First Days of School

Hello!

It's been a glorious summer and I'm very excited to go back to school!

I have been evaluating my process for the first day of school since last year and I have decided to change it up entirely. It used to be all about the rules so I could keep my classroom management in check. This year, I am going to work harder at building relationships and a classroom community and I think the classroom management element will come naturally. 

Here are a few things I am implementing this year...

1. Book Talks

I'm an English teacher, so it would be only natural that I should book talk on the first day! I will be highlighting three books, two I read over the summer and one all time favorite. This will show students that I'm invested in reading from day one.

2. Start learning ASAP

This was a suggestion I saw on Instagram and it makes total sense! What better way to jumpstart those brains than by doing some real work on the first day? We will be reading My Name by Sandra Cisneros and doing some close reading. We will then tie that into Name/Nombres by Julia Alvarez, and then tie both of those works into a writing assignment about the students. 

3. Unique getting to know you activities

I am such a grump when it comes to getting to know you activities. I hate them all, usually. I think they are all contrived and a lot of times are done for the sake of doing them, not for the actual information. However, I value getting to know my students! I wanted to find some unique and fun activities that wouldn't make the students feel like we were just going through the first week motions. I found a couple ideas I am very excited about. The first one is called, "If I Ruled the World." Basically, it's a fill in the blank poem that really helps you to get to know students. This is mine..

This is a fun way to get to know students, their likes and dislikes and most importantly, how they see themselves. 

Another great activity is the "Perfect Day" activity. I found this on Pinterest and instead of doing a daily life clock, I thought it would be great to do a "perfect day" clock. I did one for myself as an example and I feel like a stranger could look at it and know exactly all the things I love to do. Sleep, craft, play with makeup, hang with my friends, etc! So much better than a boring survey. 

4. Rules

Yep, you always have to have rules in a functioning classroom. Previously, I have gone the very old school route of having students write down rules word for word. I am super embarrassed to admit it, but it was the only way I knew how to keep order. Yeah, no longer.

After I do a really brief rundown of rules and procedures, students will be making skits!

I have heard that I have a particularly silly group of kids coming in, so I think they will love this activity! They can get as creative and silly as they want, I will even have a few random costume pieces that they can throw together. I'm excited to see how this goes.

In a few other classes that this won't work for, I found this breakout game (no equipment needed) from Nouvelle ELA on TPT. It looks so fun!

5. Teamwork

I am taking on a new elective class this year, Mock Trial, and it's really important to me to get in the teamwork frame of mind. I think this could be really useful in all classes as well. Students need to learn to be collaborative and work with people even if they aren't their friends. We will be doing a lot of team activities. I have compiled a big list of short improv games that would be great for warmups. I also found this great activity using plastic easter eggs that would be a great lesson on teamwork. When I was at ISTE, I went to a presentation on a game maker lesson and my students will be starting day two with this awesome team building exercise. Basically, students get in groups and are given play doh and a paper folder and they have to make a game.

It's easy to be freaked out by the first days of school. I have had so many nightmares about having the meanest class ever, not having disclosures ready, not sure of what I'm teaching etc. Whatever you do, just have set rules and procedures and be kind, but also a little scary :) and you'll be fine! If that advice doesn't help, check out this really great article from The Cornerstone for Teachers about dealing with back to school anxiety.

Remember, we preach a growth mindset to our students yet don't always expect it with ourselves. If you have a rocky first day of school, just realize that any day can be the first day of school and kill it!