The First Day

The important thing is not so much
that every child should be taught,
as that every child should be given the wish to learn.
John Lubbock

   

 Today has been a day full of educational endeavors for me.  I began my morning with some personal reading on brain research; spent the  bulk of the day at a math in-service; and have now capped off my evening with a wonderful webcast on what to do on the first day of school, beyond the first hour.  Never have I been as excited for school to begin as I am now, and this after twenty years.

The major objective of day one should be to teach Rule 1, follow directions quickly.  It should be weaved throughout the rest of your instruction as you learn names, complete required first day, school to-do's, and just plain have fun with your kids.  If I can accomplish this one rule of following directions quickly, then I will have saved myself an incredible amount of time and effort often lost on procedural learning.  I love the idea of completing all other tasks by practicing Rule 1. 

 

 

 

As I mentioned the other day, I will have several different classes coming and going throughout the day.  I will be teaching math to two different classes, an RTI class, and a science class with students from rooms other than my own.  I plan to really focus on Rule 1 and then will have to let the students dictate the pace by how well they are grasping the process. 

For me, I would like to have a list of the items to be introduced and move through it as I deem necessary.  I wouldn't share the list with students,  nor would I have too much on the walls to give away what we will be learning.  I am of the mindset that anything placed on the wall or bulletin boards should be done with students to reinforce learning.  Therefore, after we learn Rule 1, I will place a poster or sign on the wall with them as a reminder and will do this for all of the pieces I introduce.  It makes for a boring classroom in the beginning but gives meaning to the information on the wall.

The big question that I haven't decided how to answer is about all the fun, cutsie, getting-to-know-you activities I have done in the past.  I can't decide if they are necessary.  In many ways, we will be creating community through the wbt process.  Do I need to do additional activities or can I move into curicular content? I would love the opportunity to get going with teaching the oh so large amount of material required.  I know that a safe, fun learning environment is incredibly important; but I also feel that introducing wbt might satisfy those objectives and allow me to really start teaching specific content earlier than ever before. 

I feel that I am going to just have to walk through it this year and trust my experience to gage when students (not to mention me) are ready to progress.  Here is my ordered list of wbt concepts I will introduce:

1. Class - Yes
2. Rule 1:  Follow directions quickly
3. Scoreboard - mighty groan - mighty oh yea
4. Student names
5. Mirror (silent)
6. Teach - Okay
7. Practice handing out papers - three/peat
8. Practice lining up - three/peat
9. Practice opening books
10. Hands and Eyes
11. Rule 2:  Raise your hand for permission to speak
12. Rule 3:  Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat
13. Rule 4:  Make smart choices
14. Rule 5:  Make your dear teacher happy
15. How we answer questions
16. Oral writing - what is a sentence

Countdown:  16 days to FDoS

Bells