How to Make Your Students Feel Welcomed on the First Day of Class

When you begin planning for the first day or the first week of a new school year, you will probably focus your efforts on classroom management and instructional activities. Although these are crucial to the success of your students, making your students feel welcomed in your classroom is just as important. When students feel that they are valued and included, they will find it easier to cooperate, to work, and to learn. Fortunately, there are many ways to make students of all ages feel that they welcomed at school.

·       Make sure there is a large sign in the hallway so that students can find your classroom. Make it easy for them to feel confident that they are in the right place at the right time. 

·      Don’t make a fuss about students who may enter late. Just quickly settle them to work on the activities that other students are working on. 

·       Check attendance quickly so that any student who is not in the right room can quickly leave with as little commotion as possible.

·       Play music as they enter the room. An excellent source for music for your classroom is Pandora Internet Radio (https://www.pandora.com). At Pandora’s Web site, you will be able to browse musical genres that will appeal to students. You can use instrumental or classical music or even music with lyrics suitable for school.

·       Make sure that every student is quickly seated in the right spot with as little confusion as possible.

·       Smile at individuals and smile at the entire group.

·       When students enter the room, have an interesting activity for them to do right away.

·       If students do not have school supplies, lend them what they need without fuss.

·       Make sure students know the names of several of their classmates by the end of class.

·       Having students interact with classmates on the first day sends a positive message about the importance of teamwork in your class.

·       If you need transitions between activities, consider showing a motivational or intriguing power point or movie clip.

·       Talk to your students about how you are nervous and that you predict that they are as well. Discuss your shared anxieties.

·       If students will be moving to other classrooms, make sure everyone knows where to go. Passing out school maps and assigning buddies to find other classrooms are both good ideas. 

·       Wear a name tag. If appropriate, ask students to wear name tags as well for at least part of class. 

·       Ask for their advice in solving a classroom problem such as how to store materials or remember the schedule for the next day. 

·       Make sure you are organized and prepared for class so that you can focus on helping your students. 

·       If you have students who misbehave, be as low key as possible in your response. It may take a while for students to learn to trust you enough to behave well and cooperate with you and their classmates. 

·       Assign buddies to students who may be new to the school.

·       If students have a written assignment, provide the paper. Odd shapes and colors are always more fun for students than lined paper.

·       Compliment the group throughout class and especially at the end.

Things I Wish I Had Known My First Year as a Teacher

Although I have published this list in various forms previously and in several places, I like to examine it at the start of a new school year as I make my resolutions for the upcoming term. Being an effective teacher does not happen by chance. Instead it takes planning, commitment, and a great deal of reflection. As you being your new school year, maybe this list can help you have the kind of terrific year that you would like for your students and for yourself. 

1. Don’t be afraid to experiment and have fun learning with your students. It’s okay to fail sometimes.
2. Realize that you will have to prove yourself all year long. To students, colleagues, parents, yourself…
3. Being regarded as trustworthy is an invaluable goal.
4. There will be plenty of opportunities to learn from mistakes.
5. If you don’t spend time reflecting on your teaching each day, it will be very hard for you to improve.
6. There will never be enough time to get all of the things you want to accomplish with your students done.
7. It’s important to think about student activities in terms of small blocks of time so they stay on task.
8. Leave your problems at school at the end of the day. Balance is key.
9. It’s important to show students how to help themselves. Learned helplessness does not have to be permanent.
10. Take good care of school resources and teach students to do the same.
11. Use your personal strong points and teach your students to do likewise.
12. Be selective. Don’t fight battles you can’t win. Ignore the small stuff.
13. Focus on what you can change and get then get busy doing it.
14. Use a multifaceted approach when presenting material.
15. Don’t just react to a problem. Solve it.
16. It takes time to get to know your students and even longer to gain their fragile trust.
17. Make it a point to build strong relationships with your colleagues. You need each other.
18. Parents do indeed expect you to live up to their ideal of what a teacher should be.
19. If you act like a professional, you will make it easier for others to defend you when you make a mistake.
20. Paperwork must be dealt with accurately, quickly, and efficiently.
21. Patience. Patience. Patience.
22. You are a role model, ready or not.
23. When you teach students to believe in themselves, you create lifelong learners.
24. Don’t allow any student to be invisible. Draw them in. Build confidence and engagement.
25. Establish routines for yourself and for your students. Everyone will benefit.
26. Students need structure. They also need fun and creativity.
27. Get them up and moving. Active students tend to misbehave less than those who are bored.
28. Be prepared for class. This means having a solid Plan B.
29. Spend more time telling your students what they do right than what they do wrong.
30. When you make a mistake, admit it and move on. Teach your students this, too.
31. Be unfailingly positive. After all, if you don’t believe in your students, who does?
32. Students are far more concerned with the idea of “fairness” than you can imagine.
33. Set goals for yourself and work with your students to set goals for them.
34. Stay away from those negative colleagues. They will poison your day, your week, your career.
35. Ask for help. We all need help at times. Speak up.
36. Actively work to improve your skills and knowledge about teaching.
37. Create your own PLN. Use social media to reach out.
38. Volunteer for extra jobs at school with caution.
39. Work hard to let your students know how special they are to you.
40. The worst students deserve the best in you.
41. No one comes to school determined to fail—despite evidence to the contrary.
42. You will make a difference in the lives of your students…it takes time, however.
43. Ask, “How can I help you with that?” and watch the magic happen.
44. Say, “I know you’re better than that” when a student misbehaves.
45. You will have some hard days as a teacher. Plan ahead how you will manage stress.
46. You can’t ever predict how a lesson will go or what your students will do.
47. Laughing with students is a great way to build a community in a hurry.
48. Connections with students are vital if you want to have happy days at school.
49. A well planned lesson is the best discipline plan you can have.
50. Never, ever forget that you may be the only person who shows a student that you care.

