Little kids learn to handle new situations by listening to stories about talking teddy bears, dinosaurs, and even vegetables. These unrealistic characters present lessons in a way that is easy for kids to understand and accept. But bigger kids prefer stories featuring actual kids like themselves, and it can be more difficult to present a lesson within a story for these older kids.

I had this same idea in mind when I created my “First Day of School on the Moon” story elements activities, because the first day of school can present a lot of new situations and difficulties for middle grade kids, but a realistic lesson about dealing with these situations could quickly become boring to big kids who have heard it all before!

What I decided to do was to change the setting – keep the characters realistic, but put them in a fantastic (out-of-this-world!) setting.

This little freebie is what I came up with. It includes two printable activity sheets plus a digital version of the activities. Click on either image below to download your copy now!

The activities present an imaginary scene in which the students are living in a colony on the moon. For the first assignment, students describe themselves as students on their first day in a school on the moon. They think about what their new school would be like and what problems they might encounter there.

For the second assignment, students plan a story about a character’s first day of school on the moon. This activity can be used either as prewriting for a fictional narrative or as a stand-alone activity.

The story elements I’ve incorporated into these activity sheets are character, setting, plot and conflict, and theme.

So as your kids come back to school for the new year, why not get them thinking outside of the box right from the start by having them make fictional plans for a really out-of-this-world first day of school on the moon? Even here on earth, the work on story elements and the focus on responding to a new situation will add educational value to a back-to-school lesson. And who knows, maybe one day . . .