Getting your classroom ready in August is like packing for a trip. It seems to take a long time, and there are many decisions to make. Thinking bulletin boards, supply storage and name tags, you can’t wait to get your class list. Then the real work begins. The first 20 days of school lay the foundation for the entire year.
Laying the Tracks
The first month is all important! It sets the tone for the whole year. Learning can’t take place unless students feel safe and comfortable. In order to get there, teachers take time to note learning styles, differing levels, and special needs.
This is a monumental task. It takes skill, flexibility, and experience. It is like spinning 50 plates in the air at once. When I was a young teacher, I thought it was silly to delay diving into the new curriculum right away. Then I learned that the first 20 days is about learning what it takes to start the engine. It is learning to work smarter not harder!
Leaving the Station
You don’t teach subjects, you teach people. This is why each August finds you in master observing mode. You plot where you see each student on their learning path. Along with this, you gage how to craft lessons to best teach this year’s students.
You look at class data on skills and special needs. This task takes every bit of the first 20 days of school to be successful. The task is 3-fold:
- team building
- classroom rules & routines
- review
Conducting Team Building
Just like a conductor, your focus is on the people. You start with introducing yourself and assuring your students that they have a choice and a voice in your classroom. Students share during All About Me activities. Similarities are noted. Differences are celebrated, creating a foundation of respect.
Greasing the Wheels: Rules & Routines
Most primary teachers cover Rules and Laws the first month. Since time is spent introducing rules anyway, this leads right into your Social Studies unit. Respect for others, for property, and for class time helps students understand the need for rules, and for laws. You take time to teach routines, tweaking them to make the school day smoother for this year’s class.
Review: Getting Up to Speed
Most Math and Reading programs begin with review. Math starts with number. Reading starts with sounds. This review gives students a boost as they re engage in learning. These lessons can be fun & inviting. The pace is quick, and the content is familiar.
Students can shine as they answer known questions. Since review is less taxing, it can help balance out the stress of testing. There is so much learning with rules, routines, and team building.
Teaching the First Month
Obviously, there are many ways to accomplish each objective during those first 20 days of school. You can find many fun & engaging team building activities across the web. Your classroom routines are a study unto themselves. Adding laws to the mix makes it a win-win.
Math and Reading series have the pace for review, but you add your own ideas and activities on how to teach them. If you are short on time, and want to start with finished products, click on the covers below. You can get some ideas to make your own if you want to make them yourself.
Jacuqe Jones
Taught Kinder-1st-2nd for 38 years in Kansas and California. Loves all things Gilmore Girls, Pikmin, and reading Kindle. Teacher Author. Social Studies Matters