Here are some frequently asked questions about the first day of teaching. Click on any question to read the answer.
(more…)Frequently Asked Questions About the First Day of Teaching
Counting Down to the First Day of School: A Ten-Day To-Do List for New Teachers
You may have already had your first totally-unprepared-teacher dream. I still have this dream near the end of every vacation, and most teachers I’ve discussed it with know exactly what I’m talking about. It changes, of course, but it always goes something like this…
(more…)First-Day-of-School Forms, Handouts, and Surveys
Here are some forms you may want to prepare for the first day of school.
Before you make these on your own, ask around. These are pretty common activities, and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. The benefits of having these forms is (a) they help you get to know your students, (b) they set a structured tone for the first day of school, and (c) they keep students busy so you can handle all the unexpected things that will demand your attention on the first day.
You can also find a ready-to-edit Word document containing all of my own first day forms here.
(more…)What to Include in Your First-Day-of-School Lesson Plan (and What to Leave Out)
Please don’t take your first-day cues from any movie where the teacher stands on a desk. The first day of class should be the most structured day of the year, not the most exciting. It’s all about setting the tone so that you can teach with minimum drama the rest of the year. Your first-day lesson plan is really more of a checklist, and it should include the following elements, most of which will take less time than you expect.
(more…)New Teacher Shopping List for the First Day of School
The rookie-teacher shopping instinct is to buy every object you might use for any possible lesson you might think of one day. When I cleaned out my fourth-grade classroom, I found a strange collection of toys, magnetic letters, and dollar-store puzzle books, still unopened in a cabinet after two years. I also spent my own money on supplies the school gave us for free later in the week. Yet my first day I didn’t have a stapler or rubber bands—two things I needed badly. The following is a list of supplies you may want in stock before school starts, but check what your school provides before buying anything on your own.
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