Today went really well, so I feel like I should share what we did. In the majority of my classes I did some of the basic information about expectations and policies. I started by having them do a Bell Ringer with 4 questions. I asked them about themselves and also had 3 simple Algebra problems to gauge where they're at after last year. Then I went through a power point about me and about my classroom. Lastly, we played some "Would You Rather's." They were fun and we had some good discussions about what people chose. It wasn't anything fancy, but it felt good for the first day. I sent them home with a syllabus that needs to be signed by them and a parent as well as a letter that I want them to write to me for tomorrow.
In my Algebra 2 class we did something a little different. I showed them the power point with the basic information. I didn't spend as much time going over some of the points about expectations because the 10th graders in Algebra 2 have a different attitude about school already. Then I had them group up in pairs or group of 3. I gave each group a set of 5 riddles/problem solving problems, and just told them I wanted to give them a challenge and a chance to use their brains. It was AWESOME to see them actually thinking through the problems and trying to figure out what made sense on the first day of school... Best decision we could have made.
In Advisement (a group of about 15 students that meet with me once a week) I went through important information from the student hand book, handed stuff out, let them take a 15 minute self led tour of the school, and then spent some time doing "Speed Dating." They actually just met with different people and talked about a different question each time, but it was a lot of fun! I went around and made them tell me what they talked about, and it was fun! They seem like a really good group this year.
Now that the first day is over, I need to focus all year on what I believe to be most important. I need to have high and unwavering expectations. Not meeting those expectations is not an option.
In my Algebra 2 class we did something a little different. I showed them the power point with the basic information. I didn't spend as much time going over some of the points about expectations because the 10th graders in Algebra 2 have a different attitude about school already. Then I had them group up in pairs or group of 3. I gave each group a set of 5 riddles/problem solving problems, and just told them I wanted to give them a challenge and a chance to use their brains. It was AWESOME to see them actually thinking through the problems and trying to figure out what made sense on the first day of school... Best decision we could have made.
In Advisement (a group of about 15 students that meet with me once a week) I went through important information from the student hand book, handed stuff out, let them take a 15 minute self led tour of the school, and then spent some time doing "Speed Dating." They actually just met with different people and talked about a different question each time, but it was a lot of fun! I went around and made them tell me what they talked about, and it was fun! They seem like a really good group this year.
Now that the first day is over, I need to focus all year on what I believe to be most important. I need to have high and unwavering expectations. Not meeting those expectations is not an option.
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