Start of the School Year

Hello everyone!

I see a lot of new teachers struggling to come up with what to do those first few days of the school year, and I am here to tell you that while the first week is essential in building relationships, establishing classroom management, and creating a classroom culture, the kids will be way more nervous than you are (and are almost always on their best behavior). If you tackle the first few days the right way, you will ride the honeymoon phase of good behavior until Thanksgiving.

This post will go over the top 5 things to cover week 1 and will provide some practical strategies for how to implement it all based on what I have seen work the past 4 years.

1. Get to Know Your Students

I make it a point to never go over my syllabus or to even talk much about myself the first few days. This is mostly because schedule changes are made often within the first week and you may have quite a few students who miss out on this information because they aren't in your class yet. Classroom procedures and expectations are simply too valuable to not be taught well, so I save them for when schedule changes die down.

Instead, I put the focus on the students and make it a priority to get to know them more personally. Some teachers like to use icebreakers like Two Truths and a Lie, do a Class Bingo worksheet, or play the Name Game. I, personally, loathe having to do ice breakers at staff meetings, so I try to avoid them because it makes a lot of kids as uncomfortable as it makes me.

The past four years, I have had my students take some sort of personality test (there are dozens of variations online) and to justify whether or not the results they got fit them accurately. It's a fun way for kids to get to share about themselves and it also gives me a baseline writing sample so I can quickly see where we are at. The additional bonus of using personality tests is that you can quickly see who the leaders are, who is shy, and which learning styles will likely work best for each group. 

Here are some personality tests online: https://personalityacademy.com/printable-personality-quiz 

https://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/which-hogwarts-house-are-you-find-out-with-our-sorting-hat-quiz

Another strategy I have used successfully is having students created a One-Pager about themselves. Students are given a blank sheet of paper, markers, colored pencils, magazines to cut pictures from, etc. and told to fill the entire page in a way that represents them. I usually give my students several bits of information to include like "Who do you live with?," "What's your favorite subject and why?," and, the one I most highly recommend, "What is one thing you want your teacher to know about you?" I've also seen teachers turn these One-Pagers into a Class Quilt which they display. No matter how you do it, they usually turn out really well and the kid's like having the freedom to express themselves.

How to Make a Classroom Quilt: https://thesavvyage.com/how-to-make-a-classroom-quilt/

If you want something more subdued, there are also many, many "About Me" worksheets for students to fill out online which will accomplish basically the same thing. Use the first day to learn about your students and aim to have two names learned per period. Take the time to circulate and talk about what they have written down so that you have some way to connect to them personally. 

Here are Some "About Me" worksheets: https://adayinourshoes.com/all-about-me-printable-worksheets/

https://www.livinglifeandlearning.com/free-about-me-worksheets.html

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/My-Life-in-Numbers-All-About-Me-Math-1252333

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My Lesson:

Day 1 this year, I plan to hand my students a handout which assesses which learning style students prefer: auditory, visual, or kinesthetic as they walk into class. Students will be instructed to complete this as everyone gets settled and attendance is taken so that I can establish a structure for independent work at the beginning of every class immediately. 

Once attendance is taken, I will ask by a show of hands, who scored highest for each learning style and we will briefly discuss what that means. I then tell them to keep their learning style in mind and to pick one of four shapes from off the board: square, triangle, circle, or squiggle. Again, I ask students to share by a show of hands who picked what. We briefly go over what each type means. I, again, tell them to remember what they picked.

Finally, I give students a laminated handout (yay for reusable resources) with a description of each astrological sign, the four shape personalities' descriptions, and an overview of the three different learning styles. I explain the One-Pager assignment to them as I hand out blank sheets of paper. They have the rest of class to list which shape they picked, what their astrological sign is, and their preferred learning style based on the test and to explain whether the descriptions accurately match their actual personality. They can decorate the page however they'd like, but the entire page must be filled with words, pictures, or color. The page must also include their first and last name and the class period. I have one made of myself which I share and pass around the room for them to see. As students work, I go around the room and get to know them a little bit based on what they add to their project.

