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First Week Back Activity Pack | Back to School Printables for Grades 3–5
Looking for meaningful, low-prep activities for the first week of school?
This First Week Back Activity Pack is filled with engaging, print-and-go activities that help students get comfortable, build classroom community, and ease into the new school year—all while giving you valuable time to teach routines and expectations.
Instead of worksheets that feel like busy work, these activities encourage students to reflect, collaborate, explore their new classroom, and get to know both you and their classmates.
Whether you need independent work for the first morning, a community-building activity after recess, or something engaging while you're teaching classroom procedures, this pack has you covered!
What's Included
✔ Welcome to 3rd Grade activity page
✔ Welcome to 4th Grade activity page
✔ Welcome to 5th Grade activity page
✔ 2 Back-to-School Mindful Coloring Pages
✔ Name Tag Designer Activity
✔ Editable-Style Name Tag Coloring Templates
✔ "This Year Looks Bright!" Goal Setting Craft
✔ Map of My Mind Reflection Activity
✔ Classroom Scavenger Hunt
✔ We Go Together Like... Partner Activity
✔ Who Is My Teacher? Observation Challenge
✔ Unpacking My Summer Writing Activity
✔ The Name Game Team Challenge
Perfect For
First day of school
First week of school
Morning work
Early finishers
Community building
Back-to-school centers
Sub plans
Icebreakers
Teaching classroom procedures
Low-prep lesson plans
Why Teachers Love It
⭐ Print-and-go—no prep required
⭐ Meaningful activities that keep students engaged
⭐ Encourages conversation, collaboration, and classroom community
⭐ Mixes writing, drawing, movement, and discussion
⭐ Great for Grades 3–5 classrooms
⭐ Makes the first week feel fun instead of overwhelming
Skills Students Practice
Reflection
Goal setting
Writing
Speaking & listening
Observation
Collaboration
Creativity
Classroom community building
Whether you're welcoming a brand-new class or helping students reconnect after summer break, this activity pack gives you engaging, flexible resources to make the first week memorable—for both you and your students.
Simply print, pass out, and enjoy your first week together!
First Day of School Editable Canva Slides | Meet the Teacher, Procedures & Icebreaker Activities
Take the stress out of your first day of school with this editable Google Slides presentation designed to help you confidently guide students through the most important parts of Day 1.
Instead of wondering what to do next, simply open the slideshow and teach! These slides walk teachers through welcoming students, introducing themselves, teaching classroom procedures, building classroom community, and playing engaging icebreaker games—all while allowing you to customize every slide to fit your own classroom.
Whether you're a brand-new teacher or a veteran looking for a polished first-day routine, these slides will help you start the year feeling organized, prepared, and confident.
What's Included
⭐ Fully editable Canva Slides (text, fonts, colors, and images can all be customized)
⭐ Welcome slide with editable arrival directions
⭐ Meet the Teacher slide
⭐ Classroom procedures slide
⭐ Classroom values / classroom expectations slide
⭐ Community-building activity slide
⭐ Teacher planning notes throughout the presentation
⭐ Four Corners icebreaker game
⭐ 10 ready-to-use Four Corners question slides
⭐ Star Student activity
⭐ First Day reflection slide
⭐ Dismissal reminder slide
⭐ Bright, colorful classroom-friendly design
Why Teachers Love These Slides
✔ Everything is editable to match your classroom.
✔ Helps teachers stay organized throughout the day.
✔ Gives students a predictable, engaging first-day experience.
✔ Includes built-in teaching prompts to help you remember what to introduce and when.
✔ Saves hours of planning during one of the busiest weeks of the school year.
Designed to Save You Time
Throughout the presentation, you'll find optional recommendations for additional activities and resources that fit naturally into your first day. If you're looking for ready-to-use morning work, read-aloud activities, classroom values, or community-building games, those suggestions are included exactly where you might need them—but every slide can be edited to use your own materials instead.
Editable in Canva
Simply make a copy and personalize the presentation for your classroom!
You can easily:
Add your own classroom procedures
Change fonts and colors
Replace images
Insert your own photos
Edit activities
Rearrange or delete slides
Add additional slides
Create a first day your students will remember while giving yourself a clear, organized plan from the moment students walk through the door until dismissal.
Start the school year with confidence—and spend less time planning and more time building relationships with your new class!
Editable Classroom Expectation and Value Posters | Character Education & Behavior Expectations
Looking to replace traditional classroom rules with something more meaningful and student-centered? These Editable Classroom Value Posters are the perfect way to build a positive classroom culture based on shared values—not just rules.
Rather than posting a list of “don’ts,” this resource encourages rich classroom discussion around character traits like kindness, integrity, effort, and inclusion. Together, you and your students will brainstorm what these values look like in everyday classroom behavior—and then add those personalized behaviors directly to the posters!
What’s Included:
• 8 Editable Poster Templates featuring core class values (Kindness, Honesty, Integrity, Attentiveness, Inclusion, Effort, Organization, and Resilience)
• Editable “What This Looks Like in Our Class” sections so you can tailor expectations with your students
• Full-color and black-and-white PDF versions to match any classroom style and save ink
• Bonus lesson plan idea for using this activity as a collaborative first-week discussion or morning meeting mini-lesson
These posters are perfect for:
✔️ Back-to-school character building
✔️ Classroom norms and expectations
✔️ Social-emotional learning
✔️ Morning meetings or class meetings
✔️ Ongoing behavior reminders throughout the year
✨Tip: Print, laminate, and reuse year after year—or frame and write behaviors with dry erase markers for added flexibility!
Build a classroom culture your students believe in—and take pride in following.
Shop Classroom Organization
Do you want a clean, simple and attractive way to display your class schedule cards this year? Do you also want your schedule to be flexible and easy to re-arrange on days where your schedule changes? Look no further!
These schedule cards are clean, simple, and easy to display! Simply choose the cards that match your schedule (or create your own with the fully editable file that is included). Hang the cards on your white board with magnet tape or velcro. Write the time beside the subjects!
Have a day where your schedule changes? Re-arrange the icons and write the new times! Because your daily schedule will be in the same place, even on days where the schedule is disrupted, your learners will know where to look to prepare for what is coming next. This keeps you (and your students) on track, even on the wackiest of days!
Do you prefer to have all of the times printed on the cards?
There are two styles of rectangular schedule cards also included in this download with analog and digital time displays on the cards! These cards are fully editable, and you can edit the clocks and time stamps to reflect your school day schedule!
NOTE: You will need a *free* Canva account to be able to edit this product!
What is included in this download?
36 schedule cards are pre-made for you in this download. Each one comes in 8 different colors, and four different styles. The schedule items include:
Morning Meeting
Morning Work
RTI Time
Reading
Writing
Word Study
Phonics
Grammar
Rotations
Centers
Social Studies
Science
Library
Art
PE
Music
Computer
Computer Lab
Life Skills
Guidance
Related Arts
Specials
Lunch
Recess
Math
Number Talk
Classroom Clean-Up
Arrival
Unpack
Dismissal
Early Dismissal
Class Party
Special Assembly
Pep Rally
Test
Homework Check
Each card comes in four different options:
Small, round cards (print 6 to a page)
Small, square cards (print 6 to a page) * The square cards are 3.4 in x 3.4 in. This size will fit inside of the adhesive square pockets from the Target dollar spot.
Rectangular cards (print 3 to a page) with time stamps and icons printed on the cards.
Rectangular cards (print 3 to a page) with analog clocks printed on the cards (no symbols/icons on this style)
What if I want to edit or create new job cards?
A fully editable Canva file is included in this download. You can change the text on one of the existing cards, or create a totally new card! If you want to change the graphics on the colorful display cards, I have included a video tutorial showing how to change the graphics to match your own classroom schedule!
You will need a FREE Canva account to be able to edit this resource!
These schedule cards will look clean and bright in your room, and they will make it so easy to display and change your schedule throughout the year!
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Who created this product?
Stephanie Sutherland has served as a classroom teacher for nine years in Tennessee public schools, with one year as an instructional coach. She has her BA in child psychology, and her Masters in Elementary Teaching. She enjoys creating resources for lessons that she has done in her own classroom in an attempt to make other teachers' lives easier.
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TERMS OF USE - © Stephanie Sutherland-The Simple Classroom
Purchase of this digital download is for use in one classroom only. This item is also bound by copyright laws. Redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part) on the internet are all strictly prohibited without first gaining permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me with any questions!
hello@thesimpleclassroom.com
Small groups are a powerful, important part of both our reading and math blocks, and it's imperative that we're organized about this time. This small group planner will be the one place that you can house all of your data, and thoughtfully plan your small groups and lessons you teach based on that data.
Why do I need this?
One of my biggest areas of disorganization in my own classroom is my small group plans and data collection. I get so swept up into the teaching portion, that I take weak notes throughout a data cycle, only to not have a firm grasp on how my students have progressed by the end of a quarter. I designed this planner to help teachers work smarter and not harder when it comes to small group planning and organizing! Research supports placing students in small groups based on their area of need, and then re-evaluating and moving their groups throughout the year as their needs evolve. This planner is designed to help you do exactly that!
What is included?
This product includes:
-One fully printable listing including:
*Covers for the front of your planner, dividers for different sub-sections of the planner, and printable tabs to cut and tape on the divider pages
*Data collection pages for reading and math. 3 different data collection slots are included per page.
*Anecdotal notes page
*Running records page
*Group planning pages for Quarters 1-4 and Trimesters 1-3 (print the versions that best fit your school)
*Reading and Math Groups pages for you to place sticky notes to list your small groups and their focus
*Group plan templates and group notes
-One fully digital listing including all of the above, but in a digital format
You will feel ultra-organized this year with all of your small group data in one place!
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Who created this product?
Stephanie Sutherland has served as a classroom teacher for seven years in Tennessee public schools, with one year as an instructional coach. She has her BA in child psychology, and her Masters in Elementary Teaching. She enjoys creating resources for lessons that she has done in her own classroom in an attempt to make other teachers' lives easier.
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TERMS OF USE - © Stephanie Sutherland-The Simple Classroom
Purchase of this digital download is for use in one classroom only. This item is also bound by copyright laws. Redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part) on the internet are all strictly prohibited without first gaining permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me with any questions!
hello@thesimpleclassroom.com
One of the last things you want to think about as you're starting a new school year is preparing sub plans or a substitute binder for a sick day. But when that sick day inevitably arrives, you will wish you had prepared ahead of time for it!
This substitute binder resource includes everything you need to prep for a day off. And the best part, if you write the plans now, you'll barely ever have to write them again!
What makes this resource different from other sub binder resources?
This download includes many of the same substitute binder forms that you are accustomed using in your classroom. But, this resource includes two things that make it a little different:
There are sample plans for lessons that are 80% complete. I have found that writing a skeleton sub plan before the school year gets in full swing cuts down my sub writing time by over 50%. Use the template provided in this resource to map out a sub plan that you can use and reuse all year long. Simply bold the words that you will need to go back in and change later!
This resource also includes emergency sub plan templates, and a cheat sheet full of no-prep teaching activities that you can write into your emergency plans! I am a big fan of having emergency plans prepped ahead of time, but not having to make copies for them each time I have to use them! This resource will give you the tools that you need to write quality emergency plans so you can forget about sub plans for the rest of the year!
What does this download include?
Binder Cover
Thank You Page with important phone extensions
Schedule Page
Roster and Attendance Directions
Dismissal Chart
Need-to-Know Routines and Procedures
Student Info (severe allergies, accommodations, etc.)
Sub Feedback Page
Daily Sub Plan template
Daily Sub Plan Example
Emergency Sub Plan template
Emergency Sub Plan Sample
List of 'emergency' teaching activities that require no printing, prep, or copying
All forms are completely editable. A Canva file and Powerpoint file are included in this download.
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Who created this product?
Stephanie Sutherland has served as a classroom teacher for nine years in Tennessee public schools, with one year as an instructional coach. She has her BA in child psychology, and her Masters in Elementary Teaching. She enjoys creating resources for lessons that she has done in her own classroom in an attempt to make other teachers' lives easier.
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TERMS OF USE - © Stephanie Sutherland-The Simple Classroom
Purchase of this digital download is for use in one classroom only. This item is also bound by copyright laws. Redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part) on the internet are all strictly prohibited without first gaining permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me with any questions!
hello@thesimpleclassroom.com
Shop Best-Sellers
Are you tired of managing classroom jobs? In my experience, class jobs have been one more thing to keep up with, and a bit of a disruption. The best solution I found was to have everyone do one job, at the same time, during the last 5 minutes of the day! End of Day Jobs are the simple solution you need to keep your room clean with minimal effort on your part!
This End of Day Jobs resource includes everything you need to solve your classroom job struggles with a SYSTEM. This system is easy to implement, simple to manage, and will keep your classroom cleaner than it's ever been!
What is included in this download?
20 Job Options are pre-typed for you in this download. The jobs include:
Floor Sweeper
Tech Captain
Calendar Captain
Recycling Crew
Library Inspector
Cubby Cleaner
Doorknob Sanitizer
Pencil Police
Table Washer
Teacher's Assistant
Lost & Found
Center Manager
Supply Supervisor
Zookeeper
Mailman
Banker
Plant Doctor
Bucket Manager
Board Cleaner
Substitute
Each job comes in three different options:
Large cards in color and black and white
Small cards in color and black and white (great for pocket charts)
Square cards without student names to display on a bulletin board (you can assign jobs with clothespins with this option!)
What if I want to edit or create new job cards?
A fully editable Powerpoint file is included in this download. You can change the text on one of the existing job cards, or create a totally new job! Links to free fonts are included in the Powerpoint file. You will need to download these fonts to create cards that match the originals exactly.
An editable Canva template is also included! If you want to change the graphics on the colorful display cards, I have included copies of the Canva file, as well as a video tutorial showing how to change the graphics to match your own classroom job list!
*Note about job options:
There are 20 job options, but many jobs may benefit from having two or more students assigned to them to make them move quickly. Print additional copies of cards that you want more than one student to complete!
How have real teachers felt about the End of Day Job System?
"These are life changing!! I love that they are editable and I have the fonts to make them mine. I LOVE the idea of actually having the expectations on the card, so they know what to do. I made a few of them that I wanted to have done, but the others, I am going to add to throughout the year and have the students create the expectations and the title of the job. I have 6 to get us started and then we will build as a class as the year goes on! I love this resource! Thank you for making it black and white and just simple and straightforward!"
"These job cards are GREAT for promoting responsibility with my 2nd graders. I love that they are customizable for my specific classroom needs. I am very thankful for this resource! my students are ALL invested in taking care of our classroom and there is much less burden on me! "
"I LOVE this resource! It might be my favorite that I've purchased for classroom management. I've never been a fan of having classroom jobs. I found them difficult to maintain and manage and so did my students. Having a dedicated time at the end of the day that everyone does their jobs while we listen to music and dance along? I love it! It's the perfect way to end our day. And my classroom is so nice and clean by the end of the day. Can't recommend this product enough."
Never stress about cleaning up your room again! This end of day system will leave you with a spotless classroom, easing up the burden of your custodial staff, and freeing you up to leave school sooner!
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Who created this product?
Stephanie Sutherland has served as a classroom teacher for seven years in Tennessee public schools, with one year as an instructional coach. She has her BA in child psychology, and her Masters in Elementary Teaching. She enjoys creating resources for lessons that she has done in her own classroom in an attempt to make other teachers' lives easier.
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TERMS OF USE - © Stephanie Sutherland-The Simple Classroom
Purchase of this digital download is for use in one classroom only. This item is also bound by copyright laws. Redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part) on the internet are all strictly prohibited without first gaining permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me with any questions!
hello@thesimpleclassroom.com
Do you need a hands-on approach to writing a paragraph for your students? Or maybe paragraph writing is new to your entire class and you want a scaffolded resource for your teaching in 2nd grade, 3rd grade, or 4th grade!
Try my themed paragraph puzzles! This tactile method helps students see exactly how the topic sentence can lead to details.
What does this download include?
60 different paragraphs (6 for each month), with each sentence in its own box. Cut the boxes out into strips and allow students to piece the paragraph back together!
3 different writing pages for students to copy paragraphs onto. One has boxes for each type of sentence (topic, details, conclusion), one has writing lines with no guidance, and one has space for students to add extra details.
3 different paragraph prompts on writing pages for students to write their own paragraphs on after learning about paragraph structure!
A tip sheet with pointers on lessons you can teach to differentiate and scaffold paragraph writing with your class!
How to Use:
Print and cut the sentences on each paragraph page into strips. Allow students to manipulate the sentences with their hands to find the topic sentence, key details, and conclusion.
Print an additional copy to use as an answer key. (the sentences on each page are already in order!)
Use the differentiated graphic organizers to allow students to write their paragraphs after building. One graphic organizer also encourages students to add extra details, which allows you to differentiate.
After building a few paragraphs, extend your lesson by allowing students to write their own! Writing paper with September-themed paragraph prompts are included.
If you prefer to use digitally, assign the Google Slides document to their students, so they can practice unscrambling paragraphs, digitally! (Two versions are included.)
This set of Math Fact Fluency and Number Sense Games will develop critical math skills in your students without requiring a ton of prep or stress for you! This simple, low-prep game design includes all student directions on easy-to-print task cards.
The materials that your students need for these games are already in your classroom! No cutting, prepping, laminating, or storing game boards or pieces. Simply add all of the direction cards to a book ring, and students can easily get the materials that they need!
Most games require a deck or cards or some dice. Timers, white boards, dry erase markers, hundreds charts, and ten frames are also referenced in the games. If you need hundreds charts and ten frames, printable options are included.
What is included in this download?
20 2nd grade math games are included in this product. Each game's directions comes on a simple, clean card.
Students can easily see in one place what materials they need, how many players can play, step-by-step directions, and a quick visual of what the game looks like.
This simple design makes it easy for you to prepare these games. The lack of printable game pieces and supplies makes it simple for you to maintain these games as a station. And students can remain independent because they are able to access everything that they need with ease!
The 20 Games in this product are titled:
Add/Subtract 10
Add/Subtract 100
Fact Flashcards
Roll and Add
Race to 120
Place Value Building
Flip and Compare
Flip and Skip
Ten Frame Fill Ups
Doubles Dash
One Number, 3 Ways
Roll and Subtract
Hundreds Chart Puzzles
Flip and Add
Go Fish, Make 20
Secret Sum
Who is Closer?
Mystery Number
Subtraction Action
3 Addends Race
