School-Wide Rally: Scavenger Hunt Sheets for the Back-to-School Rally

“School Rally” is a school rally that helps children get to know their school building on an exploration tour. Along the way, they can search for important places such as the school kitchen, music room, or toilets, count the stairs, draw the school logo, and answer questions about their school.

What is included in the material

• Handout with a brief explanation of how the school rally works and its purpose
• Scavenger hunt sheet with questions and tasks about the school’s rooms, people, and facts, as well as space for the group members’ names and the name of the school
• Alternative version of the scavenger hunt sheet with some different questions
• Versions without illustrations of both scavenger hunt sheets

Tips for using the material

• Moving around in groups: The children can move quietly through the school building with their group and answer the questions together.
• Fixed return time: A time can be entered on the scavenger hunt sheet by which all groups should be back in the classroom.
• Alternative questions: The alternative version can be used instead, which asks about the school office, school library, and science rooms rather than the number of teachers, entrances and exits, and students.

These skills are promoted

• Orientation in the school building by deliberately locating important rooms
• Knowing key contacts, because the children find out who runs the school and who takes care of the school building
• Independence, because the groups explore the school building on their own
• Cooperation within the group while solving the tasks together

Further material for the start of the school year: Labeling rooms in the school building, a getting-to-know-you game for the start of the school year, and a game for the first days of school after the holidays.