2. Emphasize Community and Collaboration

Building a classroom culture is incredibly important. If the students get along with each other and with you, they will enjoy coming to class and might actually engage in the learning (especially when the lesson is more on the dry side). Since speaking and listening are two of the core concepts of ELA, I like to get students used to collaboration and discussion ASAP. Truly, these skills are important in any content area (especially if you intend to incorporate projects, group work, or any other activities in your classroom). 

There are a few ways which you can do this: the usual icebreaker games, student interviews (where they interview each other and share about the other person to the class, or some sort of collaborative assignment. I mostly rely on the last option because it best suits my teaching style, and it get kids up and moving after a day of listening to lectures about class syllabi.

Here is an Example of Student Interviews: https://www.weareteachers.com/free-printable-of-the-week-interview-a-classmate/

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My Lesson:

Since Day 1 was entirely about students learning and writing about themselves, my second day of school focuses on having students work together and get to know each other. 

As students walk into class, I have them do a quick write on the following question: Why is teamwork important? What does a good teammate look like? After attendance, I call on a few random volunteers to share what they wrote.

Next, I assign students their first Seat Challenge! Seat Challenges are a great way to get students moving and practicing their communication skills. During a Seat Challenge, students have to work together to put themselves into a particular order (oldest to youngest, alphabetically, tallest to shortest, etc.), and the best part is that they have to do it silently. I give my students 2 minutes to organize themselves and take a seat. Then we go around the room and check to see how they did. If the kids aren't really buying into it, I offer an incentive to the class period with the fewest mistakes.

Then we get into the meat of the lesson. Now that the students have been arranged into random seats, I break them into groups of 3-5 based on proximity. Students are given 2 sheets of paper and a roll of tape. They are told that whichever group can build the tallest tower using only these materials wins a prize at the end of class. Then they're off. 

After the paper towers have been judged, I give my students a final reflection about how their group did. Who took charge? Who contributed most? Did they work well together? What would they do differently next time? For group projects I always give students 100 points to break up among the group. This is also a great exercise in collaboration and helps to hold students accountable to the group. Since this is the first project, these grades don't get entered, but it's nice to establish the mindset that everyone needs to pull their own weight from the start.

3. Introduce Yourself

Most students don't care how many degrees you have or what your Masters Thesis was on. They want to know if your class will be hard, what they can get away with, and how much homework they're supposed to complete. Some teachers prepare a lengthy Powerpoint about themselves and spend an entire class period reading over the syllabus with their students. And, it's certainly one way to do things. I used to do this as well. However, the day where I was up in front of my students droning on about my syllabus for 55 minutes five times in one day, I was miserable. 

One solution which seems to be growing in popularity recently is an "Investigate the Teacher" activity. In this activity, the teacher places clues about themselves around the classroom and students are given a worksheet to complete which helps them to learn about the teacher. 

Here is an Example: https://writeonwithmissg.com/2018/08/05/why-i-dont-review-the-syllabus-on-the-first-day-of-school-and-what-i-do-instead/

Reading over the syllabus can also be a great time for students to practice close reading and annotation skills for those of us teaching ELA. Then you can kill two birds with one stone by reviewing foundational literacy skills with your rules and expectations. You can also have students annotate and share through a Jigsaw activity, or even create an escape room based on information in your syllabus.

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My Lesson:

We start school on a Wednesday and the first day is mostly an assembly with prescribed activities for students each class period, so by the third day of actual instruction, we are already on the second week of school and schedules are pretty much set in stone. At this point, they've introduced themselves, they've gotten to know others, and now I am finally ready to talk about myself and my class.

