What do I do on the first day of school?

Question

I'm a brand new teacher. I'll be teaching 5th grade and I'm really nervous about what to do on that first day of school, as well as the first week. How should I introduce myself? What can i do to make it better for the students.. Activities? Procedures? Veteran teachers, what do you wish you were told to do? Thanks in advance...

Answer 1

Establish your leadership role. This is critical because this is YOUR class. (There can NOT be more than ONE voice - and that's yours and yours alone).

Focus on clearly expressing your expectations for the class. A school year is a 'relatively' long time so if expectations and curriculum are established at the outset, less deviation is likely to occur down the line as the year progresses.

Above all, promote a positive, healthy, encouraging environment conducive to learning. Distractions are not fair to those on task and should never be tolerated. (Sounds a bit harsh, perhaps, but you're job is to teach, not parent).

Where activities are concerned, do what is natural for you. You will find that the children respond to genuine personalities so share 'yourself' within the activities that you plan according to your appropriate-for-learning-minds interests.

I hope you find this helpful.

Answer 2

As a student myself (I'm going in 8th, 13 yrs old), usually the first day or week of school is going over the rules and getting to know each other. Well, that's how it was at the schools I've been to. There have been teachers who gave away play money, raffle tickets, etc. for the students to get prizes or "buy" them at the end of the month or something. I actually had a 6th grade teacher that was brand new, too. She introduced herself and told us a little bit about her life, like how she has a dog. I remember that for the "getting to know you" activity, was that we had to write 5 sentences. 4 being facts about oursleves and 1 being something false. We each went around and tried to guess which statement was false. Well, besides the "getting to know you" part, you could have jobs for them such as "door monitor", "line leader", "paper passer(s)", and other roles. You could have them switch each role every week so everyone gets a turn. You could even talk to a more experienced teacher to help you out. Maybe take some ideas off the teachers you were a student teacher to. I hope this helped. Just keep in mind that maybe when your students are older, they might still come to visit you. I still visit my 6th grade teacher along with some of her other students. Though don't be too easy on your students because they might take advantage of you, but don't be too hard either. Just be yourself and everything will work out. :)

Answer 3

I'll be in your shoes in a few semesters. First introduce yourself as Miss......tell about yourself. I know I still like it when my college professors talk about their personal lives. Tell them that you have a pet bunny, that you enjoy basketball...whatever. This can immediately make a connection with a student that has a common interest. 2nd- establish the rules- maybe have the class make the rules together. but make sure you are consistent with them 3rd- have the kids introduce themselves maybe with an acrostic B-big brother E-energetic N-nice. I think it's nice if the class sits in some kind of circle that way everyone can see eachother and it is easy for you to see everyone. They are less likely to misbehave because it is obvious who did it. I would say the 1st day is mainly introductions and rules/procedures . During that first week do several activities (not neccessarily educational) that allow the students to get to know eachother and get their brains going (I know there is a sheet that has things like "I've been to the beach" "I have had a broken bone" and several things and they must go around finding classmates to sign the box that applies to them. The first week is also a good time to do some little worksheets to review or see if they remembered last year's material. such as a division worksheet. oh..also the first day or week talk about what you will be learning throughout the year or month and ask for ideas of what they would like to learn. Maybe try to include some of their ideas on Fridays or once a month just to make them feel they have some say as to what they learn. you'll be fine. Teaching is like acting-just put on a happy face and don't worry. It'll be rough but it'll keep getting easier. Good luck and don't give up

Answer 4

If you haven't read The First Days of School by Harry Wong, then that might be worth the read. I did my first first day of school last year in 4th grade. It was really scary before it started, but it wasn't bad once it was happening. During the workdays before school starts just make sure you ask the other teachers for beginning of the year worksheets to do. Teachers have a TON of easy enough review worksheets to keep the kids busy. Don't be afraid to ask. They may not remember how in need of things you are, but they won't mind sharing.

Be somewhat mean. You never know what the dynamics of your class will be. Act like things you really don't care too much about are a big deal, at least for a while. If you start out too easy on them even for the littlest stupid things you may pay for it for the next 10 months. Trust me, I paid dearly. I recommend not letting them touch anything on your desk. Make them ask for premission to use tape or the stapler. It seems pointless, but you won't believe how kids that age will waste supplies. They also are extremely good at breaking things. Pretty much everything on my desk was broken by the end of the year, including my very heavy, all metal stapler. Part way through the year I told them there was a new rule of not touching anything on my desk without permission. It didn't work. Make the rule from the start. You will want to be nice probably and not get on anyone's case for little things that aren't hurting anyone, but do it if it's against the rules. When one kid gets away with it, they all will start.

Mostly, remember that they are nervous and excited about having "the new teacher." Let them learn about you as you learn about them. Share some personal things with them such as if you have pets or your hobbies, etc. The first day really isn't too bad and it slips by pretty quickly. Enjoy it!

Answer 5

The standard wisdom is to be tough the first day to establish control, then you can loosen up if you choose to as you get to know the kids. I'm not a big fan of the standard wisdom. Be yourself, whatever that is. Kids can smell a phony and little patience for them. Introduce yourself as a complete human being, particularly focusing on your passions. Demonstrate that you still love to learn new things, whatever they may be (within the bounds of propriety). It doesn't have to be fun and games, but if you can establish the joy of learning as the foundation of your classroom on Day 1, you'll have gone a long way toward a great first year.

The first year as an elementary classroom teacher is one of the most labor intensive, all consuming things you will ever experience. Throw yourself into it and enjoy the ride. It gets easier with time, but never more exciting!

Answer 6

You need the book, "How to be an effective teacher: the first days of school" by Harry K. Wong and Rosemary T. Wong. The ISBN number is 0-9629360-2-2. It helped me tremendously.
Sincerely,
Comfortable in Teaching

Answer 7

Just be a little calm and take things as they happen. If u get too nervous, it's juz gonna ruin ur entire day. Be more friendly with the kids, don't be too formal. Interact with them well by talking more with them. It would be better to be a bit quiet during the first week so that u get to know abt all the stuff happenings, procedures, etc.

Answer 8

They'll like you if you curse, insult them, and tell off-color jokes. Also make your lessons fun rather than work. Treat students like friends/colleagues rather than inferiors. They're smarter than you think. My sixth grade SS teacher would insult the heck out of us, kick people's desks, etc. He wrote tests on legal paper and photocopied them, bad spelling and all. He'd stand up in front and talk instead of making us read and take notes.

Everyone loved him. I can still remember a lot of what he taught. On the other hand, I don't recall a single thing from the teacher before him (or after--7th grade).

Favorite quote from him: "I wish I had a gun." (Frequently, when kids were bothering him)

Answer 9

been teaching for 24 years, (special ed. at middle and Jr. high) I love the first day of school. I do a lot of "getting to know you" activities, writing about the summer, going over and over and over the rules of the school and the class. Good luck and enjoy it!

Answer 10

For me, when I first started teaching, I started by greeting the students, introduced myself (as if I the speaker), started all about my "biography" (Where was I from, what did I do previously, sharing experience) and then get every student to tell me about themselves: Name, age, homestate/hometown, religion(so as not to offend him unnecessarily), family members ("like, how many siblings do you have?"), and favourite subject. We don't start first day with teaching, it only starts on the second day/later.