Back to school means the first day of school and for most teachers, usually means teaching a lot of procedures, expectations, and icebreakers to fill out their day. And as for us secondary teachers, there is so much repetitiveness that it can wear you and your students out on the first day of school.

So I always try to break my procedures and expectations up throughout the week and try to incorporate more goal-setting activities.

One back to school activity that students love and so do I, is creating a classroom time capsule.

Although, I usually implement this activity on the first day of school, you can do it anytime throughout the year. A few ways you can implement:

• At the beginning of a new quarter/semester
• When you return from winter break (think New Years Resolution)
• At the 100 days left of the school year mark.

No matter what time of the year, the time capsule activity keeps kids talking, thinking, and reflecting all year long.

It has been an effective measure for students to self-assess their own self-growth and keeps students reflected on what they wrote throughout the school year.

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Back to School Activity Lesson Plan (15-24 minutes)

Materials

• Pencil/Pens/Colored Pencils
• 3×5 Cards
• Envelopes
• Markers

Procedures

First, I pass out 3×5 cards to each student. I like to use colored cards so I can easily decipher which card goes into what envelope for each specified class.

I also color code my classes with folders. It just makes everything easier in my teaching life in general. Check out this post on how I stay organized here.

Also, as a secondary teacher, students get added or moved around in your classes quite frequently for the first couple weeks of school.

If I color code, it helps if any new students come in and fill out their card late, I know exactly what envelope to put it in without giving it much thought.

I start the class by telling them we are going to be making a time capsule. I  ask the class if they know what a time capsule is, and if so if they can give an example.

Some students know, others do not. Regardless, we take about 5 minutes in a short discussion.

In the discussion,  I explain that they will make a time capsule based on their goals. I tell them their goals are going to be sealed away in an envelope until the last day of school.

Next, I put 3 questions on the board that each student will respond to on their card. I focus on three topics: Academics, Personal, and Mindset.

You can tailor your topics or questions to your content area or focus. My questions are general since this is their first writing in my class:

1. What is one academic area you would like to improve in?
2. What is something new that you would like to do socially this year?
3. What makes you unique?

I always make sure to give examples for each question. I then give them about 5-10 minutes to write out.

Once they are complete, I tell them they can draw a small picture that represents them on the back of their card and to make sure they sign their name at the bottom. This really is so everyone has time to complete the activity.

While they are working on their card, I am working on one too. I think it is important to work on activities with them. This shows we are united in making goals at the start, all together, and that we all want to succeed as a class.

The last 5 minutes, I ask for volunteers to “no pressure” share what they wrote. Usually, there aren’t any students that want to share (because it’s the first day of school) so I ask general questions where they can raise their hands, like, “Who wants to improve their writing?” or “Who would like to join a club this year?”

I then share what I wrote and show a picture I might’ve been working on.

At the end of the activity, I have all the students put their cards in an envelope that I mark, “Do Not Open.” We then vote on a date that is in the last week of the school year for when we want to open our time capsule.

Almost all the time students will vote for the last day of school. Even though that day can be hectic. I’ve learned to open them at least a day or two before the last day so we really have time to reflect.

If some students do not finish their card, I let them know they have (1) week before the envelope will be sealed for the next 10 months.

This is helpful for new students that might enter the class late and get moved around to different classes. It will give every student a chance to make a card and be included.

When the one week time is up, I seal the envelope and tell the class the time capsule is “live!”

I post it up to the classroom bulletin board where students can see it throughout the school year until the last week of school.

*Extra–If time is on your side, let students decorate the envelope or pass around so all can sign before posting to the bulletin board.

Back to School Distance Learning/Teaching Online

If you are currently teaching online, I have updated this activity to include those that use online learning tools.

Check out the free presentation as my attempt of trying to prepare this back to school activity for online teaching lesson- if you have another way to implement please comment below – get your free download presentation here. I’m going to brainstorm and reflect and if I can adjust to make it better, I will update.

Final Thoughts

I’ve been doing this activity for the last 7 years and I always got wonderful feedback from students, staff, and even parents.

It is very noticeable when any visitor comes to my class and notices five envelopes in a row on the top of my bulletin board. They always want to know what’s inside!

Furthermore, I think what kids love about this back to school time capsule activity, that is they forget what they wrote. And now it becomes a mystery!

The students are engaged and don’t even realize it! But it has always given them something to think about in terms of goal setting. So I always make sure to refer back to the time capsule in various goal setting activities throughout the school year.

Check out end of the school year activities too!

Please comment below if you plan to give this activity a try or if you have done something similar. I’m interested in learning more!