 

The First Day of School--Your Priorities

The first day of class is often one of the most stressful days that you and your students will experience all year. We're nervous. They're nervous. Every one is unsure of what to do and how to do it well.

It has always helped me to think in terms of what MUST get done that day. Once I have completed those tasks, then the rest is reasonably easy.

Here is an excerpt from The First-Year Teacher's Survival Guide that is designed to help teachers think through what we have to do on the first day and get everyone off to a good start.

 

WHAT TO DO ON THE FIRST DAY: YOUR PRIORITIES

 As you begin thinking about the first day of class, you should give thought to how to convince your students that you are the best teacher they will ever have. Your new students will be concerned that they will not have a good teacher or a good year. Your first-year jitters may be bad, but theirs are probably worse.

            Because it is so important that the first day of school be an encouraging experience for your students, you must present yourself to your students in as positive a manner as possible. This will be easy for you if you focus your energies on the following six important priorities:

Priority 1: Take Charge of Your Class

• Even if you are overcome with stage fright, you must conquer your personal feelings and pretend to be confident and self-assured. Sometimes, by pretending to be confident, you can begin to convince yourself that you are.
• Have a seating chart ready so that you can show students to their seats and get them started on their opening exercise at once. Have an assignment on the board, or give students a handout as they enter the room.
• Before the term begins, when you have made up your class rules and expectations, consider having a friend record you presenting them. You can really have fun with this if you film your presentation at the beach, on a boat, or even in your own backyard. When school starts, show the video and give your students a handout on the class expectations to fill in as they watch and listen.

Priority 2: Calm Your Students’ Fears

• Stand at the door of your classroom and welcome students to your class. Wear a bright name tag. Make sure to prominently display your name and room number so that students and their parents can be sure that they are in the right place.
• Look happy to see every student. Greet each one pleasantly, using his or her name if you can.
• Teach your first lesson as if it is the most important lesson you will teach all year. In many ways, it is. Your students should feel not only that they learned something interesting but that they will continue to learn something in your class every day.

Priority 3: Introduce Yourself

• Although it may seem obvious, it is important to introduce yourself to your students on the first day of class. Because you want the first day of class to go well and because you want to control the amount of wild speculation about you, the new teacher, you should introduce yourself. You should be comfortable telling your students

• How to spell your last name
• Your title (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr.)
• Where you went to college
• Where you grew up
• Why you are looking forward to working with them
• The positive things you have heard about them
• The positive things you have heard about the school
• What your favorite subject was in school
• Why you chose to be a teacher

Priority 4: Engage Your Students’ Minds

• Design fast-paced, interesting instruction that will appeal to students with a variety of learning styles and engage their critical thinking skills.
• Consider a lesson that will allow you to assess your students’ readiness levels as well as give them an overview of the skills they will learn or the material that they will cover during the term. Make sure that the lesson is one that encourages them to be active and not just one that requires them to listen passively.
• Include a brief homework assignment to reinforce the day’s work and to get students into the habit of doing homework for your class.

Priority 5: Begin To Teach The Class Routines

• Teaching acceptable school behavior is part of what teachers do and is certainly part of what students expect from their teachers. For example, when it is time for students to turn in the day’s written assignment, show them the procedure for passing in papers that you will expect them to follow.
• If students lack supplies to do the assignment, lend them what they need for class and gently remind them that they will need to have paper and a pencil in the future.
• Keep any reprimands very low-key. Stick to gentle reminders instead.

Priority 6: Begin To Build a Classroom Community

• Even on the first day of class, your students will view themselves as members of a classroom group. You can enhance this natural tendency by using inclusive words such as our or us when referring to the class.
• Ask for their help in routine tasks such as passing out materials, tidying the room at the end of an activity, or in helping each other.
• Take time for at least one ice-breaker activity so that students can get to know their classmates. You will find more information about this later in this section.

