5 Simple Steps for a Super First Week of School!
Simple tasks to take care of as soon as possible.
Does thinking about the first week of school make your head spin? You are definitely not alone! Even as you enjoy the summer sun, taking some time to prep a few simple things ahead of the new school year will help you avoid feeling anxious and overwhelmed when you step into your classroom for the first time. Below I’m sharing some ideas for tasks you can get out of the way as quickly as possible!
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The summer sun and/or your Netflix queue may be tempting you to wait until the last minute to do anything school-related…and I totally understand. However, I’ve always found taking care of a few quick tasks before the year starts keeps me from feeling overwhelmed during pre-planning. With simple things out of the way, you’ll have more time to focus on big-picture tasks once you head to campus.
Here’s a few to consider:
Stock Up on No-Prep Printables
No matter how many years of experience you have, it’s hard to predict how the first week will go. One thing that’s almost certain, though, is that you will be stuck with weird little pockets of time that you need to have plans for. You can count on lunch being backed up, specials being delayed, paperwork that needs to be submitted immediately…and the last thing you want is a group of new students sitting there with nothing to do.
It’s a good idea to stock up on no-prep activities that students can complete on their own for you to quickly pass out if you end up with an unexpected ten minutes here or there in your day. Things like word scrambles, word searches, or puzzles are great options to have on hand. These independent activities are also ideal for when you need to pull individual students for testing during the first week. The rest of your class will be busy and engaged while you work on collecting data!
Remember: there is no such thing as overplanning for the first week. Any extras can be repurposed as homework, additional practice, or for sub plans.
Plan Your Community Building Activities
Over the first few days of school, it’s important for you to get to know your students, and for your students to get to know each other. Make sure to plan some low-risk activities that will help your students share information about themselves.
One great way to learn about your students is an interest inventory. You can use responses from this student survey to plan activities, form groups, select engaging reading materials, and even build relationships!
It’s helpful to use an inventory tracker to house all this valuable information. Include a “relationship builder” column and jot down anything your students wrote down that you could use to make connections. Try to remember to use a few of these each day over the first month, so that your class sees that you read their information and value them as individuals!
Find the Super Interest Inventory on TPT.
Your students can start learning about each other by playing fun games like Back to School Bingo, where they walk around and have other students add their signatures to their papers, or Student Interviews, where pairs of students get to know each other and then share about their new classmates with their peers.
You can also multitask and use all these activities as a way to practice various routines and procedures, such as voice levels, moving around the room, passing in papers, etc.
Get Ready for Open House
This one may depend on when your Open House (or Parent Night, Meet and Greet, etc.) is held. At my last school we had this event on the 3rd day of school, so I tried to prepare as much as I could ahead of time.
One thing you can tackle is your informational slideshow. This is a task I always suggest for teachers to work on as early as possible because as you type out your routines and procedures for parents it gives you the chance to work through things and make tweaks as needed. Even if you don’t have all the information you need, you can fill out the bulk of your slides and then it will take only a few minutes to add in any additional info (like your class schedule). You can even use the same template each year as a way to save time!
Done-for-you slides…just add your own info!
It’s also fun to prep a cute bulletin board for this event if you have time. It doesn’t have to be elaborate…just string up a colorful banner along with a quick student project for an eye-catching display.
Prep Simple Incentives
While we’d all love a group of 25 intrinsically motivated students to walk through our classroom door at the beginning of the year, there’s probably a better chance of you winning the Powerball! At the beginning of the year, when you need student buy-in, incentives are crucial.
This doesn’t mean you have to break the bank, however! Reward coupons are a fun option that can cost next to nothing. Some ideas for coupons include, “sit next to a friend for the day,” or “write with a fancy pen.” These little motivators will be intriguing to your students and you won’t have to give up your daily Starbucks to afford filling up a treasure box.
Print Out Classroom Visuals
Think of the time you can save during pre-planning if you open up your computer and hit “File > Print” a few times while catching up on your latest Netflix binge! Cut, laminate, and organize so that all you have to do is slap everything up on the wall when you walk into your classroom for the first time.
Many schools require that students use a self-assessment rubric, so that’s one of the visual aids I suggest preparing first. I like to include thinking stems with the rubric so that students understand exactly how to assess their own understanding of the topic.
Ready for a SUPER First Week?
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