A GOOD
First Week of School
Day One: All About You
Our main objective on the first day of school is to create a positive learning environment and build rapport with students. We achieve this by dedicating the day to the students and providing specific support and activities. By the end of the day, our goal is for students to feel welcomed and cared for and to have learned something new and exciting to go home and talk about.
Do Now: Building a positive classroom environment involves creating a sense of community by showing students that their interests and opinions are valued. To achieve this, greet each student individually as they arrive, use a Class Roster to keep track of attendance and important information, and start the class with an engaging image activity that encourages student participation. Start by having an interesting image on the board. It may be a microscopic image of an everyday object, a picture of a supernova, or some eye-catching phenomenon that relates to the subject area. Have students first ask questions, “Is it living?”, “do we use this every day?”, etc. Have students then find a partner, having a quick discussion on the image. Provide a small whiteboard or piece of paper, and have one partner write their guesses. Go around, reading the guesses and encouraging student participation, until there is a correct answer or you find an opportunity to discuss what the image is. Use this time to hook students into your class and the content by providing engaging information and fun facts!
Mini Lesson: To build rapport and community in the classroom, we recommend a fun activity called "What's in a Name?" This activity helps you get to know your students better and start the school year on the right foot. To begin, distribute the template on the first page and display the instructions and examples on the board. Be sure to create and display your name, too! Encourage your students to use markers or colored pencils to showcase significant details about themselves visually and adjectives that match the letters in their names. You will need the document and markers or colored pencils for the activity.
After the activity is completed, you can have the students move around the room and find similarities they share with each other. For instance, they may share a favorite color, birthstone, or hobby. You may also play a guessing game using the new facts you learned about your students. For example, "I know someone in the room who is a brown belt! Any guesses who it could be?" Be sure to gauge your students' comfort levels with such activities and differentiate when necessary.
Classwork: Now that you have promoted an initial rapport and sense of community, it’s time to dive deeper. That’s what today is all about, learning about the students. While there are many ways to connect with the students, surveying student interest is a terrific place to start; after all, it is their class, and we are just facilitating the process. Have students return to their original seats and pass the student interest survey. Have students complete this individually, assisting when needed.
This is also a great time to circulate the room, ask questions, take attendance, and get to know your students writing, productivity, focusing, and other academic skills. As a reminder, different template formats can be found on the teacher templates and student-centered templates pages.
Exit Slip: It is essential to set the tone of the class on the first day. This includes classroom expectations and routines. Create a known exit slip time instead of allowing students to pack up and crowd the door. For today’s exit slip, since today is all about building rapport and community, have the students turn to a partner, ask their name, and discover something new about that student. Be sure to keep an eye out for students’ not engaging, and be their partner. Then, provide a piece of paper or Post-it to each student, and have them write their name, the student’s name, and one fact they learned about that student, or use our exit slip below.
Collect these cards, ask a student or two to share, or play a guessing game with the information.
Homework For Teachers: Refer to our goals of the day; to build community and rapport in the classroom by learning all about the students. The day isn't complete without reviewing student surveys and responding to each student with comments, compliments, or questions. This helps identify students who need extra academic, social, or emotional support. It may be time-consuming on the first day, but it will be worth it!
A Good Tip: It is important to gauge activities depending on the students' academic, social, and emotional needs. Be sure to read individualized Education Plans, Section 504, and Behavior Intervention Plans to ensure you provide instruction appropriate for the student. Be sure to read all legal documents before starting the lesson.
Day Two: All About Us
Day two is all about the class, emphasizing the unit and team aspects of the classroom. We are all in this together. We do this through specific supports and engagement strategies while strengthening rapport and classroom community established on Day One.
Do Now: If possible, this may be a fun time to integrate technology. One way is through a Google Jamboard or Padlet activity (featured below). Teachers can provide the Jamboard or Padlet link and ask, “How was the first day of school?” or “What are you excited to learn about this year?” or “What is your dream job?”. Once students have the link, they can anonymously post their thoughts as the teacher projects the Google Jamboard or Padlet on the interactive whiteboard for all to see. Should that not work in your classroom, our Day Two Do Now works perfectly! As a great practice, you may collect these slips and/or stamp each paper to provide positive reinforcement and recognition for their work. You may go around the room asking follow-up questions about the do now, such as “Whose dream job is to be an astronaut?” or engaging would you rather questions, such as “Would you rather be rich in love or money?” Be sure to set the tone when it comes to class expectations, such as raising one’s hand before speaking and providing quality attention to the speaker. Check out the Google Doc here for a list of fun social questions. Now is the perfect opportunity to distribute the annotated surveys to students, allowing them to refer to your notes, and providing blank copies for those who were absent to complete.
