classroom management<\/a> and it will help students feel part of a team.<\/p>\nLessons that do this can be things like writing classroom rules together, talking about shared values, and writing down class goals for the year. Make sure that this is a team effort — try to let students do most of the talking! Also take time to establish \u201cnorms\u201d that make all students feel safe and respected in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Get to Know your Students<\/h2>\n
\u201cAll about me\u201d type games or activities are perfect for meeting this goal. Depending on your students’ age, you can do activities like drawing pictures of their families, writing about their favorite things, or getting together in small groups to play \u201cicebreaker\u201d style games like \u201cTwo Truths and a Lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Introduce Classroom Routines<\/h2>\n
It isn\u2019t necessarily a lesson per se, but I\u2019m including it here because introducing classroom routines is so crucial to do at the beginning of the year! Teachers often fall into the trap of assuming that children learn like many adults do: watch and they will pick it up eventually. The thing is, when no one in the class knows exactly what you are expecting, the kids who do learn that way don\u2019t have anyone to watch and learn from! Plus, not all kids learn that way. It\u2019s always best to explicitly teach the routines you want kids to know and in some cases, teach it a few times! <\/p>\n
As you go through the week, teach a few routines each day. For instance, depending on your classroom and age group of course, on day one you might teach how to line up, how to walk through the halls, how to raise your hand to ask a question, and how to hang your belongings in the cubbies. On day 2 you might teach the restroom routines, how to throw away your trash from lunch, and how to re-enter the classroom after \u201cspecials.\u201d Keep going throughout the week until you have introduced all of the expectations in turn. Be patient and give frequent practice and positive reinforcement. Each one of these teaching periods can be a lesson in and of itself, except the objective isn\u2019t an academic one. Again, this will have huge benefits throughout the year! With these lessons in your plans, the rest of the year will go much more smoothly. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2440],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[4918],"class_list":["post-1029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-becoming-a-teacher"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
First Day of School Lesson Ideas - Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Day of School Lesson Ideas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-26T23:39:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-12-15T06:34:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh-company-site.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/praxis\/files\/2016\/08\/15153925\/14784592567_3b838465e2_k-225x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Allison White\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Allison White\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/\",\"name\":\"First Day of School Lesson Ideas - Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-26T23:39:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#\/schema\/person\/64028e0f6d74a47f614f9e00d65c26cd\"},\"description\":\"It's the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"First Day of School Lesson Ideas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about the Praxis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#\/schema\/person\/64028e0f6d74a47f614f9e00d65c26cd\",\"name\":\"Allison White\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/e40f87c9c8817009157419f71c1ec776\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebdf848c60738507e01f7e9d76060b1065b900d90bfdd23faee78778c256e89c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebdf848c60738507e01f7e9d76060b1065b900d90bfdd23faee78778c256e89c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Allison White\"},\"description\":\"Allison is an Early Childhood Educator who has been a teacher since 2010. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2010 with a degree in Psychology, focused in Child Development. She began her teaching career as a 2nd grade teacher in Washington, D.C. After moving to Denver, Colorado she discovered a passion for Early Childhood Special Education. She earned a Master's in the subject from University of Colorado Denver in 2015. She spent Spring 2016 teaching pre-service early childhood educators at the undergraduate level. Now she and her husband are on a big adventure travelling around the western United States in an RV!\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/author\/allisonwhite\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Day of School Lesson Ideas - Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"It's the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Day of School Lesson Ideas","og_description":"It's the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test","article_published_time":"2016-08-26T23:39:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-12-15T06:34:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/magoosh-company-site.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/praxis\/files\/2016\/08\/15153925\/14784592567_3b838465e2_k-225x300.jpg"}],"author":"Allison White","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Allison White","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/","name":"First Day of School Lesson Ideas - Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-08-26T23:39:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#\/schema\/person\/64028e0f6d74a47f614f9e00d65c26cd"},"description":"It's the first day of school! Here are some first day of school lesson ideas that will help your whole year go more smoothly.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/first-day-of-school-lesson-ideas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First Day of School Lesson Ideas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 Praxis\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"Everything you need to know about the Praxis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#\/schema\/person\/64028e0f6d74a47f614f9e00d65c26cd","name":"Allison White","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/e40f87c9c8817009157419f71c1ec776","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebdf848c60738507e01f7e9d76060b1065b900d90bfdd23faee78778c256e89c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebdf848c60738507e01f7e9d76060b1065b900d90bfdd23faee78778c256e89c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Allison White"},"description":"Allison is an Early Childhood Educator who has been a teacher since 2010. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2010 with a degree in Psychology, focused in Child Development. She began her teaching career as a 2nd grade teacher in Washington, D.C. After moving to Denver, Colorado she discovered a passion for Early Childhood Special Education. She earned a Master's in the subject from University of Colorado Denver in 2015. She spent Spring 2016 teaching pre-service early childhood educators at the undergraduate level. Now she and her husband are on a big adventure travelling around the western United States in an RV!","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/author\/allisonwhite\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":4918,"user_id":176,"is_guest":0,"slug":"allisonwhite","display_name":"Allison White","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ebdf848c60738507e01f7e9d76060b1065b900d90bfdd23faee78778c256e89c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"White","first_name":"Allison","description":"Allison is an Early Childhood Educator who has been a teacher since 2010. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2010 with a degree in Psychology, focused in Child Development. She began her teaching career as a 2nd grade teacher in Washington, D.C. After moving to Denver, Colorado she discovered a passion for Early Childhood Special Education. She earned a Master's in the subject from University of Colorado Denver in 2015. She spent Spring 2016 teaching pre-service early childhood educators at the undergraduate level. Now she and her husband are on a big adventure travelling around the western United States in an RV!"}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1029"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/praxis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"First](\"https:\/\/magoosh-company-site.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/praxis\/files\/2016\/08\/15153925\/14784592567_3b838465e2_k-225x300.jpg\")