
At the beginning of the school year teachers often get to know their students
through an information worksheet that students fill out about themselves.
These student
information sheets are often ideal for a first bulletin board or classroom
display for the new school year.
If you are looking for a new, unique, fun, and eye-catching idea for this
"get to know me" creative writing activity, take a look at my version of this lesson plan that
uses Back To School Bus Templates.

This Back To School Bus Templates set of lesson plans will
provide you with all of the teaching resources that you need for your
students to fill out an introductory worksheet about themselves during the first week of school.
This fun back to school creative writing activity will help you to be able
design a colorful bulletin board display of your students' work.
Since this is a short creative writing assignment, your students can complete this task quickly
and you will be able to display samples of your students' work in your classroom by the end of the
first or second day of school!
This unique Back to School project is designed to be assembled into one VERY
LONG school bus.
If you do not have the space for a long school bus display in your classroom,
you can assemble these Back to School bus templates into groups of 5 students together
and have 5 or 6 smaller school buses representing all of your students'
information sheets together.
Remember, you can make your school bus display as long as you want by gluing as
many student bus templates together as you wish. Each student fills in their
information section and draws and colors a picture of himself or herself in
the bus windows.

Above is an example of how these Back to
School bus templates are assembled together.
This example shows how 5 student worksheets
(plus the front of bus and door templates) are glued together.

Instead of drawing pictures, you can glue pictures of your students on the templates.
There is a second set of bus templates that you can use
if you want to glue student photographs in the bus windows.

Although this is a fairly short writing activity, I still have my students
complete a first draft. By taking the time to write a first draft, I can ensure
that my students' final drafts contain less spelling and capitalization errors.
As my students are filling out their first drafts, I walk around the
classroom and read their responses and make comments about the interesting
information that I have learned about my new students.
When a student has finished his first draft, he raises his hand, and I go over and quickly
glance at his work and point out the mistakes that I feel that he should
edit and revise. Then, I give this student his final draft bus template.
Below is an example of the first draft worksheet, which should be
cut into two rectangles and given to two students.

Since this set of teaching resources uses the word favorite in it, there is a second
set of resources which contains the spelling favourite for
teachers in countries that use this spelling.

Above: There are two bus templates that are not given to the students:
the front of the bus and the door. On the door template,
you will write the grade level, your name, and the name of your school.

Above: Students draw and color a picture inside the school bus windows.
Above: The third bus template (shown on the left) is the template that you will need to make multiple
copies of to give to your students.
The fourth bus template (shown on the right) will completed by one student.

Above: With these bus templates, glue photographs of your students in the window areas.

Above: Example of bus templates with student photographs glued in the window areas.

Above: Examples of black and white Back to School bus templates.
Above: If you are unable to print out color copies of this project, there are
black and white school bus templates included in this set.

Above: This Back To School set of lesson plans includes 12 pages of road signs
which you can use as bulletin board accent pieces to help you decorate your
bulletin board display of your students' work.

Above: This set includes a 5 page road banner that you can assemble together
and use for your bulletin board display if you wish.

Above: I do not have a photograph example of this finished school bus project.
Above is an example of my
School Bus Book Reports
which are very similar (they are shorter in length and contain a different writing component).
Hopefully this picture will give you an idea of what a finished bulletin board
display using these projects would look like.

Are you interested in a Back to School group project for
your students to complete that uses matching school bus templates?

Amelia Bedelia has been making children laugh since 1963, when the first
Amelia Bedelia book was published. Herman Parish is the nephew of Amelia
Bedelia's creator, Peggy Parish, and the author of fourteen books about
Amelia Bedelia, the grown up.
Now, for the first time, you can introduce your students to the young
Amelia Bedelia as she experiences her first day of school.
Even as a youngster Amelia Bedelia takes everything literally, including
gluing herself to her seat. She is a challenge to her teacher, who is
also having her first day of school.
On my Amelia Bedelia First Day of School Lesson Plans page
you will find two unique projects that I have created
specifically to go along with this humourous back to school picture book.
Below are examples of the group project school bus templates
that I have created for Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School.

Click on the link below to read more information about this picture book and to
view the lesson plans that I have created for this Back to School read aloud book.
Are you interested in a book report project for your
students to complete that uses matching school bus templates?

Do you want a fun and colorful book report idea for your students that will
make them want to hop on board the reading bus?
These bus shaped book report projects will provide you with all of the teaching
resources that you need for your students to write about the sequence of the
events (beginning, middle, and end) that occur in their books.
Traditionally, requiring students to write about the sequence of events of a
book is a task that most students find quite boring. By using these uniquely
shaped school bus graphic organizers, you will be paving the way for your
students to complete these writing tasks with enthusiasm.
Below are examples of the first draft worksheets and
final draft templates for my school bus book report project.


