First Day of School Geometry Activity

This is the perfect geometry activity for the first day of school!

The first day of school is the first impression your students will have of you and your classroom. It sets the tone for the rest of the school year!

I always struggled with knowing exactly what to do on the first day of school. Since I taught on block schedule (90 minutes), so I couldn’t go over rules and procedures the whole time. 

Jumping into Unit 1 Lesson 1 did not sound fun, either. 

I wanted a fun activity that also related to geometry. That’s why I created this geometry scavenger hunt! It gets students up and moving while also seeing what they remember from middle school. 

You are giving them a pre-test without them even knowing it! 

Click here to get your free activity! *This will take you to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to download the free activity. If you don’t have a TPT account, it’s free to create one! 

Set Up

This is the best part–this geometry activity has virtually no set up! Just download the activity here, print, and make copies for your students! 

Decide whether you want students to complete the scavenger hunt in the classroom (best for larger classes) or walk around the school. 

If you plan to allow students to walk around the school for the scavenger hunt, make sure to get permission from an administrator first. 

You might be thinking “Umm What?? Walk around the school?!” I get it! However, I’m always surprised at how well-behaved my students are with this activity! Try it with a small class and guide them through the school. 

Directions

Before the scavenger hunt starts, give each student a scavenger hunt paper. 

Explain that they will be finding real examples of geometric shapes. Let them look through the list and make sure they remember all the terms from middle school. 

If there is a term they don’t remember, then discuss it as a class. 

I always remind students to be creative and try not to pick the same objects as other classmates. Tell them they will be sharing their findings with the class, so the more creative, the better. That’s what makes this geometry activity fun!

During

During the scavenger hunt, I walk around and monitor students. Then, I answer questions and give hints as needed.

If students leave the classroom for the scavenger hunt, I like to keep them all together and walk with them. 

Keep students moving and don’t allow them to talk too much with classmates. This helps cut down on behavior issues. Once 20-25 minutes have passed, tell them they need to start finishing up. After 30 minutes, I wrap up the activity. 

After

Once the students finish, I go around the room and have each student share one object they found. 

Then, I ask them some questions to get a good discussion started. Some of the questions I ask are:

1. What’s the difference between 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes? (Example rectangle and rectangular prism) Did you actually find 2-dimensional shapes? 
2.  Was your example of a line truly a line? (Did it continue forever in both directions?)
3. How could you prove that your example of perpendicular lines are actually perpendicular?
4. Are real life objects sometimes different than the geometric shapes? How so?
5. Can you think of a geometric object that wasn’t on your scavenger hunt and a real life example?
6. Can any of the your examples work for more than one word? (Examples:  rectangle and parallelogram, scalene triangle and acute triangle)

 After our discussion, I collect the papers and give each student a completion/participation grade. You could also hang them on your classroom wall for some classroom decor! 

You May Also Like…

Here are some other blog posts you may like!

• How I Learn Every Students Name on the First Day of School
• 5 Classroom Management Tips for High School
• Get a Free Sample of My Geometry Curriculum

Happy Teaching! Let me know how this geometry activity went for you in the comments below! 

You have the ability to create amazing resources for your classroom. Head to LindsayBowden.com/Training to sign up for my FREE training on creating engaging math resources!