resources for back to school.
- Video Series: A Veteran Teacher's Classroom Management Strategies
- 5 Tips to Master Classroom Management
- Tried and Tested Attention-Getters to Keep Control of your Classroom
- Setting the Tone in Your Classroom
- How To Bring Inclusive Practices Into Your Classroom
Browse the full collection of Classroom Management Resources
Parent-Teacher Communication Strategies
Getting parents involved in your classroom and building good relationships with parents and carers has a significant impact on student success. Open houses and back to school nights in those first weeks of school also provide a great opportunity to introduce yourself as the class teacher and get parents involved through volunteering, donating school supplies, and more.
Here are our top resources for communicating and building relationships with parents and carers.
- Back to School First Week Parent Communication Templates
- 10 Back To School Night Ideas To Turn Parents Into Partners
- Open House Resources
- Parent-Teacher Conferences: Before, During, and After
- Parent-Teacher Conference Resources
For more advice and ready-to-use printables, browse our complete collection of Teacher-Parent Collaboration resources.
Behavior Management Tips
Behavior management is a vital part of managing your classroom and the start of the school year is the best time to set boundaries and routines conducive to positive behavior. Here we’ve collected together our top 5 behavior management resources to try.
- Tips For Achieving And Maintaining Discipline
- Students' Contributions To The Rules
- Setting Limits For Effective Behavior Management
- Conflict Resolution Lesson Plan & Printables (K-2)
- Conflict Resolution Strategies For Grades 3-5
Browse our full Behavior Management collection for more helpful tips, strategies, and resources.
Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies
Here are our top 5 resources providing advice and best practices for developing and maintaining an inclusive, cross-cultural, and contextual teaching practice.
- 5 Steps Educators Must Take Now to Become Culturally Responsive Teachers
- How to Build a Culturally Responsive Classroom
- Teaching Winter Holidays in A Culturally-Responsive Classroom
- Open Discussions About Diversity with Your Students
- Celebrate Hispanic Heritage
Browse our full collection of Culture and Diversity Resources for more ideas and support.
Support for New Teachers
Back to school time can feel particularly overwhelming for new teachers, so we’re here with our top 5 resources to help get you off to a great start.
- New Teacher Starter Toolkit
- 15 Essential Teaching Tips for Back to School
- FAQs For The First Days Of School
- Ten Guiding Principles For The Beginning Of The Year
- 20 Tips for Lesson Planning and Classroom Management
Browse the full New Teacher collection for everything you need to make it through your first year of teaching.
Teacher Self-Care
As we dive into the back-to-school season, it can be easy to focus on getting your classrooms, lessons, and students ready, and forget about yourself. It’s important that teachers remember to make time for self-care to ensure they’re in the best shape, physically and mentally to support students through another school year. Here are our essential self-care picks for back to school.
- Self-Care Essentials: 6 Tips for Busy Teachers
- The Complete Guide to Healthy Habits for Teachers
- The Time, Task, and Workload Management Workbook
- The Ultimate Self-Care, Mindfulness, and Gratitude Journal for Teachers
- 20 Inspirational Self-Care Quote Posters for Teachers
Browse the full Teacher Self-Care collection for more printables, plus blog articles and webinars from self-care experts and veteran teachers.
