7 great back-to-school activities and tools
It may only feel like yesterday that schools broke up for the summer, but we’re back to school in just a few weeks. For schools in Scotland, a few days.
We know getting ready for the new academic year has been ongoing since the Spring Term when you handed over classes and had your transition days. But we just wanted to present you with a few suggestions to help your first few days with your new class run as smoothly as possible. In this blog, we look at:
- Updating your pupils’ details on Busy Things
- Settling into new routines
- Getting to know your new pupils
Read on to find out more!
1. Updating your pupils’ details on Busy Things
We know you’ve got this in terms of classroom organisation. Your classroom is all set up, you’ve got your seating plans organised, and your lesson planning is meticulous. Details like updating your teaching and learning resources like Busy Things, however, can slip through the net. If you’re unsure if your classes have been updated, check out the Manage Pupils area on Busy Things. If it looks untouched, talk to your ICT Coordinator in the first instance, who can then call us if they need help. It only takes a few minutes to sort out but is better done before the children start accessing the games.
2. Settling into new routines
Every teacher does things differently and has different expectations of their class. It’s best to be explicit about the way you want the classroom to run to avoid frustrations building. Will you raise your hand when you want the class’s attention and expect them to fall silent, pay attention and raise their hand to show they are ready, or do you have another way to alert them?
Busy Things has some great classroom tools to assist with classroom management. Check them out in the ‘Class things’ section of the Teacher hub.
There’s a Stop/Go sign, traffic lights for a phased start, and a Countdown timer, ideal for focusing the mind!
There are also dice. Perfect for games but also for introducing an element of choice, i.e., roll an even number, you’re in Team 1; roll an odd number, you’re in Team 2.
3. Getting to know your class
The first written exercise you ask your class to complete is always a tricky one. You’re happy for the children to write about anything and just want a measure of what they are capable of, but they are at best out of practice and unfocused, at worst anxious.
Busy Things has some fantastic introductory activities to put the children at their ease.
Busy Things has some lovely icebreaker writing activities, which will get the children comfortable in no time, whilst allowing you to see where they are in their learning.
The ‘My family’ writing project is a lovely one to start with and includes areas for text and images. When explaining the task to your pupils stress that every family is different to encourage participation but also that they can make up some of the details if that is what they’d prefer to do.
Play ‘My family’ activity here free!
The ‘My pet’ writing project is also a popular choice and is very similar in format to ‘My family’. Playing it often pays dividends though as it can uncover a class passion for animals, which can be woven into subsequent learning activities.
‘Our pets’ activity is a fantastic graphing tool for presenting your class’s animal ownership information, offering a variety of graph types.
Summary
In this blog, we’ve detailed how Busy Things can support teachers in the busy back-to-school period. This includes making sure your school’s Busy Things admin is up to date, setting expectations in the classroom, and getting to know your class and their abilities. We hope you found the information and the free-to-play activities useful.
Should you need any help from Busy Things in the first few weeks of term, or at any time thereafter, we are here to help. As mentioned before, please do talk to your ICT Co-ordinator in the first instance as they may already have things covered. If that’s not the case though, don’t hesitate to call us on (0)1332 364963 or email us (enquiries@busythings.co.uk) so we can avoid surprises and disappointments on the first day of the new school year.
Equally, if you have new staff or anyone that’s not 100% confident using Busy Things, we’d be happy to organise some short online or refresher training for them. Just call us or go the website to arrange!
Like a no-obligation, 28-day free trial of Busy Things as a non-subscribing school? Simply click here to get started!