With the first day of school a little over a month away, new teachers (and even seasoned teachers) are already getting the jitters. First impressions count, and you want your students to walk out of your classroom ready and motivated. It is not really a question on how to motivate your students, but how to stick to a general lesson plan suitable for the first day of school.
Some general rules of thumb:
1. Don't plan too much. Start by a brief introduction. You can use a five to ten minute ice breaker, to ease the students into the atmosphere. An all time ice breaker which has been fairly popular is telling the students ten true and false statements about yourself and they have to guess. then then can do this activity in pairs as a follow up, if you have time.
2. Let the students know you mean business. Keep them on their toes with your rules and procedures. The trick is not to simply tell them the rules, but to also demonstrate them. Show the students what yo mean by being late. (example hearing the bell, means start walking to class just as important as arriving to their friend's birthday party) This will give you a chance for you to interact with the students while you are keeping the tone serious.
3. Don't teach more than four rules and procedures that you can stick. You will run into many problems trying to enforce them properly during the course of the year.
4. Tell the students what your expectations are for the school year. In addition to a simple handout on your rules and procedures, you might also consider handing a page on their projects, duties, and other obligations including school materials. Be careful though not to hand out too many materials. It will confuse them.
5. Consider giving your students a homework assignment for the first day. It doesn't have to be terribly long and complex. But students need to walk out of the classroom feeling they have learned something. Homework with its controversies, is one way to do it. The other more important way is to maximize your teacher presence using your body language, the way you present your rules and procedures, your attitude to your subject matter and the direct interaction you create with your students.
Seasoned teachers: can you share any tips with any new teachers about starting the first day of school? New teachers: What are your expectations about the first day of school?
Please start a discussion and help those new teachers in need!
