Ten Free Digital Activities For The Beginning of the Year

  

This collection of digital activities will help you get your school year started no matter where your students will be learning. I have included ten free, ready-to-go technology-infused lessons for kindergarten and beyond from a variety of the most popular platforms. Using premade lessons is a great way to introduce yourself to new digital tools so don't be afraid to try something new!

1. Digital Show and Tell on Seesaw or Flipgrid

I love everything about this digital show and tell. The linked video gives great examples for students to learn from, is adorable, and is entertaining. The activity keeps the main objective of Show and Tell, to speak audibly and express thoughts clearly, while having students work in a digital learning space. 

Seesaw Activity: My Favorite Toy Show and Tell by Jerome C. Jaime
Flipgrid Activity: My Favorite Toy Show and Tell
Grade Levels: Kindergarten and First Grade
Subject: 

• Speaking and Listening in English Language Arts
• World Languages (see below)

Possible Modifications: 

• Take the basic show and tell idea and make it work for the world language you teach. Instead of a favorite toy, could your students show something in their favorite color?
• Students may need to be prompted with guiding questions.

2. Get to Know You Draw and Tell Seesaw Activity

This extremely simple idea is a powerful way for students to introduce themselves and learn how to use Seesaw. I like that it prompts students to draw on paper instead of on their screens, which can be very challenging unless your students are lucky enough to have tablets with quality styluses. I also like that students verbally tell about themselves to work on those speaking skills.

Seesaw Activities: 

• Get to Know You (with K drawing sample) 
• Get to Know You (with 1st/2nd grade drawing sample)

Grade Levels: Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade

Subjects: 

• Speaking and Listening in English Language Arts
• Classroom Community Building

Possible Modification: Add labels to your drawing to practice writing and spelling. 

3. Math About Me on Seesaw and Google Classroom

This great beginning of the year activity uses virtual math manipulatives and helps you get to know your students. Assign it on Seesaw or use the Google Slides template and have your students complete it in Google Classroom.

Seesaw Activity: Math About Me

Google Slides Template for Google Classroom: Math About Me Slides

Grade Levels: Second and Third Grade

Subjects: 

• Mathematics: Numbers in Base Ten
• Classroom Community Building

Possible Modification: Let your students add slides of their own to show and represent more numbers that tell about themselves.

4. Guess Who? Flipgrid Topic

Have a bit of fun with this guessing game. Students will give three clues about themselves and their peers will reply to guess who is in the video.

Flipgrid Topic: Guess Who?

Grade Levels: All

Subjects: 

• Speaking and Listening in English Language Arts
• Classroom Community Building

Possible Modifications: 

• Scaffold this for young students by working with them one-on-one.
• Make sure you have your Videos and Selfie Styles setting on Selfies and Videos to allow the filter!

5. Pear Deck's Building Community Templates

Get to know your students with these Pear Deck slides. Start by making a copy of Pear Deck's Google Slides presentation and jump in to edit the slides to your liking. Don't be afraid to delete whole slides if they are not working for you. Make sure to use the Pear Deck Add-on when you assign the slides to your students so the slides remain interactive. 

Google Slides Template for Pear Deck: Building Community Templates

Grade Levels: Second Grade and Up

Subjects: 

• Reading and Writing in English Language Arts
• Classroom Community Building
• Good for both generalists and single-subject specialists

Possible Modifications: 

• Users with free accounts will be using Instructor-Paced Mode and will lead students through the slides. They may wish to read them aloud to the group to support students with low literacy levels. 
• In addition to Instructor-Paced Mode, Premium users can also use Student-Paced Mode and add audio to any slide for additional support.

6. Digital Breakout Games

I've included two digital breakout games below, but you will find many more if you search. These brain teasers are great to get your students thinking. Have your students hunt around on the website for links and puzzles that help them figure out the locks. Students enter locks in a Google Form that uses response validation to instantly let them know if their answers are correct. Want to know more? Check out Peggy Reimers's article on TCEA's blog or Breakout EDU's FAQ page.

