Back to School Curriculum Ideas: A Fresh Start for a New Academic Year

6 ways to start your year off with success and creativity 

The time has arrived for us to re-enter our rooms, learn new names and faces. We get to set up, plan and prepare for a new year of academic success. The goal is to begin the year with a strong focus on learning and growth. Planning fun ways to engage students from the very beginning of the year. There are ways in all curricular areas to excite and promote learning as a fresh start to your scholar's school year.   

1. Start with a Goal 

Goal setting is a great first step to the academic focus for the year. The first thing you can have students do when they arrive in your care is to have them think critically about what they hope to achieve this school year. This could be academically or behaviorally. For this activity let’s focus on the academic side. Give your scholars a chance to think about which academic areas they hope to see the most growth in. Have them got down a few ideas in their notebook. Once they have 1-2 solid goals for their growth as a learner then you can begin working on creating these goals for growth cactuses. Start by getting our your  MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine so you can cut out your Cactuses #1 or the Cactuses #2 die cut sets. Make a cactus for each student and have them use their best handwriting to showcase their academic goal for growth. You could have them set a goal for the year or you can break it down and you can redo this project each quarter so students can set short term goals over the course of the year. 

2. Interactive Word Building 

In the primary grades you will begin the year by building words that highlight the different sound-spellings you are working on in their reading instruction. These candy corn letters are a great way to start building CVC words, meaning words that are 3 letters long that start with a consonant, followed by a vowel and then end with a consonant. You will need to use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out your Candy Corn Die Cut pieces. You will need several corn pieces with each letter so that multiple students in your small reading groups will have a way to interact with and build their own words. You can use any small 1” alphabet sets- the ones used in this example are the Block Alphabet- 1” set. Scholars will love building words with these candy corn parts, they can mix and match and share their knowledge with their peers. 

3. Math Spinners

Math is an area where engagement will greatly benefit student success. The sooner you can engage your scholars the stronger the impact as it will help them invest in the amazing challenges math can create for young minds. Use your to MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine cut one jumbo and one large-size inner wheel in the same color or different colors using the Flash Card Set #2. Join wheels in the center with a metal brad piece. Fasten the large-size wheel on top of the jumbo wheel, then write 10 math problems on the outer edge of the jumbo wheel. These problems should be based on the current skills you are teaching to your students in your math lessons.  Next you will write answers on the large-size wheel, but not in the same order as the problems. Students turn the large-size wheel to find the answer to each problem. Then you should write answers on the back of the jumbo wheel behind each problem, so students can check answers. 

4. Ten Frames

Another great way to engage students to have a fresh and successful start in their math learning would be to create and use these Math Ten Frames. These can be used at school or sent home to help assist the students with their math practice at home. Start by using your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out Ten Frame Die Cut that you will need to add to your ten frame pages. You will first cut the jumbo ten frames from construction paper or cardstock paper. Then glue it to the top of 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of paper. Next cut a piece of white construction pieces of paper in about a third so you can glue that under the ten frame and draw lines for the addition problems as you can see in the photo. Finish by laminating both sheets of paper so they can be reused over and over. Students will love having a way to visualize and practice their addition in a way that is fun and erasable. 

5. My Place in Space

This is a brilliant visual for teaching a concept that can be so challenging and abstract for students to grasp. This project will help them understand not only where they belong geologically but also what their place is in their community. Use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine and you will need the Book- Circle Flip Die Cut as well. Begin by cutting out all 8 circles in multiple colors of construction paper. Next write "Me" on the smallest circle and have the student draw a picture of him or herself. After that, write "My Home" on the next smallest circle and have the child draw his house or apartment. Next add "My Town" in the third circle and have the child draw a picture of something that represents the city. The next step is to write "My State" in the fourth circle. With this one the student can draw it or you can print out an image. After that write "My Country" on the fifth circle and "My Continent" on the sixth. Your next step will be to write "My Planet" on the seventh circle and "My Place in Space'' on the eighth and allow the student to draw her representation of Earth and Outer Space. Lastly you will line up the circles, punch a hole through all eight circles in the same place, put a metal brad through the hole and fasten the pieces all together. 

6. Interactive MyPlate

Building a strong foundation for nutrition and healthy eating is something worth investing in as educators. Our scholars will love this fun way of learning about what are healthy eating choices. They will get to be creative all while learning ways to eat all of their food groups and have a healthy relationship with food as they continue to grow. For this project you will need to use your MARK 5 Die Cutting Machine to cut out the Nutrition Plate Set. To begin you will cut out all the mini food shapes out of white paper for each student to color. Then cut a plate from white and different colored paper for each of the five food groups for each student. Next, Hand out a large sheet of paper for each student to glue their plate and food groups down. You will want to allow time for students to color all of their food, then hand out a small envelope and a piece of yarn. Place glue on the back of the envelope and attach it to the large sheet of paper by placing the yarn underneath the envelope leaving the ends hanging out from the top and bottom. Lastly, place food in the envelope and bring the yarn ends up to tie the envelope shut. Scholars will love the opportunity to interact with their learning in such a fun way! 

Starting the year off with these hands-on activities will give them a solid beginning to their academic journey this school year. Never underestimate the power of engagement, creativity and active participation for a student's school success. 

Written by Amy Pinegar.