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SPECIAL SECTION THEMED ISSUE
First Day Advice for New Primary Teachers
by
Ann Powell-Brown
by
William Kerns and Betty Porter Wall
As a new graduate, I could hardly wait to start teaching. I wanted to do things my way without a mentor scrutinizing my actions. I would develop my own procedures for how my kindergarteners should line up and where they would sit on the carpet. I would assign classroom jobs to show the kids how responsibility would benefit the classroom. Everything would be flawless! As soon as I was hired, I carefully started planning the first day taking every hour into account. I penciled in one procedure after another.
By 10:00 A.M on my first day I knew my plans were not working. One student was playing in the backpack closet and not listening to a single instruction. Another student had rolled under a table. The rest were squirming and talking while I tried to give directions. At this point, I longed to be back in my mentor’s classroom with her support and established routines. I had not observed how to teach the beginning of the year procedures, so I did not know what it was supposed to look like. I had to learn the hard way that kindergarteners could not handle hours of directions about procedures, all at once. I needed a new plan.
Establish Routines and Procedures
Initially, students need to be taught how to successfully navigate the classroom and understand the most important procedures. Now that I have a bit of experience under my belt, I realize that it is important to prioritize procedures. High on my list are procedures for the whole-group carpet, lining up, walking in the hall, restroom breaks, turning in completed work, but not all on the first day. These practices need to be reinforced by giving students significant opportunities for practice (Scholastic, 2018).
Establish Rules and a Discipline System
Decide upon and construct charts or clipboards prior to the first day of school, so that the policies and procedures for behavior will be easy to see. Will a clip be used to show when students move from green to yellow or red depending on their behavior? Will students get one warning before moving their clip? Two warnings? What are the consequences for moving the clip? Will sticker charts be utilized to reward positive behavior? What will be given when a student “fills up” the sticker chart?
It is important to have these things thought out, so you can verbalize expectations to students. Students are motivated by positive reinforcement, so I encourage a reward system such as a class sticker chart or marble jar. As a by-product, this will develop teamwork for a common reward. As a new procedure is taught to students, I reward compliance with a sticker on the chart or marble in the jar to motivate students.
Plan Your Day
It is helpful to create a minute-by-minute schedule of exact activities and routines including times of restroom breaks, lunch, recess, ancillary classes, and dismissal. Implementing new procedures will consume more time during the first two weeks of school, so an excess time should be allocated for the tasks or transitions. During the first week, I line my students up ten minutes before lunch, so they have ample time to line up and walk down the hall. The same is true for packing up at the end of the day. I give my students about fifteen minutes to complete end of day procedures like cleaning up their desk area, stacking chairs, gathering backpacks, and meeting on the carpet. Once routines are clearly established and practiced, routines will take less time.
Plan activities for more than the expected time to avoid moments where you do not know what to do next. It is impossible to know how everything will fit in exactly, but having a schedule for the day is helpful. If you do not have time to teach an activity or routine, you can move it to the next day
Implement Breaks
Young children need their day broken into short lessons or activities with breaks to move around. When teaching a lesson that requires sitting, plan the next activity to contain some type of intentional movement. For example, .
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I will typically switch from a carpet activity to a desk activity to get students moving. This allows the students to stretch their legs. I may also plan a restroom or stretch break. Consider this example of planning your morning: carpet lesson, desk activity, restroom break, recess, finish desk activity, carpet lesson, lunch, desk activity, etc. Notice the amount of opportunity for movement.
Keep Materials Handy
You do not want to be scrambling for worksheets and materials during instructional time. From the first day on, keep materials together and at arm’s length so you can grab and continue teaching. Use five small plastic bins with the day of the week printed on the front to store materials for each day. Before I leave each day, I place the bin for the following day near my teacher chair so I can be ready for the next day.
Your First Day is Here
Reduce your stress by planning to arrive early to ensure securing a parking spot. Most parents will want to walk their child into the building, which means there could be more traffic and less parking than usual. As students enter your classroom smile and greet them. Remember they just as nervous as you. Place a coloring packet or some easy-type of activity on students’ desks. Make sure it is something that all students can do successfully. Once all students are in your classroom, introduce yourself. You can bring photographs, personal items, or create a PowerPoint presentation.
Classroom Rules
Classroom rules help students know what to expect in the classroom, so some rules need to be introduced on the first day. Tell students that you would like to create some rules together that everyone can try their best to follow. Allow students to suggest rules as you record. Phrase the rules to state desired behavior instead of undesired behavior. For example, Be caring and helpful to others versus Do not be mean to others
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Ending Thoughts
Your first day on the job is not going to be flawless. It will probably include some chaos and distress, and that is okay. Each day will get easier. One year after my difficult first day, a close friend told me, “If each of your students gets home safely, the day was a success.”
Resources
Tips for New Teachers: The First Day of School | Scholastic. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2018, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/top-tips-first-days-school-grades-1x965/
Hensley, L. (2002). First year 101. The Science Teacher, 69(6), 26-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/docview/214619716?accountid=7107\
Kelly Woods has a bachelor’s degree of science in Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree of education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Houston. She has taught kindergarten, first, and second grades in Houston, Texas, for the last eight years. I
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Kelly Woods
William Kerns and Betty Porter Wall