Seven Things for the First Days of School
It’s that time again.
School is just around the corner. As a mom, I’m heading to the discount stores to stock up on notebooks, pencils, and such. New clothes are purchased and hair is trimmed.
As an educator, I’m thinking about how I want to start the year. This year, my “first days of school” may actually be BEFORE school actually starts. You see, last year, I began using a social network to facilitate conversations in my class. With my change in school assignments, I’ve got a new place, Patriot Place.
I wanted to have something up and going at Patriot Place for students to get to know me and how our class will operate. I just wasn’t sure what I needed or wanted.
I decided to follow the teacher motto:
BEG, BORROW, AND STEAL!!!
I borrowed from my PLN.
First, Harry Wong for his truly inspirational First Days of School book. I’ve discovered a new reading before every school year is a fabulous way to become energized and reflect on what it takes to be an effective teacher.
The Seven Things
One section from his book discusses the seven things students want to know on the first day of school:
- Am I am in the right room?
- Where do I sit?
- Who is my teacher as a person?
- Will they treat me as a human being?
- How will I be graded?
- What are the rules of the classroom?
- What will we be studying this year?
Another member of my PLN, Janelle Wilson (@janellewilson) shared her classroom sneak peak. She had placed a slideshow on her class blog showing pictures of her classroom from different angles.
Aha!
I have a plan. I’ve created a movie for Patriot Place sharing the seven things students want to know for our 8th grade science class. The students can see our social network and learn about the class. It’s the start of our school without walls…
Here is what developed:
How will you help your students know the Seven Things for the first days of school?
Artwork Thanks:
Image: ‘Support “Set For Success” School Supply Drive‘
August 10th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Your video is really nice. I can’t believe it is just about that time for a new school year!
I also wanted to ask you about the text you used in your video – coming in with like the star burst. Would love to use something like that in a video I’m creating!
Thanks and have a great school year,
Courtney
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August 10th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Your video looks great. I can’t believe a new school year is just about here!
I also wanted to ask you about the text you used – entering in a sort of star burst. I would love to use something like that in a video I’m creating!
Thanks and have a great school year,
Courtney
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August 10th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
sorry for the double post – crazy computer told me there was an error after the first one!
CRod
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August 11th, 2009 at 12:13 am
@Courtney–I thought it was twice as nice! : 0 ) Ha! Thank you for your kind words. I used iMovie on my Mac to create the video. It is super easy. The text is called “Pixie Dust”. I loved it too when I saw it on @janellewilson’s blog. So, I used it on my movie.
Good luck with your movie-shoot me an email if you have any questions.
Terri
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August 11th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Hey Terri, love your movie! Except that you’ve misspelled “standards-based”. Seems to be an apostrophe instead of a hyphen …
Have a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing, I love your ideas.
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August 11th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Terri, how awesome is this?!
What a great way to learn out loud while helping your next group of students get over that “fear factor” that all-too-often accompanies the start of a new year.
Kudos to you!
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August 13th, 2009 at 8:39 am
@Haddass
Please don’t think I’m ignoring fixing a few problems with the video… And I appreciate you giving me the heads up! YouTube and I are undergoing technical difficulties.
1st try to reupload: Battery drained on my laptop and it canceled.
2nd try: Said it would take 2 hours (I went home).
3rd try: Was successful–but it reverted 2 slides so there were errors on them. (I deleted this 2nd video from YouTube to try again.
4th try: Said it would take 4 hours–from school–so I canceled.
5th try: Last night–said it was successful, but still haven’t seen the video.
6th try: This morning–said it was successful again, but still haven’t seen this one either!
Now I’m on a mission!!! This will not break me. : o )
(It is kind of funny though…)
@Shelley,
Yes! That is why I created the video in the first place. Thank you for adding your input.
Terri
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August 14th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Wonderful music choice; it really helps carry off the “wondering what this class will be like” feeling. The description of the space sets students up for success because it helps establish comfort and an expectation of being heard.
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August 15th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Very cool! I am so glad I was able to give you inspiration. I finally had a chance to watch the video. I’ve just finished the first week of school with my new group, and it’s going very well. I wish you a great start!
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August 23rd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Wow! I wish I were this organized! School starts tomorrow – no time to do it before, but what a great thing to do!
Think I will try a powerpoint on kiosk style…
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