Beginnings: The First Day
Once upon a time, on the first day of school, there was a teacher who walked into her dark and gloomy classroom. The desks were stacked in a tangled heap. Cobwebs hung in the corners. Trash littered the floor. Last year’s charts and posters were falling off the wall. She wasn’t even sure this was the right classroom. And the students were five minutes away from entering the building. What was she to do? The teacher started awake, and sighed with relief to find it only a back-to-school nightmare.
Students and teachers alike anticipate the first day of school. It is a day of excitement, nervousness, newness, uncertainty, and expectation. The first day will set the tone for the year. As teachers we want to use this to our advantage and start things off well. We want to be ready for a productive term ahead. Our goal for the first day is to welcome students into our classrooms and provide order and structure for the days to follow.
Before the First Day
Seek the Lord’s help. We are embarking on an adventure that has eternal consequences. We need the wisdom and guidance that comes from God.
Know what you want from your classroom. This is what separates the teacher in charge from the students in charge and helps create calm rather than chaos. In your mind, visualize each step of the day and the ideal way you want to teach and how you want your students to respond. Once you have a firm idea of what you expect; you can take steps to make the visualization reality.
If you are a returning teacher, this visualization will be rooted in reality; however, allow your mind’s eye to dream a bit and stretch your ideas to what could be. If you have never taught before, this visualization may just be a hazy thought cloud. Take steps to flesh out the vision. Remember the best practices of your school days. Talk to teachers around you. Do your best to get a good idea of how you want your days to go.
Of course, this visualization is not reality. Reality is much messier. But having a firm idea of what you want from your classroom will give you a foundation to build on to make it happen. And it’s not wrong to reimagine your classroom activities several days into the year.
Plan how to get what you want from your classroom.You need rules and routines. Rules should be broad but non-negotiable and few. I have four in my first-grade classroom:
1. Listen and follow directions.
2. Have permission to speak and leave your seat.
3. Keep hands and feet to yourself.
4. Respect your classmates and teacher.
My co-teachers of older students have only three. They combine rules three and four into “Respect the teacher, your classmates, and school property.” Most infractions will fall into one of these rules. Rules also require consequences. Know what your consequences will be.
Routines are the way you want things done in your classroom. What happens when students come in the morning? How do they come for class? How do they respond in class? Where do they hand in papers? What happens in free time? What do they do if they need reference material? And so on. Your day is structured with routines.
Know school policies. Most schools have a few school-wide policies. Know what they are. A few of our school-wide routines include what happens in the hallways and bathrooms, library usage, water bottle storage, and dismissal practices.
Identify student spaces. Have a seating plan ready. I put student names on their desks. Some of my co-teachers of older students allow students to claim a desk and then rearrange later to fit their plan. Label cubbies and hooks with student names. For younger students especially, having an assigned space helps create security.
Schedule your day. Scheduling the first day is always difficult. Sometimes things take longer than you think. Sometimes things go faster than you plan. Hold a loose schedule. Know the imperatives and identify the accessories. Know what must happen and what can be left until another day. Schedule time to work on rules and routines. Schedule some introductory classes but not a full workload. You may want to schedule an icebreaker, a get-to-know-me, or a team building exercise especially for older students. It is good to have some time fillers if needed. For first grade, this looks like an extra worksheet, small craft, or extra picture book time. Then if you have a half hour left in your day, you aren’t left scrounging for something to do. Plan your schedule around preset times such as recesses, breaks, and lunch.
Create a welcome for your students. Write welcome on your board or hang a welcome back poster. Have their names visible somewhere. For first grade, I like to put a picture book at each desk, so they have something to do while waiting for school to start. Older students could have welcome back worksheet to do if they wish; but maybe they will also enjoy interacting with their friends.
Get a good night’s sleep on the night before the first day. You may be like some of your students and be too excited or nervous to sleep well. But you can plan to be in bed at an appropriate time and not work late to finish your preparations.
On the First Day
The doors open and students fill the halls. Nervous excitement is palpable. It is a new beginning and you, the teacher, are in charge. Today is the day to set the stage for the rest of the year.
Begin the day with God. Every day should begin with drinking from the fountains of wisdom and truth.
Welcome your students to your classroom. Stand by your door. Greet each student with a smile and by name, if possible. Let them know they are in the right classroom. Show them where to put their lunchbox and backpack. Direct them to their desk. Help your students feel at home.
Present your welcome speech. The bell rings. Students go to their seats. One of the first things you will do is give your welcome speech. Maybe this follows an all-school assembly, but maybe it is the very first time you open your mouth to start the day. Your welcome speech will vary depending on age and circumstances, but this is the presentation of your expectations for the year. Use this time to make students comfortable in your classroom. Students don’t like uncertainty. They want to know where they stand. Discuss your rules and consequences. What do you mean by “listen and follow directions”? What are ways you respect others and what things do you consider disrespectful? Your rules may be broad so give your students practical ways they will follow the rules. Many times, a breakdown in classroom management happens because the students don’t know what the teacher expects from them. Communicate your expectations to your students. Be kind, use appropriate humor, and invite your students to be on your team. You are the leader, the coach, and the referee; not the policeman or drill sergeant. Use your welcome speech to start building rapport with your students.
Teach, model, role play, and review your routines. The first time you use a routine, present your expectations for the routine. This is especially important with younger students because it’s too much to remember if everything is presented at once. Demonstrate the routine you expect. Model the correct routine. Role play and practice the routine as a class. Using a bit of humor helps students remember. Continue to review your expectations through the next days and weeks. A few first-grade routines I teach include the proper way to sit in our seats, what we do with our hands and eyes while I’m teaching, how to answer questions, what to do with our books when we’re finished, how to line up, how to exit the classroom, how to enter the classroom, how to get supplies, and many more. It is important to your classroom management plan that your expectations are clear, and students know how to do what you expect.
Teach introductory lessons in your course load. You will not have time to do a full schedule on this first day. But plan to teach a few core classes and have students do some work. Take the time as you teach to show students what you expect during class time and how you want them to do their work. Be aware that it may take students more time to accomplish the set task than it will later. Their brains and fingers may be rusty from the summer sun.
Send them home with a smile. End your day well. Plan time for an unhurried dismissal. Teach your dismissal routines. Use the last minute or two before the dismissal bell to sing a song, read a poem, or tell a story. Let the last moments of the day be pleasurable and then send them out the door with welcome to come back tomorrow. And then, once the last student has disappeared, heave a big sigh of joyful exhaustion. You’ve made it through the first day!
What Next?
If you are a typical teacher, you’ve not met all your goals for the day. Time was short. Student attention spans wavered. You forgot things you really meant to tell them. Things came up that you weren’t expecting. The good news is that tomorrow is a new day and you have another opportunity. It takes more than one day to get back into routine. Plan to spend more time showing students how you want things done. Give yourself and your students time to adjust to the classroom and its rhythms. Soon we all adapt and we are settled into routine.
Getting ready for a new school year takes more than just showing up ten minutes before bell time. If that is your plan, be prepared to embody the worst of the teachers’ nightmares. Plan and prepare to welcome your students into an orderly classroom on the first day.
Welcome back to school!
