First Days of School

Starting the year out in the right way is one of the most important things you will do as an educator. Make sure you give it the time and energy it deserves. 

This book is one of the best road maps to setting a standard of routine and procedure in your classroom. The effort spent here will impact behavior, amount of instruction, and acquisition rates of your students. 

 Think about your routines and procedures in your classroom. How do you instruct on these, what is your process, how do you make sure your students know them? 

As we reach the beginning of the school, it is important to think…What can I do this year, to make the year better than the last?

We are not looking at this as a way to beat ourselves up, but an opportunity for growth in the future.

Our students deserve our best, and we deserve our best.

I encourage you to think about the routines and procedures that you will be putting into place from day one. How will you practice those for the first two weeks of school? I know the pressure of getting into curriculum is high; however, the practice of routines and procedures will save you an enormous amount of time on the back end. Your instructional time will be structured clearly and the depth of your teaching will be immense.

If you haven’t before, take a look at Harry Wong’s First Days of School. It may not be a brand new tool, but it is an effective one! I have seen many classrooms succeed using this model.

Take a look at a couple video links below to begin thinking about the structure of your classroom, the routines and procedures in place as we begin the new school year. We are striving for constant and consistent student engagement.

As always, please let me know if you would like to do some brainstorming together. I look forward to a great year!

The Power of a Positive Greeting - Rosemary Wong

Week 1 - Day 1 - First Days of School - Harry Wong – Mr. Hester

Take Aways from the Videos: ·       Be at the door to greet students and tell them where to sit. ·       Spend the first several days teaching routines and procedures. ·       Practice doing simple tasks A LOT. (i.e. how we will get quiet, where things are located in the room, walking into the room, getting into cooperative learning groups, etc.) ·       Hold students accountable for the routines and procedures. (ask comprehension questions, give a class quiz, make a Kahoot, etc.) ·       Content will come later…and it will be effective.