Top 10 Back to School Teaching Games
As the sun sets on summer, and school swings back into action, you'll want to inject your upcoming back-to-school classes with some frantic first-day fun.
To give you a helping hand, your ever-reliable Baamboozle buddies are here with some varied and action-packed first day of school activities.
We’ve brought you exciting educational games for students of all ages… and they’re all perfect for learning, making friends, and thawing that familiar back-to-school frost.
Expect spelling bees, scavenger hunts, kooky dances, useful rule-setting, and endless ways to get to know each other.
Take off your coat, hang that bag up, and sit down at your brand-new desk. It’s your first day back at school, and Baamboozle is here to take you through it!
All About You
By JAB500
As the new school year rolls around, the kids in your classes will need to get to know each other. This game helps them to do exactly that, with some basic introductory brain-bogglers.
What do you do in your free time? What’s your favorite TV show? And which is your favorite candy to munch on?
Helps with: Breaking the ice, getting to know one other, and stirring up some healthy debate
Best for: Grades 2 to 3
Baam-Link: Play now!
Back to School Chat
By Profbazzi
More ice-breaking thought-provokers… but these questions are a little more complex and complicated—and they’re perfect for older kids.
Who do you most admire? Would you rather go back into the past or zoom forward into the future? And who knew you had this many mini Aristotles in your classroom?
Helps with: Deep conversations, making connections, and some serious self-reflection
Best for: Grades 4 and 5
Baam-Link: Play now!
Classroom Scavenger Hunt
By Danae.simmons
One of our favorite Baamboozle scavenger hunts, this energetic activity fills your first day of school with some much-needed action.
A physical funfest brimming with hunting and hoarding, this game asks your students to find objects like crayons, shiny stuff, and things beginning with B.
But here’s the first-day-of-school twist: your little learners are also tasked with making swift interpersonal connections. Can your scavenging students find someone who has a sister? A person who likes broccoli? Or someone who might just become their new best friend?
Helps with: Turning shy kids confident, a fun burst of energy, and making quick connections
Best for: Grades 4 and 5
Baam-Link: Play now!
Back to School Spelling Bee
By Miya
Perfect for first-day English classes, this basic bee tasks your brand-new students with spelling some school-based language and lingo.
Helps with: Spelling, English classes, and some fun-but-educational competition
Best for: Grades 2 and 3
Baam-Link: Play now!
ABC Body Movements
By K_Sieger
If you want to inject some moving and grooving into your first day of school, this game is the perfect shape-throwing solution.
Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a different movement or motion… so you can get your students fluttering their fingers, slithering like snakes, and crawling like crabs.
And, yes, there are entries for X and Z.
Helps with: Warming kids up, offering some much-needed silliness, and practicing the alphabet
Best for: Kindergarten to 2nd grade
Baam-Link: Play now!
Fun Facts
By Alejandra Poveda
In this tricky trivia-fest, your students are confronted with some surprisingly-difficult questions and dilemmas. Themes include math, arts, movies, geography, animals, pizza, napping, and ginger people.
First-day fact-finding has never been this arbitrary!
Helps with: Teamwork, trivia, and testing your students’ knowledge
Best for: Grades 4 and 5
Baam-Link: Play now!
Heads or Tails?
By JC
Purely luck-based, this speedy game asks students one and only age-old question: ‘heads or tails?’.
But the results aren’t shown on boring old coins. Instead, each click reveals a wacky gif, as your students are greeted with either a funny face or a big ol’ booty.
Helps with: A quick burst of fun, adding some laughter to the classroom, and breaking the ice in an unusual way
Best for: Kindergarten to 2nd grade
Baam-Link: Play now!
School Rules
By Genevieve
A useful way of introducing some helpful rules on the first day of school, this game takes a boring theme and makes it fun.
Can your students use the images to guess the rules? And better still, can they then follow the rules that they themselves have named?
Helps with: Introducing some ground rules, setting expectations, and laying the foundations for good behavior
Best for: Kindergarten and first grade
Baam-Link: Play now!
Odd One Out - Food
By Barley Teacher
In this drool-inducing slice of foodie fun, your students are given various groups of four foods… and they need to decide which one of the four doesn’t fit.
But some of these questions are surprisingly challenging—can your students work out why seed-filled oranges don’t belong with stone-filled peaches, plums and avocados?
With some pretty contentious dilemmas, you can expect some delicious debate… perfect for adding some energy to the first day of school!
Helps with: Foodie fun, making quick decisions, and stirring up some food-based chat
Best for: Grades 4 and 5
Baam-Link: Play now!
Why Did the Boy Eat His Homework?
By Khaleesi
Brimming with witty jokes and challenging riddles, this wordplay game is perfect for getting kids grinning and giggling on their first day of school.
Why didn’t the bear go to university? What’s a math teacher’s favorite dessert? And who knew school could be this fun?
Helps with: Breaking the ice, having a laugh, and sharing some welcome smiles
Best for: Grades 3 to 5
Baam-Link: Play now!
Baamboozle’s Top 10 Back to School Teaching Games: Final Thoughts
And just like that, we’ve reached the end of our first day of school. And exactly like your mom told you, it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be.
If you’re looking for more lists of topical fun like this one, we have collections of awesome activities for Easter, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Halloween.
And for many more ways to play our great games, check out Baamboozle+, our preposterously-popular premium platform. It’s much more affordable than Kahoot, and we think it’s way better*.
*Yeah, you’re right, we probably are a bit biased.
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Thanks for reading, you beautiful Baamboozler, and we’ll see you again soon!
