Set the Year Up Right!
I love the beginning of the year! It is the time to learn your student's personalities and start routines. It is also time for students' to learn about you and your expectations. I ALWAYS start the year with a general welcome statement:
"Welcome to our class. This is your home away from home, so I want us to all get along like a family. I hope we all feel safe, become friends, learn, and have fun. Today we are going to learn about the classroom and actively listen and follow directions."
This helps set up your day, and you can refer back to it all day. It is kind of like the mission statement for the day.
Actively Listening
Then, I go into describing actively listening. I say: "Actively listening means you listen with your ears to hear, eyes to track speaker, body engaged, and brain to understand. You may want to have an anchor chart to review as needed.
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| https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/coaching-others-use-active-listening-skills/. 6-20-20. |
Attention Getters Teachers
I also talk about attention getters so students know when it is time to listen throughout the day. I like to do a few and we practice right away and I be sure to use them several times a day for the first few weeks. I use when my hand goes up, everyone else puts a hand up, stops talking, and look at teacher. I also will clap out a rhythm and students repeat. I also like to use call and response too. My two favorites are: Teacher: All Set Student: You bet! (Students end by slapping desk or legs). I tell my students to only respond with "You bet!" if they are truly ready for the next lesson or after a transition. I also like to use- Teacher: Work Hard! Students: Play Hard! This one is good for a reminder that we work first before we play. If you search Call and Respond you can find a ton! Here are some more for teachers:
Attention Getters Students
It is also important for students to be able to get the teacher's attention. You need to explain when you are in a class discussion how should students participate appropriately. I like for students to raise hands, but when I call on someone, all students turn and listen to the student speaking and put their hands down. This helps to keep students engaged with who is speaking, and not just waiting for their turn...it also cuts down on repeat answers!
You also need to discuss how they get your attention during group work and independent work. I still use hand raising or coming to me directly. However, if I am speaking with a student, teacher, or if I am teaching a small group they should come to me. They place their hand on my shoulder, then I touch their hand. They can remove their hand and sit down. Or if they feel it needs to be answered very quickly, then they stand and wait patiently. This method I actually read in a parenting magazine! It is so helpful, so the student feels recognized by the hand touch. However, they are not interrupting. The teacher can finish their sentence or give the students something to do, so you can give your attention to the student.
Work, Then Fun!
I then I like to quickly go over the agenda or schedule for the day and a quick tour of the classroom. That helps students feel safe and secure. Then, I do a fun read aloud like: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.
Then, we play a get to know you game. My favorite is using skittles, m & m's, or colored beads. Students pick out 3 of the candy or beads. The teacher pre-assigns a color with a topic. The students have to then share based on the colors they chose. If they chose the same color twice then can share two of the their favorites for that topic. I like to do this game sitting in a circle on the carpet. Make the game safe and easy...Give students time to think before sharing. If a student takes a long time or can't think of something, ask if they would like to share for a different topic. This should be no stress and just show that students have things in common. It also helps the teachers understand the students likes and how they react in this environment.
Color Topics
Green- Favorite Summer Activity
Red- Favorite TV show/Movie
Yellow- Favorite Sport
Purple- Favorite school subject
Orange- Favorite Color
You Did it!
This should help set up the first 60 minutes or so of the first day of school! Remember the focus of the first day is to make students feel safe and positive in school. It should also help you build relationships with your students.
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