Teaching your classroom management plan is critical on the first day of school.
100 percent, cannot be missed.
It’s also smart to begin modeling and practicing basic routines, setting high work-habit expectations, and teaching at least one great academic lesson.
All are essential elements, to be sure.
But to effectively launch a SCM classroom, there is one thing that stands head and shoulders above the rest.
It’s a bit counterintuitive, especially for those who believe you shouldn’t smile for the first month of the school year. However, it’s key to building fast rapport, getting parents on your side, and making your consequences matter to students.
Do you know what it is?
If you’re a longtime practitioner of the SCM approach, then it’s already part of who you are and how you manage your classroom.
It is this: When your students leave for home after the first day of school, they must already love being in your class.
This is my number one goal.
Because, when your students feel lucky that you’re their teacher, they’ll want to listen to you, behave for you, and please you. This gives you powerful, behavior-transforming leverage.
All of our strategies here at SCM support and enhance this goal. But to hit the ground running, you must put the love of your class at the top of your first-day-of-school to-do list.
The good news is that it’s easy.
- Smile and greet each student as they enter.
- Tell a great story.
- Maintain a spirit of humor.
- Enjoy teaching your plan and routines.
- Get them up and moving.
- Teach with passion and clarity.
- Let every student experience success.
In other words, embrace SCM from the start. Don’t ease into it or feel as if you have to put on an air of toughness.
Instead, have fun and be friendly and pleasant from the very first minute. This doesn’t mean you need to throw a party or plan an outrageous getting-to-know-you game.
It just means that whatever you have planned, make it interesting. Make it exceptional and enjoyable. Put yourself in their shoes. Ease their fears. Make them smile. Cause them to run home at the end of the day excited.
“Oh my gosh, my teacher is awesome!”
This is what you want on the first day. To leave your students happily shaken, with a buzzing in their ears and a slow-fading glow from a classroom experience they never expected.
In this way, as long as you follow through on your promises, you can create your dream class in a single day.
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Dear Michael,
Thank you for the many years of wonderful advice. My classroom management was honed to perfection using your model and insights. I have unsubscribed, since three weeks ago, I finally retired. I taught elementary for 48 years in the same district. Indeed, I’m blessed to be able to say that with pride. Again, your guidance helped to make me as successful as I was. Susan
Wow, Susan!! That is incredible!
Congratulations, and thank you for serving these little ones! Enjoy your rest ;0
Congratulations for 48 years of service!
Michael, someday I’d love for you to address classroom management in schools/districts where some of what you suggest in your paid management plans is not consistent with policy and/or not permitted. Specifically, in high schools where they are using standards-based grading and/or don’t allow behavior to affect grades. This is increasingly common. Thanks!
Yes. In your book I interpret what you say as we can do this because it is in the standards that kids need to listen intently during the lesson but I read our standards and that is not the case. I bought the classroom management for high school and I won’t be able to do the four points system because 90 percent of their grade in our district must be summative. I would love some feedback on how to make this work.
Great practical advice. Students need to have a voice in the plan.
I’m glad you said it was okay to smile on the first day! I am a smiler and it has always been hard for me to be what I think of as “mean” because I wasn’t supposed to smile till Thanksgiving or whenever.
That said, I can be very firm, and the kids (thankful that I’m in 3rd grade currently!) do try to change their behaviors when they get the reminder.
Thanks for always keeping it real, and real clear 🙂
Ellen
This has always been my philosophy! I teach little ones and I have always said they must love me and my class so much that its their favorite place to be.
I wonder how I can do all of this in a 42 minute period. What would you prioritize for the first 42 minutes of 6th grade?
Hello Michael,
I just discovered you and your work this summer, and am very much looking forward to changing my classroom management style! I plan to follow your method from the first day of school. What are your suggestions for teaching students whom I have already taught every day for a full year last year? I really want this new method to be successful with them, and am concerned that they might find the changes confusing or jarring. Are there extra steps you recommend I take? I would be grateful for any suggestions you can offer!
Pretend you’re meeting them for the first time and proceed with the plan. They, and you, will do great.
Thank you!
How do you deal with students that have decided that their goal this year is to see how many teachers they can get to quit? We have had several teachers quit in the last 2 years and now the students (middle school) have decided that they want to get more to quit. Because of the teacher shortage, when a teacher quits, the students get subs that are not trained, don’t speak English, or don’t care about classroom management. The students are given computer assignments to do. Since the subs have no way of monitoring the computers, the students then watch youtube videos or play games for the entire period.