Mini Lesson: Remind the students that yesterday was all about them and today is all about us. First, start with a little about yourself. Anticipatory sets/guides are excellent supports for English Language Learners and students with special needs; however, strategies that help one often help many. An anticipatory set involves having students share their thoughts before starting reading or activity, followed by completing an after-set once the classwork is finished. This approach effectively engages students and encourages them to reflect on their learning experiences. For today’s anticipatory set, have students learn more about you. To engage students, begin with a Teacher Anticipatory Set that includes a before set of true/false questions (students view this part as a guessing game), a brief mini-lesson about yourself (with added visuals), and an after-set that will be “graded.” Use this activity as a starting point for discussing the importance of learning from mistakes and errors, which can lead to more effective learning in the classroom.
A note to teachers: Try incorporating images that relate to your opening activity to engage your audience in your presentation better. This will help capture their attention and set the tone for the rest of your presentation. So don't hesitate to get creative and find visual aids that complement your anticipatory set.
Now is an excellent opportunity to communicate your teaching style and class expectations. Engage in a comprehensive discussion regarding your course syllabus and expectations. Ensure that you explicitly address attendance, conduct expectations, grading procedures, exams, and other academic requirements.
Classwork: At this point, you have built rapport with your students and them with you. It is now time to strengthen the rapport between peers; aligning with our goal of promoting class community. Review the behavioral expectations before jumping into this next activity and have a timer on the board. A Classroom Scavenger hunt is always fun. To effectively achieve our goals, it's important to actively engage with students who are more timid and offer personalized one-on-one conversations to those who face challenges with self-regulation.
As a helpful practice, have students practice going back to their seats for a quick breather. For example, students can go around the room for three minutes, then spend one minute at their seat before continuing the scavenger hunt. The teacher can fill this time with a structured class discussion or breathing exercise, depending on the need of the class. As a reminder, we have more templates on our student-centered and social-emotional page.
Exit Slip: Have all students return to their seats, and do not start instructing the class until you have undivided attention. It is usual for students to need a few minutes to regroup after a collaborative activity, but it is also essential to set the tone and maintain structure. Once settled, you may want to bring in an exit game to assess students’ understanding of the expectations of the class. Blooket, for example, allows teachers to engage students using pre-made or self-made Kahoot-like questions. Since today was all about the class and the teacher, provide a few questions (5-10) on information the students should have learned about themselves and the class expectations. Blooket.com already has teacher-made sets to copy and revise, or you can easily create your own. Please review our technology page for more information on Blooket and how to integrate technology.
Homework for Teachers: By now, you should have an idea of at-risk students or students you would like to provide more initial attention to. Opening a line of communication with the families is a powerful way to gain more insight into the student’s home life and overall capabilities and struggles. Challenge yourself to call and establish that line of communication today. Be sure to document the conversations, start with a positive, and seek to learn more about the student and how you can best support them. Our teacher templates page has a few communication logs to choose from! Be sure to document all conversations and stay positive and professional throughout the conversation.
Day Three: All About Our Content
Today is the day to create enthusiasm and excitement for the year ahead. While some students are naturally interested in the subject, others may need a more significant ‘buy-in.’ Today is also an opportune time to focus on prominent skills or concepts in the subject area. For example, a science class will spend hours completing lab experiments, conducting hands-on experiments, and writing lab reports. Day three explicitly instructs and prepares students for reoccurring events in the classroom and creates excitement for the time together.
Do Now: After only two days, you and your students should have established a strong connection that will continue to grow throughout the school year. The next step is to get your students excited about the subject matter. As a teacher, you're passionate about your expertise and eager to share your knowledge. However, some students may need help getting on board. It all begins with building enthusiasm. First, list the top units in your subject area. Our curriculum map template and other resources here may help organize your thoughts. Then brainstorm interesting facts or phenomena about these topics. Create a collage of images or words that preview units to come. Provide a piece of paper, Post-It, or our Do Now slips, and ask students to jot their thoughts down to the following prompt; What exciting knowledge will we gain this year? Have students turn to their partners and share their thoughts. Then, once all students are quiet, have students raise their hands and express their thoughts one by one. See if you can have students guess all topics! Have students continue to add to their list. After a long list was created, ask students to circle the top three units they are most excited about.
Mini Lesson: For the mini-lesson, students and teachers may enjoy a whole group discussion on how they will learn. It is helpful to discuss the clear distinction between teachers and students. The teacher’s job is to create lessons and deliver the content in a meaningful, relevant, and accurate. The student’s job is to strengthen their skills to learn the material and showcase their learning through classwork, homework, projects, and assessments. To do this, one may set goals for themselves. Using our Goal Setting Template or Intention Setting Template may be helpful. Be sure to collect these sheets and refer to them consistently, whether it be through a weekly or monthly check-in. As a reminder, we have more templates on our student-centered and social-emotional page.
Classwork: It is time to introduce students to the year's first unit. While there are many ways to introduce a unit, we suggest adding some flare to a traditional mini-lesson. First, create a traditional PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Canva Presentation that explores and introduces students to the first year. Then, create an anticipatory set similar to the teacher set in Day Two. Create five true/false questions that students will answer before and after the presentation. Then find a video clip that correlates to the presentation and engages students. When you are done, your mini-lesson will consist of a before-anticipatory set, an engaging video clip, a traditional presentation, and an after-anticipatory set to check for understanding. This is a good time to circulate the classroom, providing support and remediation when necessary.
