As our summers come to a close, whether you are brand new to teaching or you have been teaching for many years, we are all faced with the same question every year: what do we do on the first day of school?

As you may know, we at Keeping the Wonder are passionate about harnessing the same sense of wonder we all felt when were young and bringing that into our classrooms, no matter the grade, content area, or school. Whether you have a lot or a little autonomy in your first few days, know that we have some solutions for you! 🙂

After publishing our book (which amazingly debuted at #63 on Amazon of ALL books!!), we started hosting a weekly book club through our virtual workshop, and at the very first meeting, someone asked, “What are your ideas for keeping the wonder on the first few days?” So, let’s talk keeping the wonder at the beginning of the year!

1. Find the Power of a Prop

Can you think of a prop you’ve used in a lesson? Or even better, can you think of a prop that one of your former teachers used during a lesson? The reason we remember these props are because of something we talk about in Keeping the Wonder: flashbulb memories.

For example, one of my friends recently gave me the cutest Grogu stuffed animal, and I can’t wait to introduce my “co-teacher” to my students. I love using humor in the classroom, and I know my sarcastic little jokes using Grogu will go a long way with them.

Tip for finding props: If you are struggling to figure out what kinds of props to incorporate, try searching for “party favors” on Amazon. You’ll see tons of bulk listings that might give you some inspiration. For example, in the opening week, I always teach the Reading Like a Writer strategy. This year, I found sunglasses on Amazon that I thought would be cool to have students put on when we switch our analytical lens from reading like a reader to reading like a writer. One of our virtual workshop members found these awesome paper sunglasses so that they do not need to be reused!

2. Trick Them With Trends

I always forget how competitive I am until it’s game time. Last week, my coworkers and I played in Backyard Olympics. We played bocce, cornhole, kubb, and more. My coworker organized us into brackets and even had bronze, silver, and medals for the champions at the end. I had never played bocce before, but wow I get into it! So much so that I even bought my own set.

Now, imagine this set-up in your classroom! Syllabus Olympics? Icebreaker Olympics? Getting to Know You Olympics? Do-All-The-First-Week-of-School-Stuff Olympics? You get the idea. As we say in the book, “the most important element in creating wonder is YOU!”

At the beginning of the year and throughout, consider what your students are interested in and what they are talking about. Use that to your advantage.

3. Make It a Mystery

One of the funniest writing moments we had was when we were thinking about childhood memories. While Jenna, Ashley, and Abby shared cute stories about getting ice cream and opening gifts, I recalled exploring abandoned buildings. I guess you could say I’ve always had a thing for a good mystery and adventure lol.

Likewise, our students like to explore their surroundings. As you are planning your first few lessons, consider these questions:

• Can you “hide” the information you want to share in an envelope? Bag? Box?
• Can you have students play a real game of Guess Who? in which they share cards about each other with details they wrote down?
• Are zombies attacking the school, and students need to understand the map of the school in order to make an escape plan? Check out my blog post here on this super fun engaging icebreaker that also gets students writing!

If you’re looking other ways to add in some mystery, consider my “What’s in the suitcase?” activity or Abby’s “Investigate the Teacher” activity!

Whatever you are reviewing or teaching, keep this in mind: Take the mundane and make it mysterious, and you’ll be sure to hook your students.

Want even more inspiration? Check out Ashley’s blog post with First Day of School Activities for High School and Middle School English. In her post, she shares about first day stations which are great to get your students up and moving!

However you plan to start your year, reflect and think about how you are keeping the wonder? Let me know in the comments what you plan to do in the opening days and first weeks of school! 🙂