Starting 0ff 0n the Right Foot
Back to School Activities for Primary
By Nina Lauder  2007
Summer s over. It s time to hide away our swimmies and sun creams and dig out our flashcards and stickers. The first
couple of weeks of class can oftentimes  make or break the school year, hence, starting off on the right foot with our
students is extremely important. In this article we will look at some  Back to School Tips and at some activities de-
signed to start the school year off well and help students get to know one another & and their new teacher!
Back to School Tips
v Tell students about yourself. Bring pictures of yourself or objects that are important to you and show stu-
dents that you are  real . Encourage your students to do the same.
v Teach (and practice) greetings /leave taking and explain routines.
v Talk about classroom rules and procedures (in L1 if necessary).
v Let students know what is expected of them (in L1 if necessary).
v Take in colouring sheets, wordsearches or puzzles as  fillers when students are arriving or settling in to their
places or when they have finished an activity.
v Bring stickers to class to reward students for good behaviour (once the rules have been explained) or as
prizes for games.
v Provide students with stimulus for different learning styles right from the start (soft music, flashcards, move-
ment activities etc.)
Activities
Hello!
Tell the students to greet the class one by one by saying  Hello. My name is (Marta). The students should try to show an
emotion or show how they feel as they say the greeting. Possible emotions/feeling: happy, sad, angry, tired, hungry,
thirsty, excited, bored. Encourage the students to be as  dramatic as possible.
Alphabetical Order
Ask a couple of students in the class  What s your name? Write 3 or 4 names on the board. Ask the students to put
the names in alphabetical order. Tell the students to stand up (in silence) and form a line around the room (space
providing). Tell the students that they must ask the question  What s your name? to other members of the class and
to change places with one another until the line is in alphabetical order. When the line is finished, students say their
names one by one to  check . Congratulate students and sit down. Did a lot of students have the same name? Who
was first? Who was last?
Just Like Me
This is a drill activity. Say sentences, for example, I can swim, I am tired, I live in Oxford, I ve got a dog etc. Students
listen to the sentences and respond in chorus  Just Like Me if the sentence is true for them. For example: T: I like
bananas. Ss (those who like bananas) say: Just like me. Use a controlled set of structures/vocabulary or pre-teach
sentences for lower levels.
Famous Pairs
Before class prepare slips of paper with famous pairs (for example: Victoria Adams / David Beckham, Mickey Mouse
/ Minnie Mouse, Romeo / Juliet) (prepare one group of 3, just in case). Brainstorm 4-5 questions and write them on
the board (for example, what s your name? when s your birthday? Have you got a pet? What s your favourite colour?)
Hand out slips of paper. Students must find their pair (or group) and ask each other the questions on the board.
Reward Box
Brainstorm possible  rewards for good behaviour or good results with the students. Write suggestions on board
(watch a video, play BINGO, 5 minutes  free time , hangman, puzzles etc.). Hand out slips of paper. Students write the
idea they like best on the slip of paper. Collect the ideas in the  reward box and keep these ideas in mind for those
days when your students deserve a  special treat .
First Day Evaluation
Write the following sentences on the board:
Today is the first day of ________year / grade.
The part I liked best was ______________________.
Hand out slips of paper. Students copy and finish the sentences and hand them in when they have completed their
answers. If need be, they can write their ideas in L1. Option 1: Photocopy the sentences on slips of paper and hand out
to students to fill in. Option 2: Dictate sentences. Don t be afraid to ask for feedback from your students throughout
the year.
Starting off the school year well is a challenge, but if good rapport is built up in the first few days of class students and
teachers will undoubtedly benefit. Remember to be consistent and let students know what they re doing well! Good
luck and happy teaching!
Flashcard games for young learners
Flashcards are effective and easy to use, making them an ideal resource in the primary classroom. Here are ten simple
ideas for using flashcards to present or revise vocabulary. If you have confident children in the class, get them to take
over your role as teacher.
1. Point
Put six flashcards in different places around the room. Say a word, and children point to the relevant card.
2. Clap hands
Hold up a flashcard and say a word. If the word is the same as the item on the card, the children clap their hands once.
