The first day of class is significantly important in providing a safe and respectful learning environment. Typically, classroom protocol is explained and demonstrated again and again from before they enter to the moment they leave. There are five stages to this process : The Before, The Initial, The During, The Exit, and The Between.
Before a single child arrives the stage should be properly set. According to Fred Jones, a published educator on classroom management, room design can play an integral part of classroom management and alleviating unnecessary teacher stress. The desks should be arranged to fit the teaching style, the lesson, and the class size. The teacher never wants to be too far from any child location in the room that they cannot take a few steps toward and potential social problems should be resituated. Another key ingredient to the Before stage is having clear information of the entire day planned visibly on the board. People respond to a certain amount of structure to let them know the lesson is not an off the cuff fly by night; however, they also appreciate a loose enough ability to move comfortably into other realms of learning within that structure.
When the children arrive they have a known routine performance to get them into the character of a student. My routine for them would consist of this : put your stuff down, get your materials ready, and begin quietly working on an assignment until class begins. Usually, I meet them at the door for a quick hello and to relay any amendments or additions to that routine. This routine is also clearly visible but separate from the day schedule. Any changes to that routine is notated in the Before stage. From the moment they walk into the classroom they are working. This establishes that it is a place of learning. The greeting at the door establishes that it is also a friendly and safe place. In the elementary school age of development children have the desire to please authority figures and emulate them. Obviously, on day one they would not be familiar with the routine, but it is still important to have the same expectations of them to designate this time for these things.
During class we practice our classroom norms. On the first day we discuss these norms and come to an agreement as a group what they would be. My most significant rule is “respect.” Any other guidelines usually fall into this category. The discussion for the first part of the day would be defining respect and refining ways that we can be respectful. The students would give examples of times they were respectful or times when they were respected. These would all be led by story examples from the teacher. To illustrate that it was a two way street and also to exercise higher order thinking skills, we would discuss how the teacher could be respectful to them. Finally, we would write down the five major ways to respect each other with a positive spin instead of a negative. For example – instead of “no hitting” we would say “we keep our hands to ourselves.” Before any lesson throughout the year we would point out a couple ways to be respectful during it. I do a 1:3:1 ratio with these. One from me as an example, three from them, and the last from me to catch anything they might have missed.
Upon exiting it is important to leave them with something to look forward to for next time, something to think about from today, and a final friendly goodbye. These are as important as anything else done throughout the day. I feel a teacher’s job is to make the students excited about learning. If they want to be there, they will get more out of the information presented.
Finally, the Between stage occurs when all of the kids leave. All work should be graded in a timely manner and returned to them with remarks that demonstrate it was considered. These should all be positive and constructive. They should be poignant and topical. “Good Job! I like how you . . .” Stickers are always a crowd pleaser. The lesson for the next week should be planned ahead of time. The classroom should be reset for the start of the day tomorrow. And the whole process starts all over again.
