Starting the year right is a tricky thing. I have learned a few things about starting the year on the best foot possible.
Here are a few ideas for the First Day of School:
1. Think of the First WEEK of School not just the first day.
2. Plan your first week out completely from start to finish of each day. I have found that a bit of hyper-planning for the first week helps to set the tone for the school year.
3. Use each minute of the day wisely....try to limit the amount of "free choice" time for the students. By letting the students know that you have the days planned you avoid them thinking that they can just do what they want. Students need direction and providing structure and expectations are essential.
4. Classroom Management - You need to create a plan for managing student behavior. I will get into this in a later post in more detail but you need to know what you expect so that you can properly implement it.
