What to do on the First Day of School

Most Important Things:

1. Establish Rules and Routines
2. Get to know your students and where they are in their understanding
3. Build Trust
• Read book about the first day of school- ex: "First Day of School Jitters"- every day
4. Have Fun!

To Do Before the First Day:

1. Get to know your kids
• Label items in the classroom with students names- the cubbies, desks, welcome boards, etc.  This will help you get to know the names of the students and all you will have to do on the first day is put a face to the name
• Send a letter home to the parents and have them tell you about their child and themselves
2. Figure out what kind of classroom/schedule you want to have
• What expectations do you have before the bell rings?
• Do you make the rules or do y'all make them together? Who enforces them?
• Assertive Discipline: Give 4-5 rules, phrased in a positive way. No "dos and don'ts," just expectations.  If you come up with them together have them find ways to make it positive. Ask them what rules they would follow and how they would like to hear them repeated.
• Role play and illustrate rules to make them more fun
• Do you want a loud or a quiet classroom? Do you like movement or should students sit still? How you establish your classroom layout factors into this
• How would you prefer students to have your students get your attention?

During the First Week:

1. Be Creative
• During the first week you want to have fun. Do creative things
2. Establish Centers
• Centers should be opened up routinely. On the first day, do a group activity. On the second, introduce a center and allow some students to go work at it. On the second, open another center.  By the end of the week the students will know where certain activities are completed in the classroom and when they should complete them.