This post is from the Introduction in my e-book Upper Elementary Teacher’s Guide to the First Two Weeks of School. You can learn more about that e-book HERE.
We all know the importance of the first days of school. We want our students to settle into routines quickly, our classrooms to run smoothly, and everyone to work well together, so we can get down to the business of teaching and learning as soon as possible.
So how do we get there?!
This is your guide for planning your first days of school: teaching and practicing those routines, establishing your expectations for social skills and work habits, getting to know your students and helping them get to know each other, and easing into your academic content.
I am a big fan of The Responsive Classroom resources. One of my favorite books is Teaching Children to Care by Ruth Sidney Charney. In this book, she talks extensively about the importance of the first six weeks of school.
Here’s what she says:
I have grown to appreciate the task of helping children learn to take better care of themselves, each other, and their classrooms. It’s not a waste. It’s probably the most enduring thing that I teach. In a world filled with global violence, threats of . . . environmental devastation, where drugs and guns are available on nearly every street corner, learning to be more decent and to build caring communities is hardly a waste of time.
In building that community, we set certain expectations. We expect our students to:
Know and use each other’s names
Learn about others’ interests
Take turns
Share
Join activities in a positive way
Invite others to join
Be friendly and include everyone
Cooperate
Solve conflicts
Planning appropriate activities for the first days of school helps establish these expectations and gives students plenty of opportunities to practice.
Charney says:
I spend the first six weeks of school teaching my children how to behave. It rarely takes less time; sometimes, it takes more. I cannot presume that what was so clear last year will be remembered and accepted this year. I start again.
As we teach our routines and procedures and expectations, we also get to know our students and help them to feel “seen.”
We do this with carefully selected activities, yes, but also by observing our students and letting them know that we “see” them, but not in a creepy way! This is about noticing what they are doing and commenting positively on what we see.
How do we do that? We make comments that are encouraging (and support student efforts), specific (naming behaviors and accomplishments instead of just saying “good job”), and positive (saying, “show me what you will do” instead of saying, “don’t do that.”)
Here are some examples of commenting on what you see.
Reinforcing:
I notice the way you remembered . . .
I notice that many of you like . . .
I notice lots of different ideas for . . .
I notice that most of you are taking time to read the directions and are now figuring things out for yourself.
Reminding:
Before we go to specials, remind me what we do.
Who remembers what we need to be ready for math? Please show me.
Remind me, what do you do if you . . .
If someone asks you to play a game, what are friendly ways you might respond? Remind me.
Remind us what happens in our class if someone makes a mistake.
Remind me, what’s your job right now?
Remind me what happens if someone needs to use your markers. What can you say?
Redirecting
Pencils are for writing.
I hear a lot of talking. This is your time to get your folders.
I hear conversations about movies. What do you need to be thinking about now?
We teach routines and procedures, establish our expectations, and build community by getting to know our students and helping them get to know each other.
Another tip to remember is to “go slow to go fast.”
We spend the time we need to spend to practice routines and build community. We also “open” the classroom gradually. We introduce different materials and areas of the classroom over the first two weeks of school instead of all at once, on the first day. When we introduce those materials and areas, we also teach the expectations and responsibilities for using those resources.
With that in mind, here are my goals for the first two weeks of school:
establish relationships with students, giving everyone a fresh start
build community in our classroom with student interaction
help my students get to know me
teach and reinforce routines & procedures
begin academic content with low-stress activities
teach/review growth mindset
assess student needs and learning styles
Feel free to borrow my goals or create your own!
My goals for the first day are more specific. Here they are:
greet students and help them feel welcome and safe in my class
learn names and correct pronunciation of names
get to know my students and help them get to know me
build classroom community with games and team-building
establish expectations for classroom routines and procedures (but not all on the first day!)
incorporate lots of read-alouds
get everyone home safely
make them want to come back the next day! 😉
Michael Linsin of Smart Classroom Management says this:
“My number one goal on the first day of school is that my students love being in my class.
The reason, simply put, is that it makes anything and everything to do with effective teaching and classroom management easier.”
You can read more of Michael’s post here.
Finally, here’s your last word of wisdom from Ruth Sidney Charney:
I first must give children the security that I “see” them as individuals and as a group. Then I work to “see everything,” to extend this positive sense of security beyond my sight. When children begin to internalize positive expectations, they are then free to learn in an atmosphere that fosters independence and responsibility.
Ready to get started? Grab the Upper Elementary Teacher’s Guide to the First Two Weeks of School!