Effective from the Start

Writing the Plan in My Head

“I knew I needed procedures to manage my classroom, but I wasn’t sure how to teach them.  When you showed the example PowerPoints I began writing mine in my head, and as soon as the inservice ended, I worked for the rest of the day until I had it and my room perfected.”

As a first year teacher, Amanda was able to implement procedures and establish routines in her classroom to great success.  She says, “The first day went like clockwork.  I had my students pre-grouped, and before they walked in I asked them to look at the chart on the door to find their color group.

“I had a bellringer on the board, and seat work on every desk.

“I cannot tell you how much time this saved me.  Students worked at their seat while I greeted the rest of my students as they walked in.

The first day of school went absolutely flawless.”

Amanda used a PowerPoint presentation to introduce her classroom procedures.  After each slide, the class stopped and practiced each new procedure.  Her repeated practice paid off as the procedures quickly become routines for the students.  Without any prompting, the students knew what to do and followed procedures in a responsible manner. 

“I never raised my voice or made threats.  I simply laid out each procedure clearly on their level, and then modeled and practiced it.  It took one day for me to set up a routine that will help my class be successful the rest of the year."

“We also practiced our out-of-class procedures and this gave new students a tour of the school.  We even worked on our cafeteria routine, and while we looked a little crazy to the rest of the school sitting down for lunch at 9 a.m. our cafeteria transitions have been flawless thanks to that little bit of extra practice.”

Click here to see Amanda’s PowerPoint Procedures.

The I Can’t Funeral

Amanda ended her first day of school with an “I Can’t Funeral.”

“This is a stolen treasure that has worked wonders for my class.  During my years of college I had to bring in a classroom method that I wanted to use in my class.  While browsing the Internet I came upon a true jewel,” she said.

The I Can’t Funeral started with every student thinking of one thing they either did not feel successful in last year, or that often made them think, “I can’t do that.”  They each wrote their “I Can’t” on an index card.  Then, while playing very sad music, they placed the card in a “funeral box” and said their farewells to their “I Can’ts.”  They buried the “I Can’t” funeral box in Amanda’s car trunk.

Amanda informed her students they were burying the words “I Can’t,” and wouldn’t be seeing them again.  They would dig up the funeral box at the end of the school year and celebrate how they had conquered their “I Can’ts.”

Amanda said, “The students really enjoyed this, and I assured them each thing they couldn’t do or felt unsure about would be mastered during the school year.  It was an awesome day.”

In January Amanda sent a note saying, “My students often ask when we are going to resurrect our ‘I Can’ts!’ . . . I often hear students saying they just conquered their ‘I can’t’ and we high five.” 

Making a Difference . . . Beyond the Classroom

Amanda is so driven to make a difference that her passion has rubbed off onto her students.

In her January update, Amanda shared with us her most recent class project— raising money for the Haiti relief efforts. 

This year, the class motto was,
                                            Be the change you wish to see in the world
                                                                                                          Ghandi

This prompted her students to ask if they could do something to help the people of Haiti.  In the end, they organized a school wide bake sale for the Red Cross.

Amanda wrote, “I arrived at the bake sale 15 minutes early to set up and found, out of my 23 students, 18 were already there waiting.  My class has become more like a family, and I am so fortunate to have such an amazing group.”

Amanda and her class set a goal to raise $100 for the relief efforts.  Not only did they meet their goal, they exceeded their expectations, raising $500! 

Even more importantly, Amanda and her students found and embodied the true meaning of their class motto:  They were the change they wanted to see in the world.

End of the Year Reflections

It is a true mark of her success that Amanda was able to reflect on her work and use it to plan for the next year.

Click here to read “Some of My Most Valuable Lessons.”

Effective and Successful Her First Year

What happened to the funeral box?  It really was anticlimactic because many of the students had already conquered their “I Can’ts” and those who forgot what they wrote, looked at their “I Can’ts” and said, “Of course.  I did it!”

Amanda realized that as a young, new teacher procedures immediately set up a great learning environment for her students.  They eliminated unnecessary questions that interrupt the day, and also made classroom management much easier.

She says, “My advice to all new teachers or even teachers who have been teaching for years is to go over, practice, and be consistent with procedures and it will completely transform your class."

Amanda counts herself lucky to be a teacher.  She looks at it as an opportunity to really shape her children’s love of learning:  “If I give children a hunger for learning that will carry on throughout their lives then they are more likely to continue their education, and not just tolerate school but love it.”

What better way than to allow Amanda to close her first year of teaching with what she shared with us.

I simply taught and enjoyed my students.”

A Vision of Success

You don’t need to be an extraordinary teacher on your first day.  You don’t even need to be extraordinary ever in your career.  You just need to be effective and do what all the other effective teachers are doing—building a solid foundation of procedures in the classroom so they can teach and the students can learn.

The new school year is here.  Think about your classroom and how it needs to be organized for your success and the students’ success.  Then start writing down procedures to make it happen.  Amanda had a vision of what her success looked like.  And she did not stop perfecting her procedures until she felt she was ready to implement them.

We wish Amanda and all of the teachers ready to take the hearts and minds of children into their care an awesome first day of school.

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For a printable version of this article click here.

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