Lesson Plan and Tips on how teachers can start the new school year right

Tips on how teachers can start the new school year right

Here are some ideas – from classroom management, to setting course expectations, to having a bit of fun, that might help alleviate some anxiety for both you and your students.

DOWNLOAD SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Arrive early and greet students as they arrive. Introduce yourself and post your name, how you would like to be addressed

Get to Know Each Other. Do some fun ice-breaking activities to put everyone at ease.

Establish Rules and Routines. Introduce the important features of the room and the school with a tour or scavenger hunt.

Reinforce Positive Behavior. Deal promptly with behavior problems.

Also consider giving your students a minute to swap phone numbers with at least one other person in the class—this provides a safety net for the student who misses a class or needs help with an assignment; it also minimizes the number of trivial questions you’ll receive about course details.

Demonstrate your commitment to the students by making a serious effort to learn their names and their reasons for taking the course, and by letting them know when and why they should visit your office hours.

Although many teachers devote the first day merely to such preliminaries, we recommend that you make a running start—that is, that you also begin discussing material or presenting information. This signals to the students that you are serious about making their time with you worthwhile and that you expect progress to be made in every session together.