Back To School Activity – Elementary Style!

The beginning of the school year is an exciting time for parents, teachers and students. Coming up with that perfect activity to start your year off right is an important activity to plan for the first few days of school. As students enter 3rd, 4th and 5th grade, coming up with unique activities can sometimes be challenging. 

Teach Starter has created “Personality Planets,” an activity to encourage students to reflect upon what makes them unique. After completing the craftivity, students can choose to present their planets or display them in the hallway or classroom for other students to look at.

This download includes 10 pages, including a title page, a directions page, 6 pages for student completion, and 2 pages of reflection questions.

How to Use Our Personality Planets Craftivity

First, direct students to draw a picture of themselves inside the star and fill in their name. Below the star, students must write a summary of their personality and favorite activities. Students can then color the rest of the page as desired.

Next, students will create 5 personality planets! Encourage students to think about what makes them special. Help students think about 5 things that describe who they are, what is important to them, what they believe in, what they love, etc. Ideas might include Soccer Planet, Kindness Planet, Loyalty Planet, Spaghetti Planet, and more. Direct students to draw a few things on their planet and color them neatly. Write an explanation below each planet explaining its meaning and importance, and color the rest of the page as desired.

Reflection questions are included as a supplementary activity.

To assemble your solar system, get a few sheets of construction paper, or a poster board, in the color of your choosing and glue or tape them together. Blue or black is recommended to look like outer space! Glue or tape the pages with your star and your planets. Glue or tape your reflection questions on the back. Add drawings and color the rest of the background as desired.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

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

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

Provide additional support by removing the writing portion or removing the reflection questions.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Allow students to create more than 5 planets if desired.

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. 

Students can choose to either create a booklet with their personality planets are assemble them on a large piece of paper (i.e. bulletin board paper).

This resource was created by Lorin Davies, a teacher in Texas and a Teach Starter Collaborator. 

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