As students enter class, I hand them a worksheet with a modified KWL chart. I instruct them to write down three or more things they think they know about me and three questions they have about me or the class in the K and W sections. After attendance has been taken, I have students share out what they wrote. Then, I break students into groups of 3-5 and have them rotate around various stations. Each station includes a part of the syllabus which they need to take notes on. They get three minutes at each station to read over the information, write down any important facts, and add additional questions that come up in the W section. After students have completed all stations, I allow them to ask any additional questions which they still have. 

4. Establish Rules and Procedures 

Any seasoned teacher will stress to you the importance of teaching procedures and having a comprehensive classroom management plan for any and all movement that could occur in a classroom. And I am here to tell you the same. 

I highly recommend that you take a great deal of time to make sure you can answer the following questions: 

1. What will students do when they first enter class and while you take attendance?
2. What supplies should they have every day? How can they get more if they've forgotten something?
3. Where should students keep their backpacks?
4. How will you distribute handouts?
5. How will students turn things in?
6. How will you hand back graded work?
7. How can absent students make up the lesson?
8. If students have access to laptops or iPads, how will they get them, how are they expected to use them, and how will they put them back?
9. What are your behavior expectations for independent, partner, and group work?
10. What is your policy for pencil sharpening, blowing their nose, using the restroom, and cellphones?
11. What should students do if they finish an assignment early? 
12. How will you wrap up instruction for the day and have students exit?

Once you can answer all these questions, it is important that you share your expectations with students. This can be done through lecture, stations, embedded into your instruction of various lessons as they come up, or really any other way you can think of. It's always a good idea to have students practice things like coming into class and exiting appropriately. If they aren't meeting your expectations, teach them again. For older students this can be rare. If you have one student who continues to follow these procedures offer them extra practice after school or during lunch to learn your expectations (if you catch my drift).

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My Lesson:

I like doing a brief classroom discussion with students to define expectations. My three rules are: Respect yourself, Respect each other, and Respect the Space. I like to have students brainstorm in small groups what each of these might look like. Then I go into more specifics for what this looks like in my classroom. It shortens a normally tedious and long day of going over procedures into a quick and engaging collaborative activity where students feel like they are a part of the conversation about how they should act. Usually I put this at the end of my syllabus stations activity if there is time. Or embed it into the beginning of class the next day.

After this conversation, if students can't follow procedures, we practice and reteach until they get it. This may need to be done at different points later on in the year as well. The key is to stay consistent and to realize that behavior is a skill you have to teach just like anything else.

5. Collect Baseline Data

Many districts embed pre-tests into their curriculum. And if your district does not, I highly recommend you create one. Each group of students is different, so it is important to know what they already know by the time they get to you. Your pre-test may look different depending on what content area you teach. For ELA, I like to gather some reading, writing, and grammar baseline data. I also like to find out what novels they have already read, so I know what to avoid teaching them again. 

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My Lesson:

My district requires that students complete a baseline writing assessment. I usually just have them read a short story and write an essay about the theme of that story since that is one of the core standards of our first unit. If you want something a little faster, have students write an essay about themselves or what they did over summer. It's a great way for you to see how they structure their writing.

My students also take a district benchmark assessment which covers most reading standards. It grades students automatically, so it's a great way to collect data quickly. There are many free reading assessments online. My favorite is the 7 minute reading test.

Here's a link for a 7 minute reading test: http://www.freereadingtest.com/

I also like my students to take the diagnostic assessment on https://www.noredink.com/ so that I can tailor grammar instruction towards the areas most students struggle (although this often becomes apparent from grading writing samples as well). 

Successes in Month One

With August coming to an end and two full weeks of school in the books, I figured I'd reflect and share some things that went well!

KWL Chart about Me
On the first day of school I focus on letting the kids share about themselves so I can get a feel for their personalities and the group dynamic of each class period.

Day two is dedicated to sharing about myself and the class. In the past, I've had students write down one or two questions to ask me about at the end of the first day so I can review them and create a presentation about myself based on what they asked. However, this has always ended up being really long and leave little interaction beyond me simply rambling at them for an entire class period.

