Classroom Management for the 1st Days of School



Tonight I did something totally out of my comfort zone. I talked to over 200 teachers about classroom management LIVE through a Periscope broadcast. Periscope is a new app, designed by Twitter, that you can download on your smart phone/device where you can stream live video feeds from across the world. Teachers have been taking Periscope by storm and have been posting all kinds of great teaching ideas.




My topic tonight was all about establishing classroom procedures for the first days of school. I talked about how important it is to go into the school year with a clear plan of your expectations and to teach students all about the important procedures you want to create for your classroom.

I'm not going to type up the whole broadcast, but I will outline a few of the things I talked about. 


First, I shared my very favorite resource for getting ready for Back to School. This book, "The First Days of School" is especially good for 1st year teachers, although I will say that I've read it and re-read it every year before school starts. It gives fabulous tips for setting up your expectations and procedures for the year. It's like a giant pep talk to get you excited about going back to school and starting the school year off on the right foot. 




Waaaaay back in 2011 I posted this resource on our blog here at What the Teacher Wants. It is not meant to be used in your classrooms. Use it as a guide to create your own classroom expectations. I suggest to type it all up into a PowerPoint and use it as you teach your expectations and procedures to your class.  

***Important Update***
After getting many requests for an editable version of this PowerPoint, I have recently created a new and improved (and EDITABLE) version of this resource. It is available in my TPT store by clicking here





To help you get started in creating your own management system, I created this new resource just for you! It contains a procedures checklist you can use as you create and teach your own set of procedures in your class. 


  

  

These pages are available as a FREEBIE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I would like to ask 2 favors if you download and use this in your classroom this year.

1. Please follow my store. Click the little follow me button up by my picture.

2. Please leave me some feedback on this product. Just tell me what you like about it or tell me a procedure that you like teaching to your students. I would appreciate any love you could leave for me!


Here are my tips to a successful year:
1. Have your PowerPoint ready on the 1st day of school outlining all of your expectations, definitions of your classroom rules, and explaining all of your procedures.
2. On day 1, go over your slides in class and explain what each of the slides mean.
3. Stop and practice your procedures after you learn them. Model what they look like, have students act out what they don't look like. Discuss what they each look like and sound like.
4. Take breaks while you teach them. Teach 3-5 new procedures and then take a break. Do an assignment, play a get-to-know-you activity, or do a fun brain break in between. Keep it exciting!
5. Don't expect students to learn and remember each of these things on day one. Practice, daily if needed, until students understand and know what you expect in your classroom. 
6. Revisit each of your rules and procedures as needed throughout the year. If students forget, PRACTICE. After school vacations, PRACTICE MORE. Don't be afraid to remind them how you expect them to behave in your classroom. 
7. Be consistent. The key to being a good classroom manager is to be consistent. Any time you let one student get away with not following your rules/expectations/procedures, you are sending a message to the rest of your students that they can get away with it too.
8. Love your students. Let them know that you care about them and you want them to learn. Explain that the reason why you have these guidelines is because you care about everyone and want to help everyone learn. 
9. Type some of these into your sub plans. Let your sub know how you expect students to behave while you're gone. Reward students when they get excellent sub reviews.


Have I missed anything important?



I wish you ALL the best of luck as you prepare for the upcoming school year! It's a lot of work getting everything ready, but it sure is fun and totally worth it when you see those smiling faces show up in your classroom on the 1st day of school! GOOD LUCK!!


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If you liked this post, you might also be interested in some of the other resources I have available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:


  


 

 


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Last, but not least, please post any questions you might have for me here in the comments. 
Did you find this information helpful? 
What are your best tips for setting up your 
management system at the beginning of the year? 
What's the biggest struggle you face when 
creating your classroom procedures? 


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