{"id":3674,"date":"2021-05-30T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=3674"},"modified":"2025-05-11T20:03:47","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T00:03:47","slug":"back-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Planning the content and assessments for your semester is one thing; planning the first week of school is entirely different. Most of the time we have standards to meet and curriculum to get through. <strong>But during the first week, we&rsquo;re pressured to establish procedures, build relationships, and set the tone for the rest of the year. Choosing your back-to-school activities can be so stressful!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you decide what to do? How do you balance &ldquo;fun&rdquo; with meaningful activities? In this post, I hope to offer a few ideas that will do just that! <strong>Many of these back-to-school activities can be used in any high school class, but they&rsquo;ll work especially well for high school English courses.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want all of my best first-week getting-to-know-you activities and must-teach lessons? <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-school-First-Week-of-School-Activities-for-High-School-English-Bundle-11843535?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Engaging%20Back-to-school%20Activities\">Check out my Back-to-school Activities for High School English Teachers Bundle!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Back-To-School Activities #1: Classroom Scavenger Hunt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is my favorite first day of school activity and you can use it for any high school class&ndash;not just English.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-School-Classroom-Procedures-Scavenger-Hunt-FREEBIE-6614865?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3676\" data-pin-title=\"FREE &amp; EDITABLE Back To School Scavenger Hunt\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers product: FREE &amp; EDITABLE Back To School Scavenger Hunt\" class=\"wp-image-3676 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Slide1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-School-Classroom-Procedures-Scavenger-Hunt-FREEBIE-6614865?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Save yourself some prep time with these FREE and EDITABLE Back-to-School Scavenger Hunt labels and worksheet!<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>The Classroom Scavenger Hunt requires a little bit of prep work<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/high-school-scavenger-hunt\/\">I go into detail on setting up your scavenger hunt in this post.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you create ten or so labels for around the classroom, you&rsquo;ll have a pretty good scavenger hunt! <strong>This is a great way to go over classroom procedures without lecturing students for the whole first day.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Students get up and get moving, get to chat a little with their new classmates, and grow familiar with their new space. <\/strong>Plus, if you hand out some small treat for finishing the scavenger hunt, you&rsquo;ll get some &ldquo;favorite teacher&rdquo; points from kids nice and early in the year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Prep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, one item I label in my classroom is my pencil bucket. I have &ldquo;Pencil Bucket&rdquo; typed and centered in a large font. Beneath it, I describe my procedure for borrowing pencils: <em>&ldquo;This is the pencil bucket. You do not need to ask to borrow a pencil; just grab one! Be sure to return it at the end of class when you&rsquo;re done.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In order for students to correctly answer the question, they&rsquo;ll need to move around the room, locate the pencil bucket, read the label with the procedures, and then write down the answer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the student worksheet, I might have a question that reads something like, &ldquo;True or false: you should always ask to borrow a pencil first.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-School-Classroom-Procedures-Scavenger-Hunt-FREEBIE-6614865?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">If the classroom scavenger hunt sounds like fun, but the prep work doesn&rsquo;t, you can grab my template for the labels and the worksheet <strong><em>for free <\/em><\/strong>right here!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3685\" data-pin-title=\"5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students\" data-pin-description=\"Finding back-to-school activities that aren't boring, cheesy, or a waste of time is tough! The 5 engaging first-week activities will help you build relationships, set expectations, and introduce your English class. Check them out now! #itslitteaching #highschoolenglish #secondaryela #backtoschool\" data-pin-id=\"BTS Activities Pin 2\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Pinterest pin for It's Lit Teaching blog post: 5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students\" class=\"wp-image-3685 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Back-to-School-Activities-Pins-1-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Back-To-School Activities #2: Back-to-School Stations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Back-to-school stations pretty much single-handedly helped me deal with my own <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teacher-with-social-anxiety\/\">back-to-school anxiety<\/a>. I hate having to lecture for an hour or read through a boring syllabus during the first week. What a lame way to start a year, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But then I started doing back-to-school stations. I<strong>t&rsquo;s a way to get through all of the first week&rsquo;s &ldquo;must-dos&rdquo; without losing momentum right away. <\/strong>Stations allow students to get up and move, gather information for the semester, and start getting to know each other (and you!).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Plus, stations are super customizable!<\/strong> For my English classes, one station is looking through the <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/create-a-classroom-library\/\">classroom library<\/a> to choose some interesting titles for independent reading. You can add whatever activities make sense for your content area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school-stations\/\">Check out this post for an in-depth how-to on back-to-school stations<\/a>, or keep reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Prep<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-School-Stations-for-High-School-English-Class-4892994?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3064\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Cover for Teachers Pay Teachers resource by It's Lit Teaching: Editable Back-to-School Stations\" class=\"wp-image-3064 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Slide1-2.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Save yourself some time prepping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-School-Stations-for-High-School-English-Class-4892994?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\">back-to-school stations with these editable ones<\/a>!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>To prep your own stations, first, decide how many stations you&rsquo;ll have<\/strong>. This will depend on how long your class periods are and how many things you want students to do. I recommend having at least three: a getting-to-know-you station, a getting-to-know-the-teacher station, and a preparing-for-class station.