The first day of school makes a lasting impression of students. What are the three most important things to do on the first day of school?
First, GET THEM INVOLVED.
When a foreigner walks into an Asian English classroom with a big nose the first reaction is silence. It is you the teacher who needs to break the ice first. I know tons of icebreakers but the best icebreaker on the first day of school is to ask the bozo in front of the room some questions. Every Korean elementary student looks at me intensely. The girls blink but nobody is going to say a word unless they are prompted. This is where pictures come in. It’s either PERSONALIZE your lesson or lose your class. It is really easy to lose a classroom of 12 year old Korean kids. They want to see you and what kind of crazy things you are into. I start with a two true and one lie quiz. You just need choose the answer that you think is a lie.
Try it!!
The answer is at the bottom of the post.
To get students involved ask them to write their own giving them some simple prompts.
1. I like _______.
2. I don’t like_______.
3. I never__________.
After they finish writing then ask students to crumple the paper up and play a friendly game of “snowball.” Students are free to stand up and throw the crumbled up paper for thirty seconds. Set a timer. When the timer students pick up a crumpled paper and search for the owner. Then guess which sentence is the false sentence.
Next show some pictures of yourself and your family and friends doing some interesting things. Add one question word to the picture as a prompt. Students will begin speaking using that sentence prompt. After a student makes a question don’t just answer it but ask the same question back to them.
Second, KEEP THEM INVOLVED.
Your picture of riding an elephant in Thailand will get a few “wows” and “Ahs” but will also get a couple yawns. We have a lot to cover on the first day getting student’s names down and explaining classroom procedures so there is a temptation for a teacher to talk too much. The next day the kids will surely forget everything you say if they don’t practice. The best way to practice is role play.
Our class procedures are simple. I use 1,2,3 magic but I don’t tell them it is one two three magic. I just ask questions:
Then we do role play.
I ask for a volunteer to show us how the system is put into place. Last year I asked students to write vocabulary words when they got a yellow card but didn’t help them like English anymore. This year I give them an A,B,C coloring page and made a “chill out corner”. Fifth graders wouldn’t enjoy just any ABC coloring page but and I found an adult coloring page of each letter that is impressive. They are wonderfully creative ABC coloring pages perfect for the chill out zone from http://www.mpatient.org.
I don’t explain much about the hearts I give student.
I just slam a heart on the board and students are impressed. They feel like they just got a new life in a video game. After they are impressed I tell them what the heart is for and how after thirty hearts they will get a reward. I cannot keep track of the hearts so I delegate responsibility to an English Class manager. My record keeping is easier and students are happy to play a role in classroom management.
Third, Students should leave the classroom HAPPY.
Even if you bombed the first 39 minutes of class don’t let them leave that way. Give them some activity all about themselves for the last ten minutes of class. This is what they are excited about. You don’t want to end class explaining what a red card is. The last few minutes of class should be a blast. The last part of my class today was human BINGO. Students had a walk around and find friends who will answer “yes” to one of the nine interview questions. When they finish they get a stamp and a new mission to help their friends. There was one catch because the middle question was: “Are you from America?” I was the only one from America so they had to ask me. Everyone was speaking English and everyone was happy.
At the end of the game we wrapped up with Round Robin.
It’s a kind of pow wow where I ask students to tell me three things they liked today. The last minute of class a complete success. The students will probably forget what I said about riding elephants in Thailand. They will probably forget all my rules and procedures. But they will remember how they felt in English class that first day. So many had been nervous to be there. They were forced to study English and don’t care if English is an international language they would rather be playing their favorite video game. They might forget the learning target we practiced five times today. But they will never forget that they had fun in English class and they will come back again next time ready to do whatever I ask them to do. It really works. Not only for the next class but years later they come back.
This just happened yesterday.
A student I taught four years ago came back looking for me. He said, “Do you remember me?” Honestly he had changed so much that I didn’t recognize him. Then he said, “I’m Jinu.” Ha. He was a kid who was too shy to say anything. Now four years later he got the courage to visit my office and say, “Hi.” He said he came because he liked my English class. So I asked him, “What did you like the most.” He said, “I don’t remember. I just remember that for the first time in my life I was happy to speak English.” He spoke English in full sentences and became a tall and courageous young man. I bought him some hot chocolate and had a talk after school.
Verse of the Day/ John 2:11
"This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana of Galilee."
Mineopoly Quote:
This will be the first of many posts with upvotes to the moon.
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QTTA: (QUESTION TO THINK ABOUT)
Is there a teacher you remember from elementary school?
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If you got this far you deserve the answer to the 2 true and 1 lie quiz. The answer is #1. Definitely not true. I have never been to Canada in my life although I would love to visit such a beautiful country. I was born in the USA.