Introduction

First impressions matter, be ready but not perfect, put your best foot forward! Remember teaching is about being consistent every day! Think about what can you do TODAY to help you have great days for yourself and your students. What can you do TODAY to help you have a great quarter? What can you do TODAY that can help you have a great year?

 Habits are formed at the beginning of the school year. Good and bad habits that stick around throughout the school year. Students and parents are getting a feel for who you are and how the year will be in your classroom. Start strong and keep it up daily! It’s easier to let up some than it is to get stronger once you have started weak. With that said this is why it’s important to be Back to School Ready! The first week of school will help you shape the school year! Here are some first-week back preplanning ideas along with first-week back activities that I do in my classroom.

Preplanning: Your Classroom

Is your classroom back to school ready? Get into your classroom as soon as possible. Arrange the furniture. Do bulletin boards. Make sure items on the shelves and in the cabinets are organized to help you find things. You want to make sure you can find what you will use throughout the school year. This will be a big help once the year starts and time is minimal. It allows you to be able to find what you are looking for quickly instead of wasting time searching for it.

You know as well as I know that once the school year begins it is difficult to go back in and organize resources and materials. You will have other tasks that will need to be done. Make sure you have the basics in place for your classroom to function fine for the first day. This is why it’s important to have a very simple classroom set-up in the beginning. Remember students will bring in all of their belongings so you want to keep things minimal.

 Once you take a day or two setting up your classroom. It should be ready for the first day. Remember a simple set-up will do! You now can move on to other tasks. If you want to continue to decorate your classroom, you can slowly add in the extras over time. But doing it this way, you will not feel overwhelmed by setting up your classroom. You can enjoy the decorating process along the way if that is something you choose to do!  Or you can leave it the way it is.

Here are some free checklists that are helpful when setting up your classroom.

Preplanning: Class Role or Roster

Can you get your class role or roster for your class periods? Next, you will want to look over your class role. It’s even better if you’re able to see previous information about your students from the last grade or school. For example, do they have a 504, IEP, or are they identified as gifted?

Are there any accommodations that need to be made in the classroom? How was their behavior last year? Now, I do look at their previous behavior information if it is available. However, I don’t judge a student on what a previous teacher or school has said about them. People act differently with different people and in different environments. Just because a student did poorly in someone else’s class doesn’t mean they will do the same in mine. Everyone gets a fresh start when they come to my class the same needs to be true for your classroom as well.

Preplanning: School Wide Activities

Are there any building wide assemblies, fire drills, or activities that are done during the first days of school? Make sure you are aware of these building wide events that are taking place during the first day or days. That way once you know about them you can plan your days accordingly. I find I always over plan for the first couple of days of school. I teach 6th grade ELA and one period of Social Studies in a middle school. All of my 6th graders are new to the building. So I spend the majority of my time during the first three days of school going over schedules, giving a building tour, and explaining locker combinations. I spend time getting students used to being in middle school since it is different than elementary school.

First Week Back Ideas: Back To School Activities

Day 1

I start out with an introduction to the school year. I introduce myself and have students introduce themselves. If they want to, I have them share what they would like to share, generally along the lines of favorite ways to spend their time. We then play either Back To School Four Corners or Would You Rather. Next, I make sure students have their schedules printed or written out for the day. Then we start locker assignments.

Locker Assignments

Locker assignments are a challenge! Primarily because the majority of students do not know how to open a combination lock. So we do a little practice first. I assign lockers. Students try and open their own lockers. Other students help out those who can not open up their locker once they figure out how to open their own locker. As the week goes on many students just start to get it and are then able to open their own locker. For the ones who still need more help, I sometimes get 8th graders to come and help. I also write out on an index card step by step directions on what to do to open the locker. 

School tour is up next with students holding their schedule in hand. This way they see the building and they see where their classes are held. We do have an orientation but I still like to do it this way. Many times, not all students are there during the orientation plus many students appreciate reviewing their class location again. 

For the rest of the day during each class periods I mention my syllabus. I let students know the syllabus has been emailed to their parents that morning. We move into school procedures and routines slides. We have PBIS in our state, which stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. I am on the PBIS team at my school.  It has been very helpful being on that committee and I encourage you to join yours or any similar group you may have. Being on the committee has helped me to be a part of the behavior interventions and rewards we do at school. It also helps me to understand the reasons behind our building wide activities. I’ll admit, the first day is spent with me talking a lot and giving students a lot of information.

Day 2

On Day 2 I review what we did on Day 1 just in case I have any new students show up today. If so I give them the chance to introduce themselves if they like.

I talk about my own procedures and routines for my social studies and ELA class periods. I use my own slides to do so. We also do some first week of school activities.

Here are some I have created…

Day 3

I review what we did on Day 1. Again I do this for new students that may show up today. But I also do it for all students. We know that saying things multiple times is needed. Plus it’s a lot of information so it is best to repeat it to help them to remember it. I like to review procedures and routines using Kahoot to help keep it entertaining since it can be a bit tedious hearing the same information. 

On Day 3 I also start to follow the basic routine of my classroom. This allows students to see the format of my class and how it primarily runs throughout the school year. I also discuss homework, begin to incorporate some back to school read alouds, and then give students a reading and writing survey. I find it extremely beneficial giving students a reading and writing survey. This is where students can tell me how they are as a reader and a writer. It helps me to understand how they feel about reading and writing. And it also helps me to see their behaviors towards reading and writing.

Day 4

You guessed it on Day 4 I review Day 1 information on procedures and routines slides for the school as well as my classroom. I spend time doing beginning of the year read alouds and back to school activities. I also like to start the beginning of the year reading diagnostic test that is given by our district. 

Day 5

Day 5 will be the last day that I focus on our school and my classroom procedures and routines slides. But it’s certainly not the last time I will refer to them. I will use them throughout the school year especially when returning from breaks. During Day 5 I continue with back to school read alouds and allow my students to finish up our district’s beginning of the year reading diagnostic test.

Conclusion

Being Back To School Ready is important! When you are prepared for your students and their parents on the first day back to school you set the tone for the school year. Remember to put your best foot forward! Having a simple clean classroom that is welcoming to students is enough! Don’t overwhelm yourself in trying to have the perfect classroom that you tire yourself out before the school year starts. It is very challenging to change someone’s first impression of you so make sure you do your best during the first days of school. This will help you build habits that will help make your school year more enjoyable for you and your students. Structure, procedures, and routines are necessary during the first days of school but remember to add in fun by incorporating read alouds and back to school activities.