Your Essential Back To School Checklist For Teachers

Our teacher friends in the US are heading back to school soon, so I’ve gathered back to school to-dos into this handy back to school checklist for teachers. Even if you are mid-term, take a peek … you might find some tools or tips that shape your year for the better. You may also want to check out these back to school tips collected from fellow teachers.

Back to school checklist for teachers

There’s so much to do as you get ready for going back to school. I broke it down into four categories: classroom, rules and routines, activities, the first week. Some of these—like setting up your classroom—may take longer than others, but doing them all helps set you up for a great year.

Get your classroom ready

• Set up your classroom in a way that supports learning—organize desks, tables, bookshelves, etc.
• Restock and organize supplies, like pencils, paper, dry erase markers, tissues
• Create a seating chart
• Create job charts for your classroom
• Set up bulletin boards or create educational posters

Plan and prepare routines

• Set up your teacher planner
• Plan your day
• Plan your morning routine
• Think through classroom rules
• Be ready to teach procedures for morning arrival, moving around the school, transitions between activities, etc.
• Create a system for papers that come in
• Prepare your first day lessons

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Prep activities

• Plan a getting to know you activity for day 1
• Plan community building activities for your class for the first few weeks
• Prepare independent activities for times when you need to work with a group or address an issue

Get ready for the first week

• Write welcome back to school letters and include the best way for parents to communicate with you
• Make copies of forms you use frequently and papers you need for the first week
• Create name tags
• Set up student supplies, like journals, folders, home-school folders, etc.
• Prepare class games and activities for week 1
• Relax and get a good night sleep before the first day!

Want to check several things off your list in one go? Get the Back to School Bundle. It will help you check job charts, class games, educational posters, getting to know you activities—and more!

The Back to School Bundle includes 11 resources for over 450-pages of ready to use materials!

You get:

• Back to school activities to help your students get to know each other and transition back to school.
• Classroom Games to re-energize students and get them back on track for learning.
• Classroom Job Charts in four different themes, plus Halloween and Spring job charts.
• The Physical Education Pack with 35 lesson ideas to last you all year long.
• 3 packs of phonics games
• Math games and activities
• Classroom posters.

Find all the details and get your Back to School Bundle here.

Oh, and one more thing—have a great school year!

What’s on your back to school to do list that I didn’t mention? Share your ideas to help other teachers get ready!