If the word and the flashcard item are different, they must keep silent.
3. 0dd one out
Take a lexical set of flashcards, e.g. animals or food. Include one card that is not in the same lexical set as the others.
Hold up each card in turn and children say the name of the item. When you show the card that is not in the same lexi-
cal set, children call out  Odd one out!
4. Lip reading
Put six flashcards on the board. Choose one and mouth the word without making any sound. Children look at your
lips as you mouth the word and say what it is.
5. What s missing?
Put ten flashcards on the board. Ask children to close their eyes. Remove a card from the board. Tell children to open
their eyes and ask  What s missing? Children say the missing card. You can make the game more difficult by removing
two or more cards each time.
6. Copy me!
Hold up a flashcard and say the word. Ask children to copy you. Say the word again, this time very softly. Children
repeat the word softly. You can say the word in lots of different ways, e.g. loudly, slowly, quickly, sadly, angrily. Each
time children must copy the way you say it.
7. Guess the card
Choose a flashcard without letting children see it. Children ask questions to guess the word e.g.  Is it a (dress)? Answer
 Yes, it is/ No, it isn t as appropriate until children guess the word.
8. What s your card?
Take five or six lexical sets of flashcards, e.g. food, clothes, animals. Give each child in the class one card and explain
that they must find children with cards in the same lexical set as their own. Children walk around the class asking each
other  What s your card? When they have found all the members of their set they sit down. You can make it more fun
by setting a time limit.
9. Kim s game
Put ten flashcards on the board. Children look at the cards for two minutes. Remove them and ask children to write
down as many words as they can remember.
10. Commands
Take six flashcards. Hold them up one at a time and write the word on the board. Beside each word write a command
e.g.  Jump! or  Touch your nose! Hold up each flashcard in turn. Children look at the card, choose the correct com-
mand from the list on the board, and carry out the command.
11. Alphabet game
Take six flashcards and give one each to six children. Children have to look at the item on their card and line up in
alphabetical order. You can also turn this into a team game. Divide children into groups of six and give each group
a different set of flashcards. The first team to line up in the correct alphabetical order is the winner.
12. Little by little
Choose a flashcard, cover it with a piece of card and hold it up for the class to see. Ask  What is it? Move the piece of
card so that you reveal a bit of the flashcard beneath. Keep revealing a bit more of the flashcard until children guess
what it is.
13. Spelling game
Divide the class into two teams, A and B. Put a flashcard on the board. Choose a child from Team A to come and write
the word on the board next to the card. Award one point if the child identifies the object correctly, and one point
for the correct spelling. Then choose another flashcard and ask a child from Team B to come and write the word. The
team with the most points at the end is the winner.
14. What s different?
Put ten flashcards on the board. Ask children to close their eyes. Swap the position of two of the cards. Tell children to
open their eyes and ask  What s different? Children say the two cards that have changed position.
15. Disappearing cards
Put six flashcards on the board. Point to them one at a time and children say the word. Remove a card. Children say
the words again, including the card that has been removed. Repeat the process until children are chanting all the
words with no picture prompts.
16. Numbers
Put a set of six flashcards on the board and write a number from 1-6 beside each one. Say one of the flashcards e.g.
pizza, and children say the corresponding number, e.g. 4. Alternatively you can say the number and children say the
corresponding word.
17. Is it a...?
Hold up a card for children to see without looking at it yourself. Guess what the picture is. Say Is it a (banana?) Children
answer Yes or No.
18. Writing in the air
Put six flashcards on the board. Choose one word and  write the word in the air. Turn round so that you are facing the
same way as the class when you  write the word. Children work out the word and say it.
19. Stop
Take six flashcards. Say a word and then show children the flashcards one by one. As soon as they see the card which
matches the word you said, they call out Stop!
20. What s next?
Take a set of six flashcards and place them in a pile face down in front of you. Choose a child and ask What s next? The
child has to guess the card before you turn it over. You make a guess too. Then turn over the card to see who was right.
You can play this as a game with the class. If you guess correctly, you score a point, and if the child guesses correctly
the class score a point.