TCEA Digital Breakout: Back to School

Breakout EDU Digital: Catch the Bus

Grade Levels: First Grade and Up

Subjects: 

• Mathematics: Numbers and Operations in Base Ten
• Map Skills
• Reading Comprehension in English Language Arts
• Spelling
• Technology Exploration Skills

Possible Modification: Consider doing these together as a class instead of assigning them individually. This modification is particularly great for first graders and groups who are new to digital breakouts.

7. Nearpod's Building Class Community Lesson

Get your students thinking about how their class can work as a community this year. This lesson can be used in any of Nearpod's three modes: Live Participation + Zoom, Live Participation, or Student-Paced. Click the link below and add the activity to your Nearpod library. From there you can start a new session and get a join code, link, or send it right to Google Classroom. New to Nearpod? Take a look at your advanced settings before you send out that link.

Nearpod Lesson: Building Class Community

Grade Levels: Third Grade and Up*

Subjects: 

• Reading and Writing in English Language Arts
• Classroom Community Building

Possible Modifications: 

• Edit the presentation and delete the slideshow on slide 2 to get rid of the directions that are meant for the teacher.
• Record audio on each slide to support students with low literacy levels.

*Nearpod has this in their K-2 Library. Evaluate it for yourself and feel free to try it out with younger students.

8. Nearpod's Goal Planning Lesson

Lead your students through a deep understanding of the benefits of goal planning and help them craft their own goals. A surprise VR trip to Hogwarts in the middle of the lesson will keep them engaged. Look back at number 7 above to see how to get started with a Nearpod lesson.

Nearpod Lesson: Goal Planning

Grade Levels: Third Grade and Up

Subjects: 

• Reading and Writing in English Language Arts
• Classroom Community Building

Possible Modifications: 

• This lesson has a Collaborate! slide, which is best for Live Participation or Live Participation + Zoom. If you want to run it as a Student Paced lesson you can, just modify the directions on that slide and follow the prompt that pops up to adjust your settings so students can see each other's responses.
• Record audio on each slide to support students with low literacy levels.

9. Back to School Epic! Book Collection

Choose a book from my collection to read to your class. If you are teaching remotely share your screen on Google Meet or Zoom. If you are teaching live then you can also assign the collection to your students and let them pick their favorite book off of the list. 

Epic Books Collection: Back to School Grades K-5

Grade Levels: Kindergarten to Fifth Grade

Subjects: 

• Reading and Listening in English Language Arts
• Classroom Community Building

Possible Modifications: 

• Customize your own collection starting with the books you like from this list. 
• Set up a Flipgrid, Seesaw Activity, or Google Classroom Assignment so students can respond to the text. My Reader's Response Emoji Menu for Google and Apple can be used with any book.

10. Growth Mindset Journal for Back to School

Use this excellent TPT freebie with students to develop growth mindset. Have them respond to the quotes and then try out the Reframe Your Thinking page. Use the Google Slides templates and assign them in Google Classroom. Love the freebie? You can get more by purchasing the complete resource.

Google Slides Template for Google Classroom: Free Growth Mindset Journal for Back to School by Mercedes Hutchens on TPT

Grade Levels: Third Grade and Up

Subjects: 

• Reading and Writing English Language Arts
• Growth Mindset

Possible Modifications: 

• Split the slides up and assign one each day.
• Pair the resource with a book or video.

Extend The Learning With Comments and Sharing

Many of these activities need to be shared with the whole class for community building. That's easy with Seesaw, Flipgrid, and Google Classroom. 

On Seesaw

Have the class comment using the mic or text depending on their literacy level. Using Seesaw Home Learning Codes or have your settings set so students can't see each other's work? Send their posts to the Seesaw blog! Students can view their friends' posts and comment from the blog view.

On Flipgrid

Set up your Topic and make sure to Allow Video Comments in the settings.

On Google Classroom

Set up a Google Meet and share your screen to show student work. Let them take turns talking about it. This also works with assignments that students completed in Pear Deck and Nearpod.

Credits: Photo by Julia M Cameron from Pexels | Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay