Effectively connecting with your classroom on the first day of school is the beginning of establishing a well-mannered learning environment. As a teacher who desires to win the minds and hearts of students, you must present yourself as a model of inspiration, excitement and caring engagement.
When students leave you classroom at the end of the day, they should be highly motivated and excited about the upcoming school year.
First Day Acti
vities
The first day of class shouldn’t be a normal school day. Instead, the first day of the classroom should be one in which you guide the students through a series of fun, energizing activities. Allow students to be build rapport among themselves to increase the amount of comfort with one another.
Suggested Activities
Making Posters
One fun activity is to allow students to make posters for the classroom. Put students in groups so that they can collaborate with one another on various ideas. With older students, you can act as a facilitator. Younger students may have to be guided through the entire progress.
Crossword Puzzles
Have students to work with crossword puzzles. There are many benefits to this approach. For example, you get a chance to monitor students as they engage in in solving the puzzles. Are some students more focused than others? Which students get done quickly? While students are having fun, you, as a teacher, get to do a little visual assessment of student’s ability to solve problems.
Skill Centers
Create various skill centers throughout the room. Put students in groups and allow them to work or play together. Observe how they get along. Are some students developing a rapport with others? Which students are sharing and which are fighting over objects or tasks?
Video & DVD Time
If students must do work, you should reward them with a fun video or DVD. Allow them to set together and watch a movie or interactive video which allows them to move across the floor. However, keep an eye on those students who tend to get out of control.
Computer games
Allow students to get an on the iPad or classroom computers. This fun activity is bound to bring a sense of quietness in the classroom while you take notes and examine ideas and come up with plans for the rest of the week.
Outdoor adventure games
At some point of the day, you can take your students on an outdoor adventure. The goal is to discover nature. A walk to a nearby park or down a woody pathway near the school or a climb up a hill should be an activity designed to create fun memories of the first day of school.
Spending a little time outside the classroom will go a long way in helping to shape the discovery mentality of students.
These activities are fun and effective ways of connecting with students on the first day of class. Your aim as a teacher is to take the fear out of learning for some students Your next aim is to create a sense of emotional intimacy between you and your students.
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