Click on the link below to read more information about this
book report project and to view the lesson plans that I have
created for this bus shaped reading response project.

Thank you for visiting my Back To School Bus Templates creative writing page.
Please be sure to check out the other pages on Unique
Teaching Resources for a large variety of fun lesson plan activities
that will engage your students in learning and save you valuable time.
Sincerely, Heidi McDonald
Creator and Site Manager
Unique Teaching Resources



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Heidi, I just had to write and let you know that your website has helped me create the most awesome author study of Roald Dahl's books. My students loved completing the big animal shaped projects you designed for The Enormous Crocodile, Esio Trot, and The Giraffe, and the Pelly and Me. For the final project, they had so much fun writing and drawing about the characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory using your Willy Wonka Factory project. Thanks for sharing your scrumdiddlyumptious ideas!
I can honestly say that I have never had such great results from children with a book report as I did using this wanted poster book report activity. I was blown away and the parents who have seen the finished projects were amazed too. Thank you! I will definitely log on again to see your other products and your after sales service is awesome, thanks again. Very much appreciated.
Thank you for all that you do! You are helping all of us to become better educators!
I just wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU for the free downloads that are included in your newsletter Teachers Have Class each month, I look forward to receiving every single issue. I absolutely love your products and what you do. I am so excited to use your resources through my teaching journey. Keep up the awesome work. Happy Holidays!
Your lesson plans for Stellaluna, Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas have saved me so much planning time this year. My Gr. 3 students really enjoyed completing the projects that you designed for each of these books. I was able to create great Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas displays in my classroom this year with their projects. Thanks for sharing your ideas and for saving me time.
My students loved your seasonal powerpoint games for Halloween and Thanksgiving. They thought they were playing a game instead of reviewing grammar ;-) I've already purchased all of your other holiday powerpoint lesson plans. Keep making more of these great activities, more POWER to you Heidi!
Thank you so much for letting me know about the new book report templates. I have been anxiously watching for the house book report project to be posted on your site, so I was excited to be able to purchase it today. It is absolutely adorable. I must tell you that I have received so many compliments from other teachers this year about my students' book reports that I have displayed in our school halls. Thank you again for all of your wonderful ideas....you make my life so much easier as a teacher!
I want to write and tell you that I love the resources that you make and share with us, they have truly been helpful to me and my students. I have been teaching grammar rules in a more exciting way, and I owe it all to you. Your grammar powerpoint lessons have been such a blessing! Thank you very much!
I feel so fortunate to have found your website and I have referred several of my co-workers to your website. Just for the month of January, there were three teachers displaying your book reports. I had the trophy reports, my neighbor to the left had the computer reports, and my neighbor to the right had the birthday cake reports. Thank you so very much for all of your work!
I just wanted to say thank you for the most amazing teaching resources that I have ever come across in my thirty years of teaching. I have used many of your book report sets this year and my students absolutely loved them. What was particularly pleasing was seeing some of my reluctant readers (especially the boys) really wanting to read books and complete the activities. Keep up the great work!
I am in awe of what you have accomplished and created for those of us teaching in the public sector. Good for you for taking time off and self publishing. Your enthusiasm is contagious and your generosity is amazing. I recently provided a reading in-service for the K-5 staff at my school. I listed your website as a "must" to visit.
Thanks you for your expertise, creativity, and heartfelt enthusiasm. You are an inspiration to new and veteran teachers and a model for those of us who have not had the guts to go out on our own. You did it!!! I suggest that you go on the speaking circuit and share your knowledge and creativity at the International Reading Association Meetings and the State Reading Associations.
I'm writing to tell you that my students just finished the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory group projects. They worked so hard, and the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory projects turned out great! We had them to show for student led conferences. The parents were very impressed, and so were many of the other teachers and my principal. They all commented on my students' work and your creative templates. My students had so much fun doing these projects. I also used the multiplication pizza sticker charts. My students loved those as well!! Thank you so much for all of your amazing products.
My students are working on their Charlie and Chocolate Factory projects that I bought on your website. One of my students said how nice the other character wheels were and he said, "Besides this is just fun!" Not bad for a third grade boy!!
Just wanted to say thank you so much for your wonderful site and the excellent resources that you provide at such reasonable prices. I purchased and used your lesson plans for the The Giving Tree with my students, and it was a blast. Thanks again!
Simply stated, I LOVE YOUR BOOK REPORT SETS!!!!!!! I'm interested in purchasing them ALL!!!! I've been looking for something like this for quite some time. My students are so excited about reading this year, and it is all because of your fun projects!

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