It is the initial impression of your classroom, after all, that establishes its culture.
It’s the feeling, the pace, the attitude, the mood, and the spirit of the experience that expresses who you are, what you value, and what it means to be a member of your classroom.
It’s the heady mixture of hope and possibility that fuels everything you do and say with greater significance.
Although your first-day lessons and activities play an integral part in setting the tone, it’s your style and demeanor that rule the day.
What follows isn’t so much what to do on the first day of school . . . it’s how to be.
The old maxim that you shouldn’t smile the first two months of the school year is terrible advice. In fact, you should lavish your smile upon your students. It means so much and communicates so many wonderful things. Yet, amid the busyness of the first day, it’s easy to forget.
It’s easy to get so caught up in your objectives that you forget the human connection. A genuine smile creates instant likability, builds effortless rapport, and activates the power of reciprocation.
Your calm demeanor alone, without having to say a word, has a powerful effect on students—much more than most teachers realize. It settles first-day jitters. It allays fears and uncertainties. It sweeps away misbehavior-causing excitability and allows your students to focus on you and your message.
It also helps establish the peaceful but focused learning environment you want by providing an example for your students to follow. Fill your classroom with positive, all-is-well vibrations, and they’ll respond in kind.
When it comes to effective classroom management, clarity trumps all. Present every lesson, activity, and transition with utter simplicity. Pause often while speaking, make eye contact to assess understanding, and model explicitly through each moment of your instruction.
It’s critical in the beginning for your students to develop the habit of successfully listening and understanding everything you teach. In this way, as you move on to more complex, multi-step material, they’ll be right with you.
If you’re unsure about what to do next, if you hem and haw, repeat yourself, change your mind, think out loud, speak too much or too fast, or appear befuddled, you’ll lose your students. A compelling teacher perpetually provides value. They’re worth following and listening to.
To engender confidence and begin grooving the habit of keen attentiveness, you must make your words count. When giving instruction, tell your students only what they need to know. Be direct and concise. Speak with conviction and don’t waste their time. They’ll remember everything you say.
For many, many reasons—which we’ll cover in a future article—it’s important that your students leave for the day happy and excited about the upcoming school year. It’s important that they run home and excitedly tell their parents how much they like you and love being in your classroom.
Although playing a first-day, getting-to-know-you game is a great idea, it’s your personality that will resonate. It’s your openness to laughter, your generous spirit, and your love and enthusiasm for teaching that will shine the brightest and mean the most.
Paving The Way
The first day of school isn’t just about setting the tone for your students. It’s also about setting the tone for yourself. You’re laying the groundwork, developing the habits of exceptional teaching and classroom management.
The keys above not only position you for a successful first day, but for a successful year. They imbibe you with a demeanor and style that allow you to naturally build rapport, elicit fervent devotion, and cause your students to want to behave.
They make them receptive to your instruction and nodding along in agreement with your soaring expectations.
They pave the way for the best school experience your students have ever had.
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