Things to have ready before the first day
There are a few things that will be helpful to have ready before the first day of school. I’ve heard of a lot of teachers sending postcards to their students a week or two before school starts just to introduce themselves and get the students excited about coming back. However, you may not have a student list given to you ahead of time to do this with. At my school we don’t get our class roster until the first day of school.
There will be a few papers you will want to have copied on the first day. Most importantly you will want to have independent work ready on their desks for when the students enter the room. They should be working on this while you greet new students or handle anything that may need your attention at the beginning of the day. But keep in mind this may only hold their attention for short periods at a time.
Next you will want to have a letter typed and ready to send home explaining the class rules and consequences for breaking the rules. Have the student AND parent sign this page and return it. You may want to keep a copy of this and send it home again in January just to remind everyone of the rules.
Have a few fun activities ready for the students to do on the first few days. There are tons of “All about Me” activities you can do. You may also use the first few days of school to have the students help make your bulletin boards. So have things ready for them to work on.
