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Kickstart the Year with Back to School Activities & Resources!

Start the school year strong with Back to School Guides for K-12 educators designed to create a welcoming and structured classroom. These guides provide first day of school activities that spark curiosity and excitement, along with back to school resources to support smooth transitions. You’ll find classroom community-building strategies to foster collaboration and confidence, as well as engaging classroom icebreakers and student orientation activities to strengthen connections. Additionally, there are classroom preparation ideas for an organized and inspiring learning space.

Developed with insights from leading education and sustainability organizations—including the National Education Association, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, and Day of Climate—these resources support educators in fostering inclusive, forward-thinking classrooms from day one. A great start leads to a great year. With thoughtful student welcome activities, first day lesson plans, and teacher tips for back to school, you can build a classroom where students feel motivated and ready to learn.

Incorporating student surveys, student reflection activities, and learning style assessments helps encourage goal-setting and self-awareness, while classroom team challenges and team-building exercises strengthen relationships. Establishing classroom norms early on and focusing on classroom culture building create a supportive and structured environment where students thrive. Engaging, interactive learning experiences—such as educational games and student collaboration tasks—make lessons more dynamic and reinforce key concepts. For more educator resources and support, visit SubjectToClimate to explore additional tools and guidance.

What Grade Do You Teach?

Back to School Guide for K-2 Guide
Back to school Guide for 3-5
Back to school Guide Guide for 6-8
Back to school Guide Guide for 9-12

Partners and Collaborators

National Education Association

The National Education Association represents 3 million educators in more than 14,000 communities across the United States working at every level of education to advance justice and excellence in public education.

MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

Founded in 2014, the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) is MIT’s institute-wide effort to mobilize the substantial scientific, engineering, policy, and design capacity of the MIT community to contribute to addressing climate change and other environmental challenges of global import. ESI pursues multidisciplinary research, education, events, and partnerships to help move society toward an environmentally and socially sustainable future. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts on MIT’s main campus, ESI is powered by a lean staff working closely with students and faculty across the full spectrum of disciplines. Led by architecture professor John E. Fernandez, a leading scholar in the emerging field of urban metabolism, ESI is advised by students, faculty, alumni, and thought leaders from many sectors of society.

Day of Climate                                                     

Day of Climate is a new initiative designed to equip K-12 learners and their educators with concise, hands-on educational materials and tools to better understand climate change, its impacts, and potential solutions. This effort unites the broader MIT community to engage learners and educators in concrete actions addressing climate and sustainability challenges.

National Education Association
Environmental Solutions Initiative
Day of Climate

More Guidance For Back to School


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