Back to school tips for middle school students, including a scavenger hunt for efficiently navigating the school site campus.
Scavenger Hunt: Try this activity a few times before the first day of school.
Purpose: to give you a better sense of how long it takes to move from class to class during the day. Becoming more familiar with the school campus also decreases the possibility of getting lost on the first day.
Scavenger Hunt Materials:
- Class schedule
- Watch or stopwatch
- Piece of paper
- Pen
Instructions: Start the scavenger hunt at front of school.
Sidenote: Remind your parents that the official drop off point is not right in front of school. The crowds of people and other cars will take forever to drive through and who wants to have their friends see them getting dropped off by their parents anyway. The parking lot entrance is a far better option for you and your parents. You avoid the unpleasantness of friends seeing your parents, and your parents save time by avoiding the long line of cars in the school parking lot.
With a stopwatch in hand record the scavenger hunt start time on the activity sheet below. Travel to your locker next, moving at a walking pace. Open the locker and record your travel time in the area labeled, “Front of School to Locker.” Shut the locker and continue traveling from location to location using the sheet below as a guide. Remember to record the travel time after arriving at a new location.
Start Location : Drop off spot (bus stop or parent drop off spot) Start time:
Route Travel Time
Front of School to Locker:
Locker to Class #1:
Class #1 to Class #2:
Class #2 to Locker:
Locker to Class #3:
Class #3 to Class #4:
Class #4 to Class #5:
Class #5 to Locker:
Locker to Class #6:
Class #6 to Class #7 (if you have 7 classes):
Last class to Locker:
Locker to Pick up location (bus stop or parent pick up spot):
Before admiring the final travel time, add an extra minute to all of the recorded travel times. With potentially hundreds of other students crowding the halls your travel time will increase. Were any of the travel blocks longer than 4 minutes? If so consider trying a few of following time-saver tips.
