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First Day
Nameplates
I ask
my students write the school rules and classroom rules. We do this
together rather than me just telling them and posting them. Getting them
involved in doing this seems to make them feel in a way that they should
not break the rules they made themselves. Of course the rules are the ones
I would have posted anyway. Teaching Is A Work of Heart Several FREEBIES!
1. Prepare a folder packet for the first day of school. In it place blank paper, a puzzle, a simple reading comprehension activity (on grade level), a math worksheet, a search and find puzzle made with the children's names, an index card, a pencil, a list of supplies, an information letter to parents (download letter), school office forms, and a list of classroom rules. 2. Ask parents for their email address in order to create an email mailing list for the purpose of keeping parents informed of upcoming events or school announcements. 3. Have a Substitute Info Folder ready. Include: procedures & detailed daily schedule, math practice sheet, journal topics, names and room locations of other teachers who work with the class. 4. Posters of Rules & Consequences - Laminate and hang these where students can easily see them. Send a copy of the class rules home for parents to be signed by parents and child. Be sure your rules are consistent with the school rules. Example of classroom rules and management: Mrs. Zeiger's Classroom Information. Have consequences ready. Send students to the office only as a last resort. If students are sent to the office for every infraction they will get the idea the teacher is incapable of handling his/her own problems. 5. Tally Marks System - A great behavior modification method is simply making a tally mark on a piece of masking tape which is stuck on the corner of the students' desks. The tally marks are written with a permanent marker and are a reminder to follow rules, return work, get parent's signature, etc. When 3 tally marks are accumulated a paragraph must be composed with a main idea (I have three tally marks.) and 3 detailed sentences explaining how each were earned. The paragraphs could be written in the School-Home Journals to be signed by parents (see item #6 below). Students who earn no tally marks for a week receive some type of reward (lunch with teacher). At the end of the week the tape is removed from the desk and placed in Friday's space in the School-Home Journal. Each Monday begins a new piece of tape. 6. School-Home Journals - Ask each student to bring a 100+ spiral notebook. On the inside cover have students copy the classroom rules. Each day ask students to write the date something (homework assignment, what I learned in math, spelling list, school announcement or activity info) pertinent to that date. These are to be signed by parents daily and checked by the teacher each morning. Remind students to never remove the paper from the journal. 7. Be prepared each day. The first day you do not have lesson plans on your desk will be the day you are violently ill and cannot make it to school. Lesson Plan Form 8. Display a poster with daily schedule written out. Laminate and hang where students can easily see it. 9. Get Important Student Forms - Office referral, Discipline, Counselor referral, Free Lunch, Textbook forms, other. 10. Organize files in filing cabinet and throw away as much as possible. If you didn't use it last year, you probably won't need it this year. Get organized before school starts, you'll be swamped and will never have the time to do it afterwards. 11. Decide where students are going to store supplies. 12. Prepare extra copies of your class roll. The librarian, lunchroom manager, and P.E. teacher, might need a copy. Assign students an identifying roll number, perhaps using an alphabetical listing (Alice Anderson #2, Steven Black #2, etc.) These numbers can be a great way to identify students. Ask students to put both their name and number on all papers. The numbers are a wonderful timesaver, too. When labeling items for students (crayons, diskettes) use their number instead of their name. During a fire drill practice having the students call off their numbers in order instead of you calling roll.
Furniture should be arranged to facilitate teacher movement. The concept to keep in mind is "proximity control" - getting yourself as close to the students as possible in as few steps as possible front to back and side to side. Vertical/horizontal rows, groups, u shape, herring bone etc. are some set ups to consider with option in mind to change as instructional/behavior needs change. Avoid narrow aisles and trapped set ups where one would have to take the polar route around the room. Some kids, especially at the secondary level, will slouch with feet sticking out into the aisle in an attempt to block your path (they would prefer you stay away) and/or place backpacks, materials in such a way as to signal, "Go down that other aisle. It's easier." Place the teacher's desk to the side or back of the room (front is the worst place). Move the first row of desks about 3' from the front board so if you were writing you could turn, take one step, and touch the desks. This brings the back row 10' closer (space occupied by teacher's desk). Again, the ideal set up is one in which the teacher can do discipline with his/her body by constantly being close and moving among the kids. The alternative is to try and do discipline from afar which usually involves the mouth and nagging.
