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Setting the Stage: 5 Ideas to Start your year off Strong

7/16/2024

It’s the first day of school, and you have a choice. Are you going to be the teacher from Charlie Brown? Or will you be the teacher where kids can’t wait to return tomorrow?

Parents and teachers alike know how the conversation typically goes when children come home from the first day of school. You ask probing questions, and you get one-word answers in return. Imagine your students turbo-talking about their first day the moment they see their families.

Meg and I are passionate about improving the learning experience for students and teachers. Making small changes in your thinking can impact your classroom exponentially. We’re here to show you how to grow your repertoire!

Ditch the rules, syllabus, and curriculum the first days. We sign your permission slip to have fun on the first day of school! Not only will you enjoy starting the year, but you will observe your students through a new lens.

Your first goal is to start building the climate and culture of your classroom by building connections, inviting engagement, and creating a safe space for learning. Elementary, middle, and high school teachers- try one of these ideas the first week. Remember, big kids are still kids, too.

1. Snowball

Whether from the excitement of the first day or the end of summer heat, use this ‘ice breaker’ to have a snowball fight! That’s right! It is so simple. First, provide the students with a plain piece of paper. Ask them to write three specific facts about themselves independently. Give them some non-examples so they know just what to write. When everyone finishes, tell them to crumple up their papers. Then yell, “SNOWBALL FIGHT!” Get the snowball fight started with your own list.

When everyone has thrown their paper, students will need to pick up a random crumpled paper. (If by chance they pick up their own, tell them to crumple it back up and pick a different snowball.) Students will then have to guess which student their paper belonged to! It’s not just a fun game. This activity will break the ice, but you can observe with a new lens who is the first to raise their hand, take turns, penmanship and pencil grips, speaking and listening skills, and interactions with others. Be sure to be a part of the conversation by taking guesses.

You can take this activity to a new level by including where the recycling bin is located, how you call groups to take turns, and the importance of cleaning up our learning spaces. Have a mini science lesson with mass and gravity. Look at how a blank piece of paper can change the climate and culture of your classroom! Adding any kind of physical movement brings more engagement to your lessons.

2. I Dough-Not Know About You

Getting to know your students through different learning pathways is so essential. This activity includes art! Prepare a slide deck with various questions. Students will use playdough to create and build their answers. What an excellent opportunity to chat with students while they build! You will see smiles for sure! But do you know what else you will see? You can step back and watch fine motor skills, interactions with others in their groups, and the treatment of exciting classroom materials.

Be sure to spend time circulating the room to converse with the students about their builds. You will learn so much more about them than an ‘All About Me’ worksheet. Creating a space for learning that accepts creative risks and efforts will allow the students to learn and grow in new ways. You can incorporate your classroom procedures for passing out or collecting materials and cleaning up after your new engaging lessons.

3. Beautiful Hands

No matter the age, students enjoy listening to their teacher read aloud to them. We came across this book titled Beautiful Hands. Read the book aloud or use a video! Challenge students to identify a unique word to describe one of their academic or personal goals. Students can choose the color paint for their handprint on a poster or individual paper to create a class bulletin board. Have them write their word next to their name! Like the book, allow them to be creative with their hands or fingerprints. You will create a beautiful classroom or hallway display that the students can see each and every day. Be sure to celebrate a goal achieved!

Want to take this activity to the next level? Ask your maintenance staff for a pack of ceiling tiles. Students will undoubtedly come back to visit you and their handprints.

4. Reader’s Theatre

So you’re feeling the pressure to pull in some academics but still want to keep it light and continue the relationship-building for both you and the students? Why not try a Reader’s Theatre?

Reader’s Theater utilizes scripts (just like a play or film) to deliver content. No matter what grade or subject area you are teaching, you will be able to find an appropriate script. Depending on your class, you can assign parts through volunteers or pull popsicle sticks. Ensure everyone has a way to participate and a copy for each student. Encourage students to bring the words to life through their performances! Props, music, backdrops, and silly voices galore!

What an exciting way to observe students’ fluency, comprehension, understanding of vocabulary, and speaking and listening skills—all in the first week of school! As the school year progresses, allow students to write their own content-based scripts (science, social studies, or even math), another learning pathway for students to demonstrate mastery.

5. Four Corners

Want to see what background knowledge your students have on a particular subject? Play four corners with any multiple-choice question!
This game is a free and simple way to review concepts or activate background knowledge that can be utilized for any subject area, any grade, any age. All you need are prepared questions, your students, and four corners. Assign corners or available spaces in the room (A,B,C,D or 1,2,3,4) so students know which direction to go based on their answers. To access all types of learners, prepare a slide deck with the content questions and answers. Has checking for understanding ever been so invigorating and informative?!

Feel free to add how you expect participants to move appropriately through the learning space as part of your beginning-of-year procedures. If you typically play games with scores throughout the year, you can give points to students or teams with a discussion on sportsmanship.

So, which teacher is starting the school year? Is it the wah-wah boring rules and syllabus teacher, or an engagement rockstar? Do the kids have their heads on the desk in boredom, or are they building connections with you and their classmates? Did your students have so much to say about the first week of school because you took the time to create the climate and culture of your room? Only you know the answer.

We want to hear from you if you try even one of these ideas! Be sure to tell us all about it. Do you have a favorite strategy you are willing to share? Post it in the comments!