Back-to-school activities
The first weeks back are half revision and half re-establishing how this room works. School vocabulary does both at once: it names the objects in front of the children and the routines you are about to rebuild.
Print the poster for the wall, play the same words for a week, and by the third lesson the classroom instructions can be in English.
🎈 Games in this collection
Seaside Bingo
A boardwalk bingo parlour at dusk: the wire cage tumbles its wooden balls, the drawn word rolls down to the rack, and you stamp your card till the sign lights up.
Garden of Pairs
Every card is a seed packet in a walled garden. Turn one and it blooms; find its twin and the pair stays in flower, with a butterfly to prove it.
Deck of Wonders
A magician's deck in a curtained study: brass filigree backs, a true 3D flip, and a horn that says the word out loud. Keep what you know; the rest returns.
Fortune Wheel
A painted carnival wheel with your class on its slices. Spin it, hear the ratchet slow, and a ticket prints with the lucky name.
Letter Forge
The letters come out of the fire scrambled. Strike them onto the anvil in order, and the word quenches in a hiss of steam.
Sorting Stones
Every name is a pebble in a leather pouch. Tip it over a circle of standing stones and the class lands in fair, random teams.
Two Doors
One question, two great doors, one answer on each. The class votes, and the right door swings open into the light.
🗂️ Printable packs
Print & go
🌟 Send as homework
Five joyful minutes at home: the child listens, taps the right picture and collects stars.
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What should the first English topic of the year be?
Classroom objects and colours. They are visible from every seat, they get used in every later lesson, and the child can point at the answer on day one.
How do I bring back what they forgot over the holidays?
Play, do not test. A round of memory with last year's topic tells you exactly what survived, and the children experience it as a game rather than a diagnostic.
What can I print for the classroom wall?
The topic poster — one A4 page with the whole set of words and pictures. The star reward chart and the certificates are the other two things that get used all year.