I'm in the process of trying to plan out my first couple of days of school, which are always my LEAST favorite. We start on a Thursday, so I have basically two days to fill before I can jump into actual school work. Basically I will have to cover things like rules and procedures, and I will be filling some time with activities that help kids get to know each other. The rest of the hours in the day will be taken up by activities which I feel like are basically just "stalling" techniques. The get-to-know-you's and the stalling activities are where I'm having some trouble: I recognize the need for team-building and for easing into the school year, but I don't want the kids to feel like school is going to be a waste this year.
This is where you come in: think back to your school days. What are the things that you like(d) about the first days of school, and what did you hate about the first days of school? If you are a teacher, I am happy to hear some of your first days of school strategies.
Muchas Gracias, and don't say you can't remember your school days!!
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Hmmm... one thing I liked was where everyone has a sheet of paper and they write the first sentence/paragraph to a story. (I guess you could time them.) Then, they pass their paper to the person next to them who writes the next line/part. You pass the stories around the room until they get back to the original writer, and then everyone has a story that everyone wrote. And they're usually pretty funny. Maybe they could read them out loud? And you could say something teacher-y like, "We're a team," or "We all have something to contribute in this class."
Well, I don't know what you teach (I'm thinking English?), but I like Karen's idea a lot. I asked my husband, who used to teach, and he played a game with his students to emphasize the importance of the subject. He taught Geography, and he would ask everyone where different things they owned were from (shirt, shoes, watch...) to show how the world is interconnected.
So maybe something similar for your subject.
Oh yeah. I teach fourth grade, which is why I have to worry about filling up a whole school day instead of just a class period.
I remember the scary cards we had to take home, have our parents complete with emergency contact info, and the checkbox that said "In case of attack, my child is to (a) stay at school, (b) parent will pick up, or (c) child with ride home with _______."
I never wanted to die in a nuclear attack while I was at school away from my family. I mean, if I was going to die, I wanted to be home with my parents. I worried that they would have to decide whether to retrieve me or my brother first (at two different schools) and would they get there in time. Would Dallas traffic prevent them from getting to me in time? Was hiding under my desk with my neck covered really going to protect me? or sitting on the floor next to my locker with my head between my knees?
I hated the first day of school.
Okay, so no scary references to nuclear attack. Check.
I like the things where you have to around the room and find someone to sign your paper that matches something about them. For example: Has been to Disneyworld, is an only child, likes to play soccer, likes to read, etc.
I am dreading going through the same thoughts. You could give them some real work in the effort to 1) see what they remember/learned last year 2) convince them that you mean business about work.
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