Fantastic First Day Feats
Suggestions for making your first day of school successful and fun!
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #126
August 23, 2014
It’s that time again. Teachers around the world are
about to start another school year. The
excitement is growing and we all have something in common; we want it to be the
best year ever for our students!
After going through years of notes and also searching
the Internet I came up with a few ideas which can be helpful and I would like
to share them with you. Here are a few suggestions for the first day of school.
Start
Learning Names Immediately
Many teachers will tell you that learning names quickly
will help with discipline. This is certainly true, however; I believe that rather than assisting in an
authoritative way, it more importantly sends the message loudly and clearly
that you are interested in your students on a personal level, and that you
care.
Have
Too Much and Too Many of Everything
Make extra copies, just in case of any prepared
handouts. There is really nothing worse than being one or two copies
short. Need name tags or construction
paper? Get the extra-large pack (you can use the leftovers for another
project). Have a surplus of pens or pencils handy for those kids who have
already misplaced or lost theirs.
Icebreakers/Learning
Activities
Some teachers prefer to jump right into classroom rules
and instruction. They think icebreakers are a waste of good instructional time.
Thankfully, most teachers recognize the potential of icebreakers. Icebreakers
can help teachers get to know their students. They can reveal who the class
leaders might be, what skills and special abilities students possess, and how
well students work together.
Teacher Ellen Berg used to rush into instruction on the
first day of school. Getting down to business was a good way to get kids
focused on learning right from the start. Berg's ideas about the importance of
the first days of school have changed, however. "Because cooperative
learning skills are essential and necessary for good community, I like to set
up high-interest cooperative projects for the first days that allow my kids to
practice group skills while allowing me to get a good picture of their
strengths and weaknesses," said Berg, who teaches at Turner MEGA Magnet
Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri.
One of Berg's favorite activities is a mini-lesson on
scale drawing. After the lesson, she challenges students to work in groups to
draw scaled-down maps of the school hallway. "The project allows my
students to work together in small teams while it helps them learn where their
core classes will be," said Berg. "It is exciting to see them with
their yardsticks, heads bent together, debating measurements and how to deal
with fractions." Lessons such as this one are great icebreakers, and they
are great teaching lessons too, Berg added.
Anne Jolly agrees that icebreakers can be easily
slanted to accomplish academic goals. Students could compile a class book by
having each subject-area teacher focus an opening day icebreaker on the
subject, Jolly suggested. "In science, kids might tell about the most
catastrophic natural event that ever happened to them and how they felt,"
explained Jolly. "In language arts, they could tell about their favorite
book character and why they like him or her. In history, they could tell about
a place they've visited or would like to visit or name a historical figure they
admire and tell why. In math, they could tell about a time when a knowledge of
math was vital to them; it will probably have to do with money!" The
students can keep a record of their responses as they go from class to class,
said Jolly, a veteran grade-eight science teacher. Icebreakers are not good
activities only for the start of the school year, Jolly added. When she was in
the classroom, she found ways to use icebreaker activities throughout the year
to reinforce the ideas of community and teamwork.
The
Name Continuum
Put a sign that has a large A on it on one wall of the
classroom. Put a sign that has a large Z on it on the opposite wall. Then have
all participants arrange themselves in alphabetical order between the letters.
You might do first name order first, then repeat for family name order.
Variations: See whether students can do this without saying a word! You might
have them organize themselves in order by birth date, height, or another piece
of orderable information.
Cliff
Lightfoot, Nunthorpe Youth Centre, Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England
Teach
Your Best Lesson!
While all the other middle school or high school
subject teachers are going over class rules and handing out books, make your
class the one students remember at the end of the day! You can do that by
teaching your best lesson on the first day of school. Choose a lesson that
requires some previous knowledge but is something most students will be
successful at. When they leave class on the first day, the kids feel positive
about the subject you teach and they are excited about returning to class tomorrow.
Add a homework assignment -- one that will excite and motivate them that
they'll be eager to complete. Save those class rules, expectations, and
syllabus for the second day of school.
Julie Deppner,
Chelsea High School, Chelsea, Michigan
