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How you structure the first day of school sets the tone for the
rest of the school year. For most teachers, this will be the first
time that you meet your students, and first impressions are crucial
for developing a prosperous school year together. If you are unprepared
for the first day, it can give students the impression that they
are able to get away with more, or avoid taking your authority
seriously.
1. Show students your best side.
Many students can be won over with a positive attitude. Greet
students at the door of your classroom, and remain enthusiastic
regarding your classroom and your students. Maintain your professionalism,
while treating your students with respect. How you set the tone
the first day will go a long way of setting the tone for the whole
year. 2. Introduce yourself to students. Sharing a little personal
information about yourself with students can help them to become
more comfortable with you. For instance, you can talk about where
you went to school or what you like to do in your free time. This
makes you more of a person, and less of an intimidating authority
figure.
3. Introduce yourself to the teachers.
If this is your first year teaching, you may not recognize any
of the teachers, depending on whether or not your student teaching
was completed at that school. Even if you are a returning teacher,
there are sure to be some new faces. By establishing bonds early
on, you can develop the professional relationships that you will
need to soar through the school year.
4. Decide on seating arrangements.
Some teachers prefer to assign seating, while others allow students
to choose their own seats. If students are choosing their own
seats, remind them of the responsibility that this includes, and
that they will be reassigned if they start to disrupt the class.
5. Make a seating chart.
Seating charts will help you to take roll quickly and efficiently,
as well as help you learn the students' names more quickly. By
including a seating chart with your other teacher worksheets,
you can make it easier for a substitute teacher to take over your
class in your absence.
6. Take roll, learning student name preferences.
The easiest way to conduct roll is by going down the rows, having
each student tell you his or her name. If they prefer to go by
a nickname, have them let you know what it is. By allowing students
to tell you their names, you will avoid any mispronunciations.
Make a note of students who are missing or students who accidentally
wandered into the wrong class.
7. Establish a tardiness policy.
While you will probably want to excuse most tardy students the
first day, since many are still learning their way around, you
will want to inform them that tardiness will not be excused in
the future, as well as what disciplinary actions will be taken
for excessive tardiness.
8. Review classroom rules.
To start out the school year on the right foot, students need
to know what will be expected of them and what will be allowed
in the classroom. Go over a list of general classroom rules, and
make sure that the rules are posted in a prominent place in the
classroom. You may also want to pass out worksheets to the students
as a hard copy reminder of what the classroom rules are.
9. Establish consequences for rules.
For both yourself and the students, it is important to determine
in advance what consequences you will impose for breaking different
rules. For instance, a first time offense may be met with a warning,
a second offense a loss of privileges, and a third time a phone
call home. Make sure that students are aware of the consequences.
10. Introduce your lessons plans for the year.
You should plan to start introducing lessons plans on the first
day. Do not get stuck on the administrative tasks on the very
first day. Some items may wait until later in the week. By letting
students know what they will be studying, they will know that
you are serious about teaching. You can consider making printable
worksheets of the syllabus so students will have a hard copy of
the information that they will be studying.
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