Last year, I adopted the idea of using a KWL Chart from one of my colleagues. The kids use what they notice about me and anything they see around the room to list 3-5 things that they THINK they know about me. Then I have them share what they think. Usually we have a good chuckle with some of their responses but I don't give anything away. Then I have them write down 3-5 questions they have about me or the class. I tell them this is their one shot to ask anything they want (so long as it's school appropriate) and I promise to answer truthfully.

After they've created their questions, I give a brief presentation about myself and what they can expect to learn in class, a little about how I grade, and the type of assignments we will have. I also introduce my materials list at this point. Tye students write down anything interesting they learn and the answers to their questions. After the presentation, I let the kids ask any additional questions that they wrote down and I didn't cover or any questions they thought of as I presented.

Every class period ended with the students asking some very funny, unique, and thoughtful questions. It was a great way to build report quickly and easily. The kids were excited and engaged as well.

Book Pass
Another idea I adopted from one of my amazing colleagues this year was the idea of using a book pass. The entire English department decided to begin each class period with 10-15 minutes of reading to help inspire a love of reading and to increase literacy scores.

Helping students to find a book they actually enjoy is a priority in our department. We really want students to find some enjoyment in reading that they can hopefully take with them into adulthood. To do this, we used a book pass!

In this activity, I placed different novels from my classroom library on each desk in my classroom. Students spent 5 minutes with each book examining, rating, and taking notes on the cover, the teaser on the back of the book, and the first two pages of the novel. At the end of class, students had to select a book to read for ten minutes. Many students ended up checking out books from my library that day to take home because they liked them so much! And those who didn't were at least introduced to four books that they may or may not be interested in the future.

I liked this activity so much, that I would extend it! This year, students examined four different books. Next year, I may do 5 or 6! It's the most excited I've seen students about books. . . Ever.

NoRedInk.com
I heard about this website from an online form last year and breifly piloted it as an extra credit assignment with my students last year. I love this site for grammar skills.

The first content lessons of the year focused on parts of speech as my students have difficulty writing grammatically correct sentences and understanding the foundations of grammar. I taught several mini lessons on the various parts of speech and followed it up with a practice assignment on NoRedInk.com. The practice assignments force students to answer questions over and over until they can get four correct in a row to level up. If they level up 4 times, they have mastered the skill. If students miss a question it shows them the correct answer and gives them notes on the skill they are practicing. If they miss enough, it alerts the teacher that they need extra help.

Some of my students got really competitive with this and worked ahead. Those who finished early moved on to assignments we hadn't covered in class yet or helped their struggling peers. I could circulate the room and work with those who needed extra help, but more of the remediation and acceleration of the program is done digitally. AND IT GRADES THEM FOR YOU!!!

There were, of course, some technical issues, and my co-taught class with many SPED kids struggled with some of the assignments to the point where I had to offer them an alternative assignment. However, seeing as so many of my students really got into the program and seemed to enjoy it, even when it was hard, I will absolutely continue to use it again.

Classroom Rewards System
I was "raised" in a PBIS school. My first two years of teaching were in a high school which had adopted and nearly perfected a PBIS program that really worked to create a positive campus culture. When I moved schools, I was so disappointed to see that my current school didn't have a whole lot of positive reinforcements and that the culture was not a very happy one.

To combat this issue, I create a classroom rewards system using fake dollars with my name on them. I created these in Google Docs, printed them on green paper I had tucked away, and cut them out. It took all of 15 minutes to create 150 of them to start the year off w get gateith. I explained to students who my classroom expectations were and that if I caught them following these expectations or being generally amazing, they could get these dollars.

The dollars can be saved an traded for prizes. All of which are free. At first I gave these out to anyone I saw coming into class and getting started right away, now I give them out less frequently but still try to give 2-5 per period.

