A great first day activity is the "I Can't Funeral". Distribute a small piece of paper to each student for them to write at least one thing they think they cannot do academically. Such as "I can't do word problems," or "I can't read well." Collect the papers, place them in a shoe box or paper bag, and bury it in the school yard. Or bury it away somewhere in your school or classroom to pull out at the end of the year. Have a simple service with appropriate words such as "Today, we bury our can'ts. We will miss them terribly but we will learn to live without them".