The First Day of School – covering class rules and procedures

                The first day of school is the most important day to gets kids attention. This is the one day of the school year when students are intimidated by coming back to school. For some, it is the first day at a new school in a new town, but even for those who are returning, this is a new year, there are new teachers to learn about and new subjects to master. This is the best day to avoid trouble with students in class by being proactive. This day, and for the next week or two of the ‘honeymoon’ period ,is the perfect time to be certain that students know and understand the rules of the classroom. This includes not just problems but procedures as well. If you as a teacher follow these tips, you will reduce the troubles in your class for the rest of the year.

                How much you will be able to cover that first day will depend on how your school schedules the first day of school. I have had anywhere from a full block period of 93 minutes to a half hour per class. No matter how much time you have or don’t have there are a few things that need to be covered. The first is the procedure of handing in papers. After I have taken care of the required paper work of the first day, I have students hand back the half sheet assignment they were given at the beginning of class. I told them exactly how these were to be handed up the rows, then I chose a student seated on the front row to collect all the papers and place them on my desk.

                Next students were told how to pass their papers for grading. This first assignment was not one with right or wrong answers. If all questioned were answered and the student’s name was entered along with the date and period, full credit was received. Students were instructed to put the grade at the top middle of the paper in this form: grade earned/total grade. Usually this first paper was worth no more than 10 points so the grade was likely to be a 10/10. Each paper was handed back to the student who did it, looked over for accuracy and then handed to the front in the same manner that the half sheet was handed. They now had their first grade for the class on the first day of school. More importantly, they also had been introduced to the procedure that would be used on a daily basis.

                I explained to the students that they could expect to be greeted at the door everyday with a short, or long, assignment. Every class started with a short quiz or worksheet that they would do when they first entered the room. There was no reason for any student to be off task in the first few minutes of class. Besides limiting the amount of trouble students would get into at the beginning of class, it gave me time to take role, using my seating chart, and do the other clerical work required of me at the beginning of each class.

                No matter how little time I had on the first day of school, there was one rule I always covered: On task. I expected students to be on task through the entire class period including after the final bell. This meant they had to be seated and quiet at the end of class before I would dismiss class. I had to remind them, ‘the bell does not dismiss class, I dismiss class. The bell merely tells me it is time, however your behavior will determine how soon I am able to dismiss. If everyone is seated and quiet I will dismiss as the bell is ringing, otherwise I will wait until such time as you are all cooperating, even it that takes awhile.’ Some times that was the only class rule I was able to cover that first day, and sometimes is was covered when I saw I only had a few minutes until the bell. Students never were given the option of getting up and running out without my permission.

                When students ask why I demand they stay seated and quiet before dismissal, I explain: When kids are allowed to mill around the room at any time, but especially when they cluster around the door waiting for the bell, is when theft and vandalism are most apt to happen. By keeping student seated until the bell I prevent that sort of trouble in my classroom.

                The next post will cover my other classroom rules and how I present them.