Need Help Planning Your First Week?
It’s August, which means you can’t put off that back-to-school prep much longer!
Students will be busting through those doors before you know it. (Don't worry, a deep breath helps!)
Ready or not, they're coming!🫣
So, let's talk about the very first week of school.
Here's the thing about the first week...fluidity is your friend.
During the first week you will have schedule changes, roster changes, forms collection, class meetings, new students adding late, etc. If you jump into content right away, you're going to become frustrated because you will end up teaching the content over again for the students who missed it.
Save yourself the time and heartache by focusing on teaching routines and procedures and building classroom community instead of content.
You're probably thinking, "But I can't do that! We have sooooo many standards to cover! I have to hit the ground running." Trust me, I get it. Here's what I know to be fact, the time you spend now emphasizing your classroom procedures and building culture you will get back tenfold over the course of the semester or year because you have solid classroom management expectations and routines in place.
This year, I want to help you tackle the first week of school with confidence!
I'm going to lay out exactly what I would do each day during the first week of school and the resources I would use. One of the best things about this plan is that you can use it in all of your preps!
First, Let's Talk Procedures...
What does your classroom entrance routine look like? How do students enter your room and what are they supposed to do when they enter? Do they need to be in their seat by the bell? What do they need to have on their desk? What do they need to be doing when the bell rings? Nail down that procedure in the first week!
If you need to freshen up your daily slides and bellringers, check out my new Daily Bellringer and Agenda Slides that feature 40 weeks (200 days worth) of done for you daily slides! These are great to incorporate as your daily beginning of class routine!
What about when students exit your room? What's the procedure for leaving the classroom? Practice entering and exiting! It may sound silly to practice with high schoolers, but if you don't want to be saying "stay in your seat until the bell rings" all year long, you've got to set that expectation and nail it down now.
Some other procedures to think through...where can students locate supplies? Where do you want students to turn in work? How are you handling cell phones and earbuds? Practice these things all week!
Now Let's Dive Into the Activities...(adjust accordingly if your first week doesn't start on a Monday)
Monday: My First Day of School Stations is hands down my favorite way to start the year! The activity gets students up, moving, and collaborating while learning new classroom policies, setting goals, and engaging new classmates in discussion. (Pictured Below)
Tuesday: On the 2nd day of school, I like to practice daily classroom procedures and go over all of the drill procedures (fire, weather, lockdown, etc.) so that my students know EXACTLY what to do in the event of an emergency. After going over drills, we need some lighthearted fun, which is why I love to play Get to Know You Jenga!
Wednesday: Go over all computer related info (safety & rules, log ins, signing into Google Classroom or Canvas, etc.) Once they know computer policies and how to log in, I teach my Email Etiquette Lesson! This equips students with a workplace communication skill & sets the expectation for the quality of emails you expect from your students. It also saves you a year of having to read poorly written emails with subject lines like "what did i miss bruhhh"
Thursday: Generally, the Email Etiquette Lesson and activities may take longer than one class period, so we jump right back in on the next day to finish that up! When we finish that, I love to start this Create Your Own Playlist and Album Cover Activity. This activity is an awesome way to get to learn more about students through the music they are interested in, and it helps students form connections with other students in the class.
Friday: We jump right back in and finish up the Create Your Playlist and Album Cover Activity. If there's time left, we play a quick game of "peak and pit." To do this, I call on each student individually and have them share the "peak" (aka favorite moment) and "pit" (aka least favorite moment) of their back to school week.
Hopefully you found some ideas in this blog that you can incorporate into your first week of school and take some stress out of planning your first week! Which activity is your favorite?
