Most colleges and universities offer Freshman Orientation for new students. When students arrive, however, they often are unprepared and unsure of how to take full advantage of these orientation sessions. No matter what the orientation program looks like at a college, knowing what to expect during the first few weeks can make the difference…

Suggests staging a "cookie hunt" around the school to familiarize new kindergartners with the building and the staff. (SJL)

Five elementary teachers explain how they orient pupils and get learning started on the first day of school--whether or not their supplies or textbooks have arrived--by building learning activities around a common interest like dogs, earthworms, football, or the Statue of Liberty. (Editor/SJL)

Describes an interdisciplinary unit (in which students solve a crime) to begin the school year for seventh graders. Suggests that the unit serves to introduce students to science, math, social studies, and English courses while they get acquainted with the people and places in a large junior high school. (SR)

Presents tips and a checklist to help primary teachers prepare for a new school year. Suggests that in August the teacher should prepare the classroom, decide on the schedule and class rules, meet parents, and prepare a teaching plan for the first day of school. (SJL)

Presented are 61 warm-up activities and games to help children get acquainted, review basic skills, and "get back in gear" after summer vacation. (SJL)

The author describes three "icebreaker" activities she uses to help a class of students get acquainted with one another--learning names and personal information--during the first days of the school year. (SJL)

The author suggests children's books and interdisciplinary activities that deal with the changes and adjustments that children face at the beginning of a school year: learning names, meeting new people, and overcoming the fear of being different. (SJL)

In response to demographic changes among entering college students, more and more colleges are offering freshman orientation courses that have come to be known as "College 101." At Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, a course called COL 101 was begun in 1985. A survey of teachers of the course investigated speech or oral…

Because the transition from home to school can be upsetting for kindergarten children, the author suggests an interdisciplinary unit for the first week of school that centers around something familiar and comforting to a five year old, the teddy bear. (SJL)

Information on the graduate student orientation program at Bowling Green State University is presented. The orientation program serves about 500 graduate students during the summer and about 100 additional students during the fall and spring semesters. The program is designed to support the graduate students' teaching and research skills and to…

Presents back-to-school activity suggestions from elementary school teachers around the country, noting how they extend a warm welcome, soothe first-day fears, and encourage students to get to know one another and the teacher. (SM)

Presents 80 quick activities that elementary teachers can use to get to know their students, reward good work, communicate with parents, brush up on basic skills, spruce up the classroom, pamper themselves, or publicize the school. (SJL)

This lesson plan calls for first-grade students to plan a special "Parent Night" as an activity so parents can take a tour and get acquainted with the school. The lesson plan sets out the task in a letter from the principal; presents the day-by-day (11 days), step-by-step (three or four steps each day) process, including conclusion and…

A mini-unit introducing seventh grade students to their new school and its surrounding area can be adapted for use in any school. Following a list of learning objectives and evaluation methods, the document provides a short vocabulary lesson and five student activities and worksheets for learning to read school, city, state, and county maps. A…