1$ = positive call home
2$ = using their headphones to listen to music while they work
3$ = working outside (when it fits the lesson)
4$ = 5 points of extra credit
5$ = a 5 minute tardy pass at the beginning of class
6$ = free roast of the teacher (when approved at the end of a class period)
7$ = choosing their seat and those who sit around them

Classroom Tour

Excuse the mess. These are from the last few days of school!

In my last post, I welcomed you to my virtual classroom, today I would like to share with you all my actual classroom to hopefully provide some ideas for how to set up your own room for next year.

Classroom Features

Fortunately, I have a pretty big classroom! It's about twice the size of the first classroom I taught in. Upon inheriting my classroom, I was left with a built in bookshelf, two tall cabinets, two shorter cabinets, a smaller, movable bookshelf,  a white board easel, two tables with 4 (mostly broken) computers, two white boards (one which is mostly covered by a Promethean board), a teacher printer, a rolling cart with power strips built in, a teacher desk, and a long table. Last year my biggest class was 36, so desks alone take up a lot of space. I would love to incorporate a reading nook or some flexible seating options, but things are a little too cramped for that unless my classes shrink. My room also has a really high ceiling. The white wall space above the bulletin boards is difficult to reach, even standing on a desk. The previous owner of my classroom so kindly left rolled up tape all over it, that I haven't been able to reach to pull off yet. I am also lucky enough to have one wall which is mostly taken up by windows! It provides so much natural light to my classroom and makes it feel really homey! 

Entryway

Not Pictured: Door (on the right hand side), Whiteboard Easel (next to the invisible door)

When students walk into my classroom the first thing they see is a whiteboard easel with the materials they need written on it. Last year I had them pick up all their supplies and worksheets for the day on the way in, but next year I plan to make handing out supplies the job of a few students each day. I may change the easel to hold an inspirational quote or a reminder about expectations for coming into my class instead. Any suggestions you all have, would be great!

On the back wall by the door, I post flyers for upcoming school events. I encourage students to bring in flyers or information for any events they have coming up in their personal lives as well (soccer tournaments, dance recitals, etc.). In this same space I also post a calendar with information on what assignments and materials we worked on each day. Students who were absent can use this calendar to figure out what they are missing and grab it from the hanging folders. My goal for next year is to create a student job for managing the materials in the hanging folder for me. 

Next to all of this is my classroom library. I haven't had the time or motivation to arrange my class library in any particular way. I do try my hardest to keep novel sets together. I did SSR twice a week this year, and plan to do it the first 10 minutes of class each day next year, so the library becomes even more chaotic due to that. I do plan to assign one or two students in each class to be the class librarian and make sure the books are put away neatly and to keep track of who is borrowing which books from me. 

Not pictured: Tall, Blue, Cabinet next to the bookshelf (off to the right)

In the corner on the far-end of my back wall, I have this nifty little counter space with cabinets underneath. In this cabinets is any supplies that students will use such as glue sticks, construction paper, and highlighters. On this back counter is where I place my turn in bins for each class period, my stacks of graded work to hand back, and worksheets to be passed out at the beginning of each class. It is basically the trifecta of classwork. These bulletin boards will serve as a space to hang anchor charts for each unit related to the learning targets we are currently focusing on.

Far Wall

The wall opposite the door.

The bulletin boards on this wall will also be used to post relevant anchor charts associated with each unit. Once my classes are finalized, I will tape off the white board to leave a space for the day's objective and agenda for each class. Year long anchor charts will also be posted on the white wall space on this wall (if I can figure out a way to reach it!).

Front of the Room

In the front of the room is where my desk is located. I have tried to move it several times, but the IT guys have shot me down every time because of the way things have to be plugged into my computer. I am hoping at the very least I can wrap the cords so they're not a tangled mess. I set up my long table to create an L shaped addition to my desk. This gives me room for a desk calendar and to have several trays for important paperwork. The black cart next to the desk holds my printer as well as my teacher binders and textbooks. The tall, blue cabinet in the corner contains any other teaching supplies that I may need which I don't allow students to use. On the sliver of white board behind my desk, I keep track of class points. I got the idea from another teacher to start each class period off with the length of time of an entire class period. Each time I have to wait for them to settle down, I subtract minutes from their time; each time they are behaving well, they earn additional time. At the end of each grading period, they earn a class party that last the amount of time they have earned.