How to Have a Great First Day of School

As an experienced teacher with more than thirty-five "First Days" to my credit, I am all too aware of just how important the first day of school can be for teachers and students alike. In the writing that I am doing right at the moment, revising the second edition of First-Year Teacher's Survival Guide, I focus on the first day and how teachers, both experienced and novice, can make that day as special as possible and get their students' year off to a fantastic start.
     In this post, you will find three exerpts from what will be the new book next spring. One is just some ideas that may help you plan a good first day, another is a template you can tweak to help you plan that day, and the third is a checklist of things that you will have to manage on the first day.
     I hope these make your first day a positive one for you and for your students!

“ACTIVITIES FOR THE FIRST DAY

 In addition to the day’s lesson and class expectations, your first day of class can include many other activities to engage students in meaningful work. Using the planning template in Teacher Worksheet 4.3: Planning Template for the First Day of School and the checklist in Teacher Worksheet 4.4: Checklist for the First Day will both make it easier for you to make sure that the first day of school will be a productive and positive one  for your students. When you are trying to decide just what you want your students to do on the first day, consider some of these activities:

• Fill out forms together. While you are explaining your class expectations, students can fill in the information on a handout instead of just listening passively.
• Photograph students in their new school clothes on the first day of class. This is a good way to begin your class scrapbook.
• Show examples of the supplies they need.
• Pass out colorful paper, and ask students to write on it what they can contribute to make the class a better one for everyone. Display the papers in a giant collage.
• Issue textbooks, and have students skim their new texts, looking for items in a textbook treasure hunt.
• Have students work with a partner, telling that person one thing that they can do well and one thing that they would like to learn how to do. Have partners introduce each other to the class by sharing this information.
• Ask students to write you a brief note, telling you three things you need to know about them so that you can teach them well.
• Place a large sheet of paper on the wall. Hand students old newspapers or magazines, and have them tear out words and photos that describe their strengths and talents. Focus on what students have in common. Glue the photos and words in place to create an instant piece of art that will interest every student.
• Have students jot down what they already know about the subject you are teaching and then share this information with the class.
• Have students fill out one of the student inventories you’ll find later on in this section.
• Give students handouts with questions directing them to find out what they have in common with their classmates. Some possible areas to explore are hometowns, hobbies, favorite movies, pets, vacations, and sports. Go beyond the obvious and include attitudes for success, goals, or other mental traits.
• Have older students create bookmarks with inspirational messages for younger students.
• Have students play a people bingo game where they try to discover interesting facts about each other. Items to include on the bingo board could include types of pets, hobbies, past school experiences, favorite colors or foods, siblings, strengths, or favorite sports just to name a few.
• Ask older students to recount a memory from their earlier first days of school.
• Put a quotation or unusual word related to the day’s lesson on the board, and ask students to tell you what they think about it.
• Have students write exit slips explaining what they learned in class on their first day.

TEACHER WORKSHEET 4.3: PLANNING TEMPLATE FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

While not all of these items may be applicable for your class and for your students, this template can give you some idea of how you will want to plan for your first day.

Opening Exercise (Time Allotted: _____________)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Supplies, Materials, Books to Be Issued (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Student Information Forms and Inventories to Be Used  (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rules, Policies, Procedures  (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction of Self  (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Welcome to Class Activity  (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Forms that Need to Be Sent Home  (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fees to Be Collected (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Icebreaker Activity  (Time Allotted: _____________)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson  (Time Allotted: _____________)

Teacher input________________________________________________________________

Student activity______________________________________________________________

Closing  (Time Allotted: _____________)

___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

TEACHER WORKSHEET 4.4: CHECKLIST FOR THE FIRST DAY

In this checklist of the most important things you must accomplish on the first day, you will find reminders of the tasks you will have to manage.

o   Stand at your classroom door to offer your assistance to those students who may need help in finding their new classrooms.

o   Meet every student at the door and direct them to their assigned seats.

o   Begin learning your students names as quickly as you can.

o   Introduce yourself to your students.

o   Teach an exciting lesson guaranteed to make your students want to learn more.

o   Begin building a classroom community among your students.

o   Set about creating  a positive identity for your class.

o   Help your students get to know each other.

o   Distribute the necessary forms and the welcome packet that your students must take home.

o    Project an attitude of enthusiasm and positivity about the class, the year ahead, and your students.

o   Begin gathering data about your student’s levels of readiness, learning styles, and knowledge of the material in the course.

o   Begin teaching the rules, procedures, policies, and expectations for your class.

o   Make every student feel comfortable and welcome.

o   Assign an appropriate homework assignment to help students transition from vacation back to school.”