Exit Slip: If you're looking for a way to give your students a boost, positive reinforcement is the way to go. While verbal praise, annotated assignments, and stamps during do now's are all great, making positive phone calls home is an excellent way to support your students academically, socially, and emotionally. Consider handing out Positive Phone Call Home slips along with an Exit Slip question of your choosing so that you can connect with the students who most deserve your recognition and who you have time to call.
Homework for Teachers: Similar to Day Three’s homework, continue opening a line of communication between families and yourself using your observations and the Positive Phone Call Home feedback from students. Be sure to document the conversations, start with a positive, and seek to learn more about the student and how you can best support them. Our teacher templates page has a few communication logs to choose from! Be sure to document all conversations and stay positive and professional throughout the conversation.
Day Four: Academic Skills
Day Four is all about blending academics, social-emotional learning, and content.
Mini Lesson: Today’s mini-lesson should continue to focus on the content that started yesterday. Explore the subject at hand be be sure to make the learning accessible. To do this, you may use another anticipatory set, video clip, visuals, or use additional forms of technology to boost engagement. For a list of examples, check out our Technology page and challenge yourself to try something new like a Padlet or Google Jamboard.
Classwork: Incorporate content-specific activities during classwork today while also utilizing the student interest survey to facilitate personalized discussions with each student. It is important to prioritize individual attention, as this can greatly benefit students despite being overshadowed by content.
Exit Slip: To further encourage positivity in the classroom, it can be advantageous to foster gratitude. As a wrap-up, ask students to reflect and jot down things they are grateful for during each period using our Practicing Gratitude Template. They can work independently or in pairs. Afterward, encourage them to share their thoughts with the class. You may also choose to collect their work or stamp their exit slips. Head to our Student-Centered page for additional templates and activities.
Homework for Teachers: For homework tonight, create a list of students you feel would benefit from an individual meeting with you. These meetings should not be long but should have a specific area of focus. Use our Let’s Meet Form for a smooth process.
Do Now: We have been focusing on building rapport and community and introducing some content. It is time to blend academics and social-emotional learning together in hopes that the buy-in created can promote productivity in the classroom. One way to start is by using a Generative Sentences Template. This writing strategy effectively uses sentence vocabulary, building recall and depth in understanding. Generative sentences are versatile and can be tailored to the needs of the students. For today’s do now, pass out a generative sentence template to each student or one per pair, and provide different prompts after reviewing the three examples together. It is best to start with a fun sentence or two before challenging students to make sentences with content learned yesterday or other social-emotional tasks. Check out our Literacy in the Classroom page for more information on generative sentences and other literacy templates and ideas. Be sure to have students share their sentences, and either collect and/or stamp the work for positive reinforcement.
Day Five: Collaboration and Assessment
Today is about promoting structured collaboration and assessing how much the students have learned throughout this first week of school.
Do Now: Most students have experienced a whole week of school. Despite academic challenges, relationships, social media, home life, and friend groups all play a significant role in school. Quite frankly, being a student is challenging. For today’s do now, use whatever structure you want to check in with the class. You may ask, “How were the first five days of school?”, “What have you learned from our class so far?”, “Are you looking forward to the school year?” Our Do Now or Check-In slips may be helpful here.
Mini Lesson: Numbered Heads is an engaging activity that blends collaboration and academics well. In this activity, the teacher groups students into a team of 3-4 individuals and provides each individual with a different number. The teacher then asks a question in which all students discuss the answer within the group, ensuring every person knows the answer. The teacher then chooses one group and one number (person) to answer the question. You may use different animals, colors, superheroes, etc., instead of numbers for some added flare. The teacher may assign students organelles instead of numbers in a science class or historical figures in a social studies class. This mini-lesson should serve as a collaborative review for the following individual assessment. Some sample questions include:
What is your teacher’s name? Where did they go to College? (Or other questions relating to Day Two activities)
List three topics we will explore this year.
What are your goals for our class? How will you reach these goals?
List three behavioral expectations in our class.
Where can you find the work you missed if you are absent?
Assessment: To ensure that students understand the class expectations, procedures, and content, it's crucial to assess them regularly. You can create an effective assessment by including questions related to all the topics covered in the past week, the teacher's expectations, important classroom details, and the content studied so far. This will help you gauge their understanding and identify areas that require further attention. If you are pressed for time, you can project five questions on the board (the most important questions for your class) and use our Check for Understanding slip as a quick assessment.
Exit Slip: Congratulations, students and teachers! You made it through the first week of school. Both parties have put a lot of work in. For today’s exit slip, use our Self-Reflection Template, encouraging students to reflect on their collaborative behavior today and/or their behavior this week. Be sure to collect and/or elicit responses from the class.
Homework for Teachers: No homework! Take a well-deserved break :)
