I couldn’t sleep last night and was super nervous today. It was all good! I was just anxious to see my students on the first day of the 2016-17 school year. I know that how you start the year is crucial. So many thoughts were running through my mind about how I want to structure the lessons. Mainly, how can it make it engaging and educational?
I am still teaching 7th and 8th grade reading (two classes of each). This year will be my best ever! I started each class today with students setting goals for the year. I asked them to journal the following: “The three positive things I expect to happen this year are________________.” In just a few moments they were all able to easily list three things.
The majority of the responses were, I will:
- listen and pay attention in class
- make new friends
- get better grades
- respect my teacher
- get sleep at night
- come to school on time
- promote to 9th grade
- do better on tests
It was refreshing to have so many students acknowledge what they positively needed to happen to have a successful year. The best part is – I did not have to TELL them – they TOLD me!
My nerves have calmed down and I am looking forward to DAY 2 – tomorrow.
