Starting the new school year is really exciting for teachers, but can also be stressful. Here are a few tips on how to start the beginning of the school year to help you have a less-stressed first day of school!
Beginning of the Year Read Alouds
Sometimes it is easiest to teach a lesson by reading someone else’s words. Read alouds are a great way to teach your students rules and build a classroom community. Here are 5 great read alouds for the beginning of the school year!
Focus on Community, Not Content
The first week of school (honestly..the first 2 weeks of school) should not be focused on teaching new content. The first few weeks of the beginning of the school year should be focused on building a classroom community. Without a classroom community, your year will be rough. A classroom community helps with discipline, teaching new content, and makes the year more enjoyable!
Make sure to do a lot of ice breaker games so students can get to know each other in a fun way. Do some writing activities so students not only show you how they write, but they can also share some things about themselves and their family. Morning meetings should take up a large portion of your day for the first few days.
Get Students Excited for the Beginning of the School Year
One of my favorite things to do before school starts is send my students a special postcard. Sending postcards to your students at the beginning of the year is a great way to get students excited about the first day of school and starts building relationships.
All you have to do is click the image below to download some free postcards, type in your name, and click print! It takes 5 minutes for you and makes a huge impact with your students.
Practice Procedures!
This is my number one tip for first year teachers — know every procedure/routine before your students show up on the first day of school. I created a free procedure checklist that I highly recommend going through. It can be overwhelming at first to look at, but set aside 30 minutes to answer each of the questions in the checklist and it will help you 1000% on the first day of school.
Once you answer the questions on the checklist, you need to teach the procedure to your students! This takes time and practice – and it can be boring. Practice lining up, walking in the hallway, turning in work quietly, going to the bathroom, etc.
Remember to Breathe
The beginning of the school year can be overwhelming, but if you prepare you will be totally fine! Remember to give yourself grade, breathe, and love on your students. They are as nervous as you are so make sure they feel loved and welcomed. Focus on building that positive, loving classroom environment. You got this!!
