Effective Teaching... by Harry and Rosemary Wong

To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu ------------------------------------------------------------------ This article was printed from Teachers.Net Gazette, located at https://teachers.net. ------------------------------------------------------------------

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June 2000

Your First Day

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Bob Marlowe is fresh out of college, clueless but excited over being a new teacher. With 17 boxes of activities he can't wait to make learning fun. So he starts the first day of school with his most favorite fun activity and then spends the rest of the school year chasing after the class.

Melissa Pantoja scripted her first day of school. She is like a coach who scripts the first 25 plays of a game. A teacher would not "wing it" in a classroom any more than a coach would "wing it" on a football field or a pilot would wing it on a flight from Baltimore to Kansas City! The successful and effective teacher goes in with a plan and modifies that plan if conditions change.

Melissa began the first day of her first year of teaching with a plan. She scripted the first day of school as follows:

First Day of School
1999-2000
Mrs. Melissa Pantoja

Greet each student at the door:

• hand each child a classroom rules sheet (goes in notebook)
• direct them toward their assigned seat (alphabetical)
• tell child to read and follow the instructions written on the board
• have instructions written on board for them to start on
• finish greeting the last to arrive in class

Welcome students to class and introduce myself:

• my name
• talk about family (husband, kids)
• education
• where I'm from and where I live
• tell them why I wanted to teach

Arriving and leaving class:

• teach procedure for arriving in class
• teach procedure for dismissal from class

Explain rules and daily procedures:

• refer to the rules that are posted at front
• explain discipline plan and refer to poster
• go over procedures and refer to poster
• talk about "We missed you" chart

Number assignments:

• each person will have a number that represents them
• the number will be on all of their art papers and on their art folder
• this will help all of us to keep our papers straight
• when writing your number on something put your grade level before your number (1st-5; 2nd-8 and so on)

Respecting the classroom and the art supplies:

• refer to classroom rules and procedures
• teach them to be responsible for the art supplies and room; teach procedures

Teachers things and students things:

• some things are only for me
• other things are for you to use as you need it

Explain thematic lessons and such:

• will be going along with what regular teacher is teaching

Art centers:

• everyone will get a chance to go to all the centers
• art centers board will have names (numbers) that tell us who does what that day

Portfolios:

• each child will be taking a portfolio home
• papers will be stored (filed) in a container until end of semester (or year?)

Notebooks:

• this is so that the child can record their grades and keep track of them for themselves
• to store vocabulary words for future use
• to write a weekly journal entry about what they liked most about the weeks lesson

At the end of her first year as a teacher, Melissa Pantoja writes:

"My first day of school was a success. Each of my students had a place to sit and an art number, which they would use for the duration of the year. The overhead projector was ready with seatwork on the board and they worked quietly until I was ready to introduce myself. I let them know what I expected and that each of them would be successful.

"Classroom management and having a procedure for everything is a key factor in success, but I have also found that having a place for everything and everything in it's place is also very important. The longer it takes to find a paper or get out work for students who have been absent, the more distracted other students become.

"I feel that studying The First Days of School and using the suggested strategies was a key factor in the overwhelming joy I feel when thinking about this first year."

If you do not plan, the students will plan for you.

The effective teacher organizes and structures the classroom for his/her success, but most importantly, for the success of the students.

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Harry & Rosemary Wong products: http://EffectiveTeaching.com

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This printable version is provided for the convenience of individuals.

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