Management Monday: Beginning the Year

The first 6 weeks of school are, in this teacher's opinion, the most important. This is when I set up the routines and classroom procedures that will guide us through the rest of the year. It is more important to be consistent now than any other time. You will thank yourself later for having come up with very specific ways of performing tasks and ensuring students learn these procedures. Let's start with the most simple one - entering school in the morning.

There is so much to be done first thing in the morning. I have a very important rule that MUST always be followed though - I ask parents not to come into the classroom first thing in the morning. This is a time of routine and quiet work and having even one parent stop in for a spontaneous conference is very distracting to the day's routines.

First, student must hang up their backpacks on their hooks outside of the classroom. For the first week of school, I stand in the doorway to remind students what they need to do in the hallway before crossing the threshold. I don't allow book bags in the classroom because they are big and awkward and are a major tripping hazard.

Before entering the classroom, students need to empty their things out of their backpacks and carry their items into the room. Immediately, they put their items away and get to work on their morning math and grammar.

It is important not to introduce too many new routines on the first day. Stick to the most basic and/or important on the first day of school. After a few days, introduce another few. Also, try very hard not to have too many intricate details within each routine. The basic parts are important to hit, you can always add more specific tasks in later.

Great book! This will give you some great management strategies for the beginning of school. Especially helpful for  first-year teacher.