WeAreTeachers Blog

[#1]

Ten Hut!  It's back-to-school time which means you've got a lot of work to do to whip yourself into shape for the day your students come back.  So we've rounded up some of our best drill sergeants (read: teachers like you) to show you the ropes on how to get your classroom, your lessons and your life in order for the first day of school.

Before we get into the really heavy training, we thought we'd ease you out of your summer rest with our "First Day Essentials" lists.  Scroll down and you'll find everything you need to make your first day a success.  Once you've checked that out, run (don't walk) on over to our Back-to-School hot-topics pages (find them here) to find loads of back-to-school tips and tricks, videos, lesson plans, technology, resources and more.

Ready to get started, soldier?  Here's your first-day workout:

Top Five Ways to Help Your Students Get to Know Each Other

1. Have a "new friend" scavenger hunt where you have students hunt around the class to find students who have done certain things. (Click here for a template.)
2. Play beanbag toss.  Toss a beanbag around the room, and the person who catches has to tell the class their name and something about themselves. 
3. Have each student introduce themselves to their neighbor, telling them their name, their two favorite activities and their favorite color.  Then go around the room and have each student introduce one of their neighbors to the class.
4. Play "Pea in the Pot".  Give each student a handful of peas (or jelly beans or raisins or whatever).  Hold the pot at the front of the room and ask that everyone who went on vacation over the summer put one pea in the pot.  Keep asking questions until someone runs out of peas. 
5. Have each student write a short "script" and then video tape them introducing themselves and telling the class something about them.  Play the video for the entire class later in the week as a "get-to-know-you refresher course".

Top Five Ways to Remember Your Students Names

1. As your students walk into the classroom, give them a piece of cardstock and some markers and have them decorate a nametag to hang on their desk.
2. While your students are working on a get-to-know you assignment or task, walk around the classroom and personally introduce yourself to each student, concentrating on remembering their name and face.
3. Memorize them in groups.  Memorize the students in row one on the first day, in row two on the second and so on. (Just don't change the seating chart before you have them all memorized!)
4. Take photographs of your students as they walk in the door, then spent some time during your break looking at the pictures and quizzing yourself on the names.
5. Associate your students' names with people you know.  For example, if there is a girl named Elizabeth with blond hair, associate her with your friend name Liz who also has blond hair.

Top Five Ways to Help Your Students Get to Know You

1. Bring a photo album to school on the first day and show your students pictures of your family, your pets and your house.
2. Instead of wearing a favorite outfit on the first day of school, wear something you love—whether it's a pair of soccer shoes because you play soccer or a dancing dress because you love to do Flamenco.  Then use it as a starting point to introduce yourself to your class.
3. Bring your favorite book (or the book your reading right now) and describe the plot and then tell them what you think of it.
4. Make a video where you introduce yourself, show them some of your favorite things, talk about your summer activities and share your favorite music.  Then assign your students to make similar videos about themselves.
5. Set up individual "mini-conferences" on the first day of school.  While the other students are working on an assignment, invite the students up to your desk one-by-one to have a two or three minute chat.

Top Five Ways to Start Off on the Right Foot with Your Students' Parents

1. Start a blog or a Facebook group and invite them to join it to get classroom updates and information.
2. Snap pictures of your class over the first few days, then send each parent a few pictures of their child with a note telling them how much you've enjoyed getting to know their son or daughter.
3. Create a class e-newsletter (that you can send out on a regular basis throughout the year) and send parents information about what your doing in class, samples of student work, notes on upcoming projects or events and more.
4. Send home positive notes.  Make it your goal to make one positive contact with each parent in the first month—whether it's a note to tell them their son or daughter did a great job on an assignment or a phone call home to let them know their son or daughter is behaving great in class.
5. Invite all parents to come into your classroom at any time to volunteer or observe.  Make sure they know they are always welcome.

Top Five First-Day Activities

1. Have each student write a letter to himself or herself, listing their goals and hopes for the coming school year.  Put the letters in a time capsule to open on the last day of school. 
2. Have a "Get This School Year Started" party—bring snacks and drinks and host a little social mixer where the entire class can get to know each other.
3. Make a classroom crossword.  Write an adjective that describes you on the board, then have a student come up and write an adjective that describes themselves, using at least one letter from your word.  For more detailed instructions, click here. 
4. Take your kids on a "book tour"—have each student recommend two or three books that they've read recently and loved.  Have everyone jot down each recommendation, along with who recommended it and why.  Then, take your students to the library and have each student check out at least one book off of the list.   
5. Make a "wonder web"—grab a ball of yarn and toss it to a student while keeping a hold of the end.  When the student catches it, they have to tell the class one thing they wonder about another student. Then throw it to that student without letting go of the string and the new student has to answer the question and then wonder something about another student.  By the end, you'll have a web around the classroom and know a lot about your students. 

Top Five Art Projects and Crafts to Use to Decorate Your Classroom

1. Have each student make a personal "coat of arms" that has pictures of their favorite things, people and activities.  Then, hang the coats of arms on the wall to make a colorful "class quilt"
2. Have your students trace their hands onto pieces of construction paper and then use magazine cutouts to make a collage of the things they like to do with their hands.
3. Give each student a wooden or cardboard letter of their first initial (pick them up at the craft store for around 50 cents each) and then let them use paint, glitter, beads, magazine pictures and glue to decorate their initial.  Hang the letters from strings from the ceiling, with each student's initial hanging above their desk.
4. Turn paper grocery bags into "Feed Me Monster Trash Bags" by decorating them with googly eyes, paint and embellishments (for detailed instructions, click here).  Then, put the bags around the classroom and inspire your students to keep their desks and the floor clean from scraps. 
5. Give your students large sheets of white paper.  Have them draw pictures of what they wish they were seeing out of the classroom window—whether it's a beach, the mountains or a picture of their home.

Top Five Ways to Use WeAreTeachers as a Resource This School Year

1. Lesson Planning:  Find thousands of teacher-created lesson plans and teaching ideas.  GO!
2. Teacher Grants:  Score cash and supplies for your classroom by applying for one of our teacher grants.  GO!
3. Hot Topics:  Find tips, videos, discussions, articles, blogs and more on the topics that matter most to you.  GO!
4. Resources:  Get access to the best educational resources from top companies.  GO!  
5. Educational Technology:  We stay up-to-date on the latest technology for you to use in your classroom.  GO!

[#2]

I LOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEE these ideas!!!!!  I'm a new teacher just starting out and these are so helpful!  Thanks