Well, most of us are back in the classroom for the beginning of a new school year; others will be back shortly. Some have been teaching year-around school with short breaks! Whatever your situation, this time of the year can be one of the most stressful times for teachers. We are busy reorienting ourselves: (1) getting our rooms decorated and in order (2) planning classroom procedures and processes (3) developing classroom routines (4) attending staff & team meetings and convocation (5) attending training (6) preping curriculum/lessons for the first few weeks, and the list goes on and on. Before you know it the extra week you spent in your classroom before your contract started and you had to report back didn’t help much with feeling you are on top of it all and no feeling you are falling behind. In my opinion, the first week back for teachers should be spent solely in classroom-prep mode, but we all know most districts have us so busy that we rarely find ourselves in our classrooms. Sometimes, it is worth it—if our district allows you to stray from the curriculum—to borrow a lesson from another teacher or find a lesson online, rather than spend hours on lessons for the first week.
Here are some fun and effective beginning-of-the-year geography lessons for the first week:
Getting to Know You Through Geography
Geography teachers, are you always looking for a great get-to-know-you geography activity for the beginning of the year for all ages? This activity will encourage your students to become familiar with their classmates as they work in groups and rotate through various stations — similar to a round-robin activity. What a great introduction to basic geography skills such as graphs, charts, maps, and the concept of culture. It truly teaches geography skills all the while allowing students to collaborate, have fun, and get to know one another.
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Human Geography Bingo
Fun for All Ages!
A great and fun way to have your students not only get to know their classmates but also begin to understand the concept of geography! This is an easy-to-prepare activity and your students will enjoy the interaction with other students as they learn about how geography surrounds them. Students will move about the room learning about their classmates while trying to fill up their bingo card!
Highly rated by TPT users!
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World Map Jigsaw Collaborative Puzzle
This 9-piece World Map Collaborate Poster Puzzle can be used from early elementary through high school.
Group your students and encourage collaboration with this beginning-of-the-year activity, labeling the continents and oceans & for older students have them provide facts on their poster puzzle about each location labeled. Another way for students to get to know one another is to write on the map places they have (1) lived, (2) visited, or (3) want to visit. This will give students the opportunity to learn about their classmates in a fun way! allow students to display their posters on the walls. Provide whatever source of adhesive works for your walls — because we all know things fall off those brick walls! Instead of you taking the time to display them after hours, the students can work as a team to place it.
1 puzzle piece per 8.5 x 11 page = 9 pages for the puzzle (A 33 in x 25.5 in poster size)
You may also print 2 to a page to cut down on paper. (A 16.5 in x 12.8 in poster size)
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Geography & Math Made Easy 