Back to School - Settling in Activities

Helping your pupils settle into their new class is essential in the first week of term. A new environment can be often unnerving for your children, so making it a fun and memorable time should help them settle quicker.  

This guide shares some ideas for school settling in activities to try with your new class. 

Table of Contents:

• Why Are School Settling In Activities Good For Your Class? 
•  Top 3 Activities To Help Students Settle In 

Why Are School Settling In Activities Good For Your Class?

The first week of term is filled with lots of emotions and feelings. Much like transitional activities at the end of the school term, settling in activities are designed to help your children reconnect with their peers, get to know you and help them be comfortable within their new surroundings. Creating games and activities that get everyone involved help them feel more relaxed and will encourage them to settle quicker into their new classroom.  

As a teacher you want your children to enjoy coming to school and getting to know them through play is a great way to ease them into a new term. 

Top 3 Activities To Help Students Settle In

If you are looking for activities to help your students settle in their new class here is some inspiration. 

Circle Time Games  

Circle time games are great for the first few days in your new class as they help children to get to know each other as well as providing a break from the usual routines. Examples games could include: 

• Bug In The Rug Game 

1) Sit in a circle and select a 'guesser'. 

2) The guesser then moves and covers their eyes. 

3) One child becomes the 'bug'. Get them to sit in the centre of the circle, under a blanket. 

4) The children then sing 'bug in a rug, bug in a rug, come & see the bug in a rug'. 

5) The guesser then needs to look at the group to try to remember who is missing.  

• Silly Sausages Game  

1) Sit in a circle and select a 'guesser'. 

2) The guesser then moves and covers their eyes. 

3) Another child in the circle says ‘silly sausages!’ in a silly voice.  

4) The guesser standing up has to guess who the silly sausage is. 

• Where’s teddy?  

1) All children sit in a circle with their eyes closed.  

2) A child is chosen by the teacher to walk around the group very quietly and put a teddy bear behind another child's back and sit back down.  

3) With their eyes still closed, the other children say if they think the teddy is behind them.  

4) All children then open their eyes and check to see if they are right.  

5) The person who has the teddy behind them, now takes a turn to place the teddy behind someone else's back. 

There are many benefits of including circle time into your lesson planning, including: 

• Promoting Language Development 
• Encouraging Creativity 
• Boosting Confidence & Self Esteem 
• Practising Group Social Skills 

Getting To Know You Games

Getting to know you games are a great way to get the children to work together and build confidence. These could include games like: 

• 3 Things In Common  

1. Split the class into groups. 
2. Get the children to talk to each other to find 3 things they have in common

• Show & Tell 

1. Get the children to bring in photos of their family and 1 special toy. 
2. Each child takes it in turns to explain why they are special. 

• 2 Fun Facts  

1. Split the children into pairs. 
2. Get the children to find out 2 facts about each other to share to the class. 

 As they take it in turns to relay their findings back to the class it will help them get to know each other whilst having fun and will encourage listening. 

Getting To Know The Teacher Games 

Our third school settling in activity involves you, the teacher. Getting you involved will help them relax and understand you a little better. One great way to do this is playing the ‘Ask The Teacher’ game.  

1. Get your pupils into partners and askget them to think of 2 questions they can ask you. 
2. Once everyone has theira questions, they can take it it turns  asking you their questions for you to answer. 

As you will not know what they are going to ask this could be an interesting game but one where you can have real fun with the answers. 

Start A New School Term With Pango

Starting a new term has never been easier. Made by teachers, for teachers, Pango understands the need for making lesson planning easy. Helping to lighten the load, our library of resources span the whole national primary curriculum. From history resources, to geography activities and PSHE worksheets, our high-quality teaching materials are just a click away. Why not try our premium resources? Sign-up today and receive a free 7-day trial.