The first week of school runs on routines and icebreakers, and this scramble handles both. Its twelve words are the contents of every August supply list, the backpack, the pencil, the crayon box, the scissors, plus the places and moments of a school day: the locker, the library, and everyone's favorite subject, recess. Solving it gives new students a friendly tour of classroom vocabulary while teachers handle first-week logistics.
Leave a stack on desks for morning arrival during week one, or use it as the quiet half of a stations rotation while you assess readers one-on-one. It also works as a getting-to-know-you tool: after solving, students circle the answer that matters most to them and explain why to a partner. The printable includes an answer key, and the online version is a good early introduction to your classroom's device routines.
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