Hit the ground running.
Send a message to your new class about what’s expected right from the get-go. The quicker you set a culture of kindness, respect, and high-bar work expectations, the easier it will be to maintain.
So during that first hour of the first day of school focus on the following three classroom management strategies.
1. Give
From the moment you first greet your students, give of yourself—your smile, your openness, and your genuine happiness that each of them is a member of your class.
Your kind, welcoming spirit provides warmth, safety, and relief to first-day jitters. It jump starts the leverage-inducing power of your likability. It’s the first salvo in the Law of Reciprocity.
It also makes the next strategy go down a lot smoother.
2. Show
Immediately after taking attendance, jump right into your classroom management plan—whether in-person or online version. You’ll only be giving an overview. However, that doesn’t mean that you’re just going to read it aloud.
No, you must show its importance through your emphatic tone and body language and enthusiasm for its purpose. Even though you’ll model your plan in detail throughout the week, you still must be demonstrative.
Show your devotion for THE most important thing. It is, after all, what protects your right to teach and your students’ right to learn and love being part of your class.
3. Teach
It’s okay to take a short break to stretch, share something about yourself, or play a getting-to-know-you game. But then, in order to set your standards for listening, learning, and independence, you must teach an academic lesson.
But it can’t be any old lesson. You’re not going to ease your way into it or make it light and fluffy as so many teachers are wont to do.
You must teach the heck out of it. The lesson must be clear and detailed and focused on a single objective, on one thing you want your students to be able to do or to know.
This is your chosen profession, the grade level and subject matter you want to teach. So let it out. Be bold. Show your passion. Check thoroughly and spectacularly for understanding, and then turn responsibility for doing the work over to them.
The Foundation
These three, like legs on a stool, provide the foundation upon which you can create the best learning experience your students have ever experienced.
They establish your trust and likability, set non-negotiable boundaries, and happily shock them into what is required for success in school.
They shake the rust off months of being cooped up or stuck on the couch without purpose. They give them meaning and responsibility and something to look forward to.
But it starts with you during that first hour of the first day of school.
It’s in your hands. So be ready, and enjoy every second.
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Wonderful.
So important , critical beginning for later success. Thank you.
Its really hard for me to think about teaching the heck out of a lesson on the first day. Could you give some examples for a second grade class?
I agree, Heather. Academics is not the most important thing. Thos os a construct that is beat into our heads that assumes it’s the best way to grow a smart kid, when in fact it does the opposite. It turns children into little robots that can spout off facts and figures.
I’ve been so saddened to watch the light go out of children’s eyes who are made to sit there and do as they are told.
Creating an environment where kids feel safe and loved is what helps them to feel free enough to develop so they can grow and develop naturally.
I agree that it is important to create an environment where kids feel safe and valued. But I am not sure why you interpreted the article as advocating for drilling and killing and demanding obedience from students.
At the end of the day, students are in school to learn and grow. This includes social and emotional growth, but also academic growth. Creative thinking, problem solving, research skills, and personal exploration are all part of that.
As Michael described, it is important to set the tone for the year that your class will be filled with learning and hard work. Again, “hard work” does not mean always sitting in a desk and filling out worksheets.
Creating a safe and loving environment is essential, Kandie. But that in no way excludes teaching the heck out of an engaging lesson! Think of one of your lessons that kids get totally engaged in. They WANT to learn more, and ask you if they can do it again. That’s the kind of lesson you want to tackle on that first day. That is what reminds them of their purpose in being in school, and allows them, on the very first day, to look forward to more of that kind of excitement in your classroom every day (well, most days!) this coing year. A lesson that comes to my mind that I think I will work in this year, is dissecting a gladiola blossom. It’s timely, intriguing, and they will get to see you model the behavior of a scientist: observing, asking questions, making connections, recording and labeling, explaining and using tools with care and respect. Start it off with a great book about flowers, and finish it off with their own colorfully illustrated chart of the parts and functions of plants. They will know they are safe, capable and loved!
Well said
I have always found with first graders, that they expect to learn to read on the first day of school. If you don’t teach them to read something, they’ll be horribly disappointed in you. I usually do a shared reading of a little poem. I read to them and we look at the words together and notice some interesting things.
Then I give each of them their own copy of the poem written into a little book with no illustrations. I model adding an illustration myself and go over expectations for top quality drawings. When they’re done drawing, they practice reading the little book to themselves and that night their homework is to read their little book to their families.
That’s adorable.
love your ideas! thank you for sharing!
Awesome!!
Thank you for being specific. I too teach 1st grade and usually have to adapt most lesson “ideas” to fit first grade. I would love to see a copy of your poem that you use.
Michael, in this time of instability and uncertainty about what my class will look like, this reminded me that I’ve got this. I can rely on my 28 years of experience, because I do, after all, know what I’m doing! Thank you for the shot of confidence I really needed this week.
The first day of school is easily my most hated. Why? It sets the tone for the entire year. I feel the most pressure that day. Creating a perfect balance of warmth, fun, routine, structure, high expectations…..it is hard but so important. Each day gets a bit easier because of routine and structure. The first month is often the hardest, but if you stick to a plan and be consistent, the rest of the year is a breeze. Those kids that are the hardest to reign in at the beginning are usually the ones I look at in May and get all weepy about because of how far they have come. Who knows what our first day of school will be like this year? I think this year’s first day will be the most important first day EVER.
You sound like a wonderfully well balanced, tuned in teacher. They are lucky to have you
Thank you for this wonderful, inspiring advice! I will save this post and re-read it in a few weeks as I am only on day 5 of summer break (finished a year-round school on July 21st) and need a few weeks of rest & relaxation 😉
I like the idea of teaching a lesson the first day as a HS English teacher. It is kind of like showing off but I think it would set the subconscious thought: “This teacher knows her stuff.” This will only be my 3rd year but I realized the 2nd most important thing in getting student respect after kindness/fairness/consequences is having them trust me as their educator. Very rarely do I disagree with you, but I really agree with this one!
Great advice for any type of experience or teaching level. I love the “Teach” part of this first day outlook! I think the students are really missing that! I know I am!
We are teaching remotely. Needing ideas for the first few days of kindergarten.
“From the moment you first greet your students, give of yourself—your smile”……..how can they see your smile when you have to wear a mask?
One truly smiles with ones eyes. Try in front of a mirror. You will pick up on it.
It will be even harder if you’re wearing goggles or face shields in addition to a mask. I would much prefer online where we can actually see faces. 🙁
You can hear when someone is smiling and see it in their eyes.
Very nice. Thank you.💖
Smiling won’t do any good when wearing a mask!
Truly smiling always does good😊
What is a good academic lesson to teach on the first day of school, that does not require assessment?
How to email a teacher ~ I actually take a few days to teach this skill.
Great reminders. Thanks!
So, I did follow the above plan, and my fourth graders left happy. Per the plan I spoke to a student’s mom, also a teacher, to let her know the rules and consequences and what had occurred throughout the day. The next morning the parent/teacher came in teary eyed and distraught because her child said they didn’t want to go to school the next day and this has never happened before. This goes on a bit more. I said she could call any time, etc. When the child came to school she was more than fine, had an excellent day, only one timeout, and I could tell by the way she spoke that she used her first day’s behavior to her advantage and upset her mom and myself. This was an interesting start to the year.
I currently work in a high school and have experienced the importance of connecting with students with small attentions like greeting them with a smile at the door of the classroom to create a positive and emotionally safe environment for students to feel comfortable to learn. and express your doubts.
Esther Holzmeister fall 23