Back to School: Free Classroom Resources!

Adopting the right sleep and study habits is all part of getting ready for going back to school. For your elementary students, this can present its own set of challenges. After two and half months of inconsistent schedules, a more regimented day-to-day routine can feel like a tough transition. As their teacher, you may find yourself in a similar situation. By empathizing with these experiences, you can become part of the solution to help students get on the right track for a successful year.

As you begin to think through how to support students during back-to-school times, check out our free Back-to-School Teacher Toolkit from Edmentum for grade-appropriate resources to infuse into your instruction. This toolkit includes fact sheets, activities, critical thinking questions, and a classroom poster to help you lead discussion around study habits and classroom routines.

You can even pair these resources with authentic read alouds to help foster a positive classroom community. Check out a few of my favorite back-to-school classroom reads here:

1. David Goes To School

If you’ve been an elementary school teacher for a few years, you’re probably already familiar with David. His crazy antics make him the perfect non-example for more than a few classroom routines. This beloved story is a great way to open up a conversation with students around being a “peacemaker” and a “peacebreaker”. After defining, modeling, and putting qualities of a peacemaker into practice, you can even encourage students to sign a peacemaker pledge.

2. The Recess Queen

It may just be my experience as a former Kindergarten teacher, but I often found that when playground equipment was in sight, rules had a tendency to go out the window. This book helped students understand that their behavior and citizenship matter both in and outside of the classroom walls, as well as providing a foundation for discussing topics related to bullying.

3. The Kissing Hand

You will see this book on many other suggested reading lists as well, because it’s just that good! Incorporate this book to help balance out the days and weeks otherwise overwhelmed by school rules and procedures. This sweet story helps to bring comfort to younger students that are easing into a new school, classroom, or teaching experience.

Interested in exploring more content to celebrate important events and holidays throughout the year? Check out our other back-to-school free resources blog post for even more fun printables, downloadables, games, and activities you can kick off the year with!

This post was originally published July 2016 and has been updated.