The first day of school will be here before you know it. Most teachers face the big day with enthusiasm, but they dread the inevitable challenge: what to do on the first day of school.

Every teacher’s approach is different. Whatever your goal, here are a few things to try to get the school year off to a great start!

Goal: Getting to Know Your Students

How well will your incoming students know you? How well do you know them? How well do they know each other? How well do they know the school? These are important questions to consider as you start planning the first day.

If you’re teaching kindergarteners (or high school freshmen, who