Before school starts, sit down and make a list of all the rules and routines you will have to "teach" the first three weeks of school. Divide the list into general classroom standards that emphasize cooperation (about 4) and routines of how to do this-how to do that. Routines cover everything from drinks, restroom, passing/collecting papers, notes, to where to put lunches/packs, to proper headings and acceptable work standards. You should be able to come up with about 20. These will be your lessons for the first three weeks of school - taught as carefully as any lesson. Consider making a chart of your routines, posting it in the room, and checking off each routine as the class demonstrates mastery. Note: Don't make any rule/routine you are not prepared to enforce or re-teach each and every time it is broken.
Before filling up your plan book with all sorts of creative lessons and units, it might be best to first find the learning/skill level and needs of your students -- so you won't waste time planning for a class that doesn't show up. Gather some diagnostic "surveys" (better word choice than "tests") that review and preview skills in each major area you will be teaching. These can be commercially prepared, mid-year or end-of-book tests from previous year, or create your own. Following Directions and Penmanship tests can give a read where students stand in these areas. Focus should be on basic skills the students should know, and tests should be short, not like a standard test. Sometimes it is helpful to do a quick review before the tests to stimulate memory and separate mastery, competence, and exposure. During the first three weeks of school, teaching of rules and routines have priority. Diagnostic surveys are introduced over several days along with easy generic content lessons. From the surveys, make class rosters that chart specific skills. Ex: Writing - complete sentence, topic sentence, caps, punc., form, on topic etc. Score surveys in terms of "know", "sorta know", "don't know" in regards to specific skills. For each student, mark how he/she performed in each skill area. Tabulate the scores for the whole class in each area. This should give you a ratio of performance level and point to the needs of students to guide planning and instruction. Note: There are software programs that chart/graph/calculate/print this type of assessment.
Attribute Wheel - An "attribute wheel" is another method for surveying skills. It is less informal than a prepared survey. It can be a review/checking for understanding lesson before planning the targeted skill. It can also be used as a warm-up or transition: 1) list a topic or skill inside a circle on the board with branches to write attributes 2) tell students to copy and add "everything they know" that is an attribute of the topic 3) elicit comments (oral discussion) and add to board model 4) ask which attributes don't belong (reasons) - erase these 5) tally the class (hands) for each agreed upon attribute as to how many have the attributes listed (before they were discussed) - write tallies on model and choose a student to copy (for your reference) Note: To get kids started you might add a couple attributes of your own. One doesn't have to do any diagnosis-prescription at the start of school. One can merely rely on viewing previous tests/work, talking with previous teachers, or perusing curriculum guides. Then launch into instruction under the assumption kids have not forgotten a thing and are in no need of further practice or review.
Submitted by: Colleen Buck, Kindergarten Around August, before the start of the new school year, I send each of my kindergarten students (around 50) a letter that tells about me, my memories of entering kindergarten, my family, and about our classroom and school year. (I also scanned my picture on there. It's amazing how may students told me how much better they felt once they knew what I looked like.) Since our school district asks guardians to bring the children in for a short visit on the first day of school, I place a scavenger hunt on the back of my August letter and tell the children to bring it with them. They are so excited about finding the "big, black, stuffed kitten pillow" and the "weather bear" that they don't remember how nervous they once were. The children learn where the important things are in the room; like the bathroom, their seats, and their cubbies. They also finish the hunt by "saying hello to the teacher and a new friend." I have been doing this for years and I've never had anyone cry on me on that day OR the following day when their guardians don't come with them!
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