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But you could of course have many more!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Each station will need directions as well as supplies for each activity.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of my stations includes reading a letter from me to the class, so I leave several copies of my letter at that station. After students read my letter, they are to write a letter in response to me. So there&rsquo;s also blank paper and pencils at that station.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another station I do is a reading inventory questionnaire. Students must log into our Google Classroom and complete a survey through Google Forms. In my directions, I leave the classroom code. Not only do I get valuable information about what my new students like to read, but I get them all logged into my Google Classroom as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You can create a station for anything you want students to do early in the year. <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-School-Stations-for-High-School-English-Class-4892994?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\">If you&rsquo;d like to try some back-to-school stations, but aren&rsquo;t sure what kind to create (or simply don&rsquo;t want to create any!) you can grab my Editable Back-to-School Stations right here!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Back-To-School Activities #3: &ldquo;I Am&rdquo; Poem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having students write an &ldquo;I Am&rdquo; poem is an especially great first-week activity for English or <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teaching-creative-writing-tips\/\">Creative Writing<\/a> classes.<strong> I personally hate fluffy getting-to-know-you activities; this one at least gets students doing some thinking and writing!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/I-Am-Poem-for-High-School-Creative-Writing-FREEBIE-3870675?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3679\" data-pin-id=\"I Am Poem Cover\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers product: &quot;FREE 'I Am' Poem&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-3679 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Slide1-1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/I-Am-Poem-for-High-School-Creative-Writing-FREEBIE-3870675?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Grab your FREE &ldquo;I Am&rdquo; Poem slideshow and template worksheet right here!<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>&ldquo;I Am&rdquo; Poems follow a very simple structure. <strong>Even students who hate poetry can write one easily. All they have to do is fill in some blanks about themselves.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once students have finished writing their poems, they can be displayed for everyone in the class to see. I have students hang up their poems (if they want to be anonymous, I let them). Then, I give all of my students several Post-it notes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They fill out positive comments or personal connections on the post-its and stick them to the corresponding classmate&rsquo;s poem. (This gallery walk at the end of class is another way to get students up and moving during that first week!)<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"ml-embedded\" data-form=\"sSDwji\"><\/div>\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Prep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To prep for this one, you&rsquo;ll need an &ldquo;I Am&rdquo; Poem graphic organizer for each student. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/I-Am-Poem-for-High-School-Creative-Writing-FREEBIE-3870675?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">You can grab mine for FREE right here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You should also write your own &ldquo;I Am&rdquo; poem about yourself to share with students as an example before the day they write their poems. Not only does this provide some scaffolding for students through modeling and an example, but it lets them learn a little something about you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Back-To-School Activities #4: Email Writing<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Email-Writing-Complete-Back-to-School-Lesson-5851497?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3680\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers resource: &quot;Digital and Editable Email Writing Lesson and Assignment&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-3680 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Slide1-2.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">If you plan on utilizing virtual learning or want students to feel free to email you, starting your semester by going over email as a tool is a great idea! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Email-Writing-Complete-Back-to-School-Lesson-5851497?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Grab a done-for-you lesson right here!<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>As I said, I hate fluffy getting-to-know-you activities. Having students write an email to the teacher, however, is <em>not<\/em> fluff. <strong>It&rsquo;s a great way to engage with students, establish communication, and <a href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/classroom-management\/\">set up procedures and expectations<\/a> for communication.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the first week of school, you can have students send you an email. Students can tell you about themselves, their prior knowledge in your content area, or even share information you may want to know&ndash;like their workload outside of school or their interests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Secretly, though, you can use student emails as a pre-assessment for their writing abilities.<\/strong> <em>Are they capitalizing sentences and using end punctuation? Are they correcting spelling?<\/em> Reading through student emails may offer a heads-up on essential skills that need to be reviewed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Prep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Before you assign an email to students, make sure you go over the email writing process<\/strong>. You&rsquo;d be surprised by how little some of our students actually know about technology (even though they really should know better than us!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You&rsquo;ll want to go over expectations for sending emails to a teacher, as opposed to a friend<\/strong>. You may even want to go over the parts of an email. Formal emails should still include some kind of salutation and a sign off. And many students have no idea what the difference between &ldquo;bcc:&rdquo; and &ldquo;cc:&rdquo; is at the top of emails.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, give students a reason to email you. Give them a topic or a questionnaire to fill out and send. (Students will never be able to say they didn&rsquo;t know your email now!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Email-Writing-Complete-Back-to-School-Lesson-5851497?