The first few days of school are all about building relationships, learning classroom routines, and helping students feel welcome.
This back-to-school STEM activity combines a meaningful read-aloud, letter writing, creativity, and engineering in one engaging lesson.
Inspired by A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School by Shannon Olsen, this activity gives students an opportunity to introduce themselves to their teacher—and even deliver their letters using a student-designed zipline!
Begin With a Back-to-School Read-Aloud
Start the lesson by reading A Letter From Your Teacher on the First Day of School.
As you read, discuss how the teacher’s letter helps students feel comfortable, supported, and excited about the new school year.
This back-to-school read-aloud activity is a wonderful way to begin conversations about classroom community. It also helps students learn more about what they can expect from their teacher and classmates.
Write a Letter to the Teacher
After reading the book, students write their own letters to the teacher. Before they begin, review the important parts of a letter:
Heading
Greeting
Body
Closing
Signature
Students can share information such as their favorite hobbies, what they did over the summer, their favorite school subject, and something they hope to learn during the year.
This first day of school writing activity allows teachers to learn more about their students while informally assessing writing skills. Younger students can draw pictures or dictate their ideas, while older students can write more detailed letters.
Add a Back-to-School STEM Challenge
Turn the letter-writing activity into an exciting back-to-school STEM challenge by asking students to design a device that can carry their group’s letters across the classroom on a zipline.
Students work in small groups to imagine, plan, create, test, and improve their designs. Building materials might include:
Cardboard
Straws
Paper clips
Tape
String
Craft sticks
Cups
Recycled classroom materials
Each team must find a way to securely hold its letters while allowing the device to travel down the zipline. After testing, students can make improvements and try again.
Practice Teamwork and the Engineering Design Process
This first-week STEM activity introduces students to the Engineering Design Process in a fun and approachable way.
As they build, students practice communicating, sharing materials, solving problems, and learning from designs that do not work the first time.
The challenge also gives teachers an early look at how students collaborate. You can observe how they share ideas, respond to setbacks, divide responsibilities, and make decisions as a team.
Everything You Need for the First Day of School
The lesson includes teacher instructions, student planning pages, letter-writing printables, Engineering Design Process resources, greeting and closing cards, classroom greeting signs, and back-to-school posters.
You can complete the letter-writing portion by itself or add the zipline challenge for a longer first day of school STEM activity. The flexible format makes it easy to adapt for different grade levels, schedules, and classroom settings.
If you are searching for a memorable back-to-school activity for elementary students, this lesson is a great way to combine literacy, STEM, and classroom community. Students get to tell you about themselves, work with new classmates, and begin the year with a creative engineering experience they will remember!
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