The first days and weeks back to school are very busy and exciting for students. It’s even more challenging when 6th grade is the beginning of middle school in your district and students might be in a new school. Students need to learn new routines and get to know you as their teacher while making new friends. It’s an exciting but distracting time. Plus, getting students engaged is often challenging after having the summer off. During this time, I recommend using transition resources to help students learn the new routines of your classroom while reviewing 5th-grade math topics. Using any of these First-week of school Activities for 6th Grade Math will help your students review the topics from 5th-grade math without being too overwhelmed.
1. Back to School Math Worksheets for 6th Grade Math
These back-to-school math worksheets are perfect for reviewing all the topics of 5th-grade math at the beginning of the year. All of the questions are multiple-choice. This makes it easier for students to complete without being too intimidating. Each question also has a common core alignment. This makes it easy to see which 5th-grade topics to review before you start teaching 6th-grade math. Best of all, it’s no prep! Just print, and you’re ready to go. Plus, they include both digital and printable versions for more flexibility.
Here’s what one teacher had to say about this resource: “This was AMAZING to help my 6th grade Math students at the beginning of the year to review their 5th grade Math skills and concepts. THANK YOU for a TERRIFIC resource I’ll use year after year!”
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2. Summer Math for Rising 6th Graders
Here’s another favorite for the First Week of School Activities for 6th Grade Math. This summer math packet is a great activity when the weather is still warm, and students are still in the summer mood. There are multiple-choice questions similar to the back-to-school math worksheets, but there are also additional 5th-grade math skills pages for your students to work on.
These worksheets would be great for homework assignments on the first days of school. You could also use these for classwork or math centers. There are many ways to use these summer math packets with your 6th graders.
3. 5th Grade Math Review Task Cards
When you think your students need extra review with the 5th-grade math topics, check out these 5th-grade math task cards. They’re digital and printable, giving you lots of options in assigning them to students. They feature 48 different task cards that review ALL the 5th-grade math topics. They even have the common core alignment on each task card, so you can easily see which topics students struggle with.
Task cards are great because they can be used throughout the school year. They’re also a great way to have your students get up and move when you use them for Math Centers, Scoot, Around the Room, or a Scavenger Hunt.
When your students are comfortable with all the 5th-grade math topics, you can have them practice 6th-grade math topics using these task cards.
4. 5th Grade Math Review Boom Cards
You can also use these 5th-grade math self-correcting boom cards to review and assess your students at the beginning of the school year. If you’re new to Boom Cards, check out 6 Reasons to Use Boom Cards in Your Classroom.
These are super helpful because they track student data. Each of the Boom cards has the common core alignment for 5th-grade math, so you can easily see which topics you need to review in the first weeks of school.
If your students love Boom cards and you want to lighten your load with grading, check out the 6th Grade Math Boom Card Bundle.
4. 5th Grade Math Review Games
If you and your students enjoy playing games similar to Jeopardy, check out these 5th-grade math review games. There are two different games with editable questions. This makes it easy to customize the questions for your class or you can use the questions as they are written. They’re a fun way to review all the topics and teach your students how to work with others.
You might also be interested in the 6th Grade math review games for the end of the year test prep.
I hope these resources are helpful for you and your students starting 6th grade.