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">If you&rsquo;d like to skip the prep of making this lesson (plus have a great handout for students!), you can grab my Email Writing Lesson right here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3684\" data-pin-title=\"5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students\" data-pin-description=\"Want to engage your high school English students during the first week of school? These 5 activities will help you build relationships, set expectations, and introduce your students to your class and your classroom. Get some fresh ideas and make going back to school easy NOW by clicking here! #itslitteaching #highschoolenglish #secondaryela #backtoschool\" data-pin-id=\"BTS Activities Pin 1\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Pinterest pin for It's Lit Teaching blog post: 5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students\" class=\"wp-image-3684 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Back-to-School-Activities-Pins-2-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Back-To-School Activities #5: &ldquo;Why Grammar?&rdquo; Lesson<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Why-Study-Grammar-Lesson-and-Activity-6785472?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3681\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Cover for It's Lit Teaching Teachers Pay Teachers resource: &quot;Why Study Grammar? Introduction Lesson and Activity&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-3681 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Slide1-3.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Why-Study-Grammar-Lesson-and-Activity-6785472?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Increase student buy-in for future grammar lessons with this introductory lesson and activity!<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>This back-to-school activity is specifically for English teachers, but it&rsquo;s a great first-week activity. <strong>If you plan on teaching grammar throughout the year or semester, it&rsquo;s helpful if students first know <em>why<\/em> they should bother with conventions and mechanics at all.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If students value clear communication and correct punctuation use, they&rsquo;ll be much more likely to sit through grammar drills or sentence diagramming.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can approach trying to build up an appreciation for grammar within students a variety of ways.<strong> It&rsquo;s good to discuss <em>why<\/em> students will want to be able to communicate clearly through writing. But showing them funny mistakes is an effective way to make the point.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How To Prep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are an endless amount of memes and gifs online that demonstrate how tiny mistakes can make for funny miscommunication. I recommend sharing some of these with students.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can even assign students with the task of finding and bringing in one of these memes to share with the class!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I always give students an unpunctuated letter that can be interpreted differently, depending on the punctuation.<\/strong> I let them try to punctuate it to the best of their ability before showing them different ways punctuation would change the meaning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Why-Study-Grammar-Lesson-and-Activity-6785472?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=5%20Back-to-School%20Activities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">If you&rsquo;d like a done-for-you introductory grammar lesson like this, you can grab my &ldquo;Why Grammar?&rdquo; Lesson right here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=3686\" data-pin-title=\"5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students\" data-pin-description=\"One the toughest parts of going back to school is making sure your first week is engaging, informative, and not too cheesy for your high school English students. Avoid all of that by using these 5 back-to-school activities! Check them out now and save yourself some serious planning time (and get back to enjoying the rest of summer!). #itslitteaching #highschoolenglish #secondaryela #backtoschool\" data-pin-id=\"BTS Activities Pin 3\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"Pinterest pin for It's Lit Teaching blog post: 5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students\" class=\"wp-image-3686 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Back-to-School-Activities-Pins-683x1024.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Knowing your first-week priorities is important for choosing your back-to-school activities. <em>Is building relationships the most important to you? Setting expectations? Establishing the tone of the class?&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A great first week will incorporate a little bit of all of the above. But it will also show the class a little about you as a teacher. <strong>Be sure to choose activities and lessons that feel authentic to you, your teaching style, and what makes you passionate in your content area!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want all of these activities and more for your classroom? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-school-First-Week-of-School-Activities-for-High-School-English-Bundle-11843535?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Engaging%20Back-to-school%20Activities\"><strong>Grab my Back-to-school Activities and Lessons for High School English Teachers Bundle and save a ton of prep time!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-school-First-Week-of-School-Activities-for-High-School-English-Bundle-11843535?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Engaging%20Back-to-school%20Activities\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-pin-nopin=\"nopin\" data-pin-url=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/?tp_image_id=4903\" src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/themes\/honey-glow\/images\/placeholder.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4903 lazyload\" style=\"width:300px\" data-src=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Slide1-1.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\"><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/Back-to-school-First-Week-of-School-Activities-for-High-School-English-Bundle-11843535?utm_source=itslitteaching.com&amp;utm_campaign=Engaging%20Back-to-school%20Activities\">Get 7 back-to-school activities and lessons perfect for the high school English classroom right here!<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning the content and assessments for your semester is one thing; planning the first week of school is entirely different. Most of the time we have standards to meet and curriculum to get through. But during the first week, we\u2019re pressured to establish procedures, build relationships, and set the tone for the rest of the year. Choosing your back-to-school activities can be so stressful!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3687,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[342],"tags":[308,215,306,307,234,309],"class_list":["post-3674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seasonal-teaching-ideas","tag-activities","tag-back-to-school","tag-back-to-school-2","tag-first-week-of-school","tag-high-school-english","tag-lesson-ideas"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students - It&#039;s Lit Teaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This post includes 5 back-to-school activities to establish procedures, build relationships, and set the tone for the rest of the year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/back-to-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Engaging Back-to-School Activities for High School Students - 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