Back to School: What to Change? What to Keep?

IT'S HERE!!! If you are like me, you feel a little sad about the end of summer but also super excited for a new school year. I love the new school supplies, fresh start, classroom decorating, meeting new kids, and a chance to try new things! I wanted to put together a post that compiled all of my favorite past posts related to stuff teachers think about at the start of a new school year.

First, I like to sit down and write out my goals. I think about what I want to keep and what I might want to change. There are several things that you might have done in the past that you might want to rethink. For example, grading, getting rid of your teacher desk, or even how you speak about gender in your classroom. How are you going to arrange your classroom? How will you make seating charts that encourage collaboration?

Think about small changes you could make that will have a big impact. Here are a few. Think about how you might want to treat mistakes in your classroom and how to develop healthy norms as a community of learners. 

I tweeted this the other day and got tons of likes and retweets. It must have really resonated with people. I think many of us have things that we wish we would have done differently. This is one of mine. 

So many years I wasted my first day with Ss going over rules and syllabus. Big regret. Make your first day mathy! 😊 https://t.co/QtOKJ2x7R2

— Annie Forest (@mrsforest) August 5, 2017

So, when it comes to lesson plans, it's really important to first think about how you want to plan your time. But,  then, get into the math! Here is a fun, but mathy, first day activity to introduce yourself to your students. Sarah Carter also came up with an awesome list of some first week activities.

Have a great first day of school!