A favorite back-to-school lesson plan for kindergarteners is the Gingerbread Man. The activity begins with the teacher reading the classic children's story "The Gingerbread Man" to the class. While the teacher reads to the students, she asks anticipatory questions of the students like, "What do you think will happen next?" After reading the story, the teacher explains to the students that they will be making a gingerbread man. Together the class mixes the ingredients and makes one large gingerbread man, which is then put in the oven. A little while after putting the gingerbread man in the oven, the class will check on him only to find out he is not there. Instead, a note has been left for the class giving instructions on how to find him. This takes the class on a search around the school for the Gingerbread Man, introducing students to the school and various important people like the nurse, the counselor and the principal who all have clues for the students. When the class gets the last clue, it takes them back to their classroom where they find the gingerbread man along with cookies and mild for each student.
A terrific way to get to know students is to give each student a brown paper lunch bag and, as homework on the first day, instruct students to place various items in the bag that represent themselves. Items may include a favorite toy or a picture of a special memory. Students will share with the class the contents of their bag.
At the beginning of the school year, the teacher will trace a silhouette of each student on black construction paper. Students will then cut out their silhouette and glue it onto a large sheet of colored paper. Instruct students to write their names on the back of the paper. Ask students to write adjectives that describe them on the colored paper surrounding the silhouette. Students will have fun describing themselves and the activity will give the teacher an opportunity to learn about her students. Hang the silhouettes someplace in the classroom where everyone can see them. These silhouettes are fun to keep up all year long, to let people guess who each silhouette represents. It is fun to see how much students have changed at the end-of-the-year when looking at this beginning-of-school activity.
Create a grid of four squares by five squares. In each square, write descriptive information like "a person with blue eyes," "a person who has a cat," "a person who likes football" or "a person born in another state." Give each student a copy of the grid and instruct students to interview their classmates. When they find a classmate who fits one of the descriptions, write the classmate's name in the appropriate square. When the activity is finished, each student will have the names of 20 different students. To complete the activity, use the information collected by students to create a grid on the board. This is another great way for student to get to know one another at the beginning of the school year.