If you had thirty minutes to tell a novice middle or high
school teacher how to successfully start the school year, what would you tell
them? “The Magnificent Nine” is the name
I have given to a sequence of first day classroom activities that meet both
student and teacher needs. Done in
sequence, they maximize student perception of teacher competence and increase
teacher influence over the larger group.
I developed the “Magnificent Nine” from my research on the first days of
school. This research included comparative studies of novice and expert
teachers, as well as studies of more and less successful classroom
managers. This research also included
interviews with middle and high school students about what they hoped to get
from teachers on the first day. It turns
out that the most effective middle and high school teachers select and organize
their first day activities to simultaneously meet both student and teacher
needs. More efficiently, expert teachers meet both student and their needs in
the same sequence that they emerge. As
needs emerge, the appropriate activity meets it!
Activity
One: Students want to be welcomed. Greet students as they come into your
classroom. This is done before the bell
rings. Students will want to know if they are in the right classroom, so make
sure your name, room number, period and course title are on the board.
(Greeting)
Activity
Two: Students want to
know what is going to happen on the first day.
Once the bell rings, call the class to attention with some businesslike
phrase like “That was the bell. You should be in your seats. We have a lot to
do today.” Have your “Magnificent Nine”
listed on the board or on a handout, so you can show students your sequence of
activities during the first class session. (Advanced Organizer)
Activity
Three: Students
want to know where they should sit. Let them self-select seats. Once you have
introduced the session, take roll. You
can make out a seating chart while you are asking students what name they want
to be called. You know who is in the room.
You can help anyone who is in the wrong class. You have a seating chart to call them by a
preferred name as you move around the room.
Carry this with you. (Roll and Seating)
Activity
Four: Students want to know if you are interested in them as
individuals. Have everyone complete a
3x5 student information card that includes their name, address, cell phone
numbers of parents or caregivers, You could ask for their schedules, favorite
subjects, teachers, movies, music, magazines, books and any extracurricular
activities they are in or work they do outside school. You can call parents if
you need to and they know it. (Student
Information Cards)
Activity
Five: Students want to know what the rules are going to be for
your classroom. Review the five most
important rules for your classroom. Expert teachers always stress the same five
rules. 1) Be in your seat when the bell rings; 2) Don’t talk when I am talking;
3) Raise your hand if you are going to answer or ask a question; 4) Don’t mess
with anyone else’s stuff or space and finally; 5) The bell does not dismiss
you, I do. Expert teachers use student
rationales to explain these rules. They explain and personally manage the consequences.
They provide examples when appropriate. For example, “No photo finishes as you
come into class. Be IN your seat when the bell rings. Sliding into your seat as
the bell rings is tardy.” Your school
will probably have rules about cell phones and texting. Follow those rules. (Rules and Procedures)
Activity
Six: Students want to know what they are going to be learning in
your class, how you plan to teach the subject, and how you will grade homework,
assignments and tests. This is the
activity where you review the goals of the class. You describe the first lessons. You discuss
your grading system, late homework policies etc. My advice is to start with half a chapter. Test half a chapter. Take fewer points off
for mistakes to start the year. Give everyone a chance to succeed early.
(Instruction and Evaluation)
Activity
Seven: Students want to know if you will take their ability levels
and preferred learning styles into account.
My http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu
website has many examples of tools that can be used to assess preferred
learning styles. Consider having your
students complete a short, hard copy questionnaire. You will create the impression that you are
even more interested in them as individuals. (Preferred Learning Styles)
Activity
Eight: Students want to know who you are. This is the activity where you can share your
background, interests, hobbies, and extracurricular interests. This is a great
place to talk about the classes you learned best in and ones where little or no
learning took place. (Self-Disclosure)
Activity
Nine: Students want to know what will happen tomorrow. This is the activity where you can summarize
the first session and point to what they need to bring to class for the next
session. Tell them what you plan to do
and how you plan to do it. Thank them for their attention. Dismiss them.
(Closing)
Now, imagine these nine activities in other sequences. What would the impression of you be? Self-disclosure first might leave the impression that you are needy or concerned with self, not them. Consider not doing one or more of the activities. Would student first impressions of you be as good? Would you start the year with as much influence? Most importantly, would you meet student needs?