⏳ Back to School Time Capsule Printable

Welcome to a new school year! Are you looking for a fun activity for the first day of school? This project-based activity will ease students into a new school year by creating a time capsule! Students will have the opportunity to write about or draw their favorite things, write a letter to their future selves, and design their very own time capsule!

Students will generate ideas of what materials to use to build their time capsule, draw their time capsule design, complete the half pages, and build their time capsule. 

Through this activity, students will build a self-portrait time capsule and respond to the writing prompts. 

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your back-to-school lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this back-to-school activity to enhance learning through small groups, whole class lessons, or remote learning assignments. 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Help students who need support by completing this project in a 1-on-1 environment or with a small group.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

For students who may finish quicker than others, encourage them to share their time capsules with their classmates. They may also wish to share some of the items from their writing templates.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or editable Google Slides version of this resource. 

Provide students with a variety of materials to complete their time capsules. These may be items such as:

• Pringles™ Can
• Toilet paper roll
• Paper towel roll
• Craft sticks
• Pipe cleaners
• Tape 
• Glue
• Pipe cleaners
• Etc. 

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time:  

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