This project gives students an opportunity to get to know each other on the first day back to school. Have students use plain white paper and markers or colored pencils to write out the following questions: My name is____. I have ____ sisters and/or brothers. My favorite food to eat is____. My favorite color is____. My three favorite things to do are____. Add additional questions if desired. Ask students to answer each of the questions and use markers or pencils to illustrate them. Have students take turns sharing their answers with the class.
Summer vacation is an active time for children in this age group. Ask students to make a list of five things they did that summer. Instruct students to take these five things and write a paragraph about each one. Have them include with whom they did these activities, where they took place and whether or not they would like to do them again in each paragraph. Allow each student to share their summer experiences with the rest of the class.
Have each student write a letter to their previous year's teacher. Each student's letter should include what the student did over the summer, some of their favorite memories from the previous school year, what they learned during the last school year and what their goals are for the new school year. Each letter should contain at least three paragraphs.
This project involves writing and using your imagination. Give students a story title to build from. Have each student take turns coming to the chalkboard or dry-erase board and writing a word they think should follow the previous word. Explain to students that these words will go together to form a story. Allow each student three turns. The number of turns may be changed to suit class size if needed. Read the story aloud to the class.