On the other end of my Promethean board I have another sliver of whiteboard where I post the schedule for the school day and my e-mail. The schedule is great to have up front for when we have assemblies of early-release days, so that students don't ask me when class ends a million times. It is also easy for me to see so that I can keep track of time on those days as well. Next to this, I have my classroom values posted. I began my teaching career in a PBIS school, so having positive expectations for my students is something I feel comfortable with. At my current school, they are struggling to get PBIS up and running. Until that happens, I have created my own set of PBIS expectations with a classroom reward system to hold kids accountable. These serve as my class rules. I go over them with students nearly every day at the beginning of class after reading the daily objective.

The Fourth Wall

In the front corner of the room next to my expectations I have my filing cabinet to hold my student's writing portfolios, IEP meeting notes, office referrals, etc. This cabinet locks so students can't rummage through it. This is also where I have my computer station. I really wanted to set it up with the two tables grouped so that the computers were back-to-back, but the IT guy told me this wouldn't work. Womp. Womp. So instead, the two tables are lined up against the wall side-by-side. 

My favorite part of this wall are the enormous windows! I plan to post student work in my windows so that the whole school can see what amazing things are happening in my classroom. I started doing this at the end of last school year and got a lot of positive feedback from staff and students. My kids really come up with some creative stuff and I want to show them off as much as possible.

The End!

Thanks for reading everybody! I love hearing ideas from other so please share your classroom set-up ideas below! How would you utilize this space differently?

Welcome to my Class!

Hello all and welcome! I figured I'd start off by introducing myself. I started my teaching experience at 16 in my mom's dance studio teaching tap dancing lessons. From there, I went to Arizona State University straight out of high school for my degree in education and moved into the classroom three years ago.

I spent my first two years teaching Freshmen and Sophomore English at a Title I high school outside of Phoenix, and LOVED it! My students were my babies and it was my dream to loop with my first group of freshmen all four years of high school. I was exceptionally lucky to work with an admin team who really invested in me and allowed me opportunities not usually given to second-year teachers. My second year I joined the school's PBIS committee, became a PLC lead, and even spearheaded a tutoring intervention program for the freshmen at our school. I was on a teaching high. Unfortunately, during my second year, I also married the love of my life who dragged me with him to California.

Teaching in California is a lot more competitive. Initially, I was thrilled to work in a state with a better budget and far more support for public schools. My colleagues in Arizona envied me for moving somewhere with more progressive educational policies. After finishing year two, I was ravenous to continue my teaching career. I was desperate to continue working with students and improving my craft. After months of rejection letters from school after school, I was finally offered a position teaching ELA at a Title I middle school a month before the beginning of the school year.

I remember literally jumping up and down after accepting the position because I was SO excited to get back in the classroom and was high on the idea of working for a state which supports their teachers and pays a decent salary. I'm sorry to say that reality at my new school was far from what I expected.

After an especially hard school year, I have been finding myself researching how to improve my classroom management and my instruction. I have begun following teacher accounts on Instagram, pinning every creative idea I can find on Pinterest, and throwing my energy into entirely revamping my curriculum and procedures for next year. I also took the leap and signed up to go back to school for my Masters in Curriculum Instruction and Design.

Even after an exceptionally hard year in the classroom, I still love my job. Stumbling so many times this year has only made me more driven to do better next time. It has also inspired me to work towards helping other teachers by providing my own experiences and ideas. It is easy to feel inferior when looking at perfectly decorated classrooms on Pinterest, and so I wanted to create a space that shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of education. I want to share my successes and failures so that I can look back and reflect on my own experiences and hopefully help some others in the process.

So that's a little about me! Can't wait to continue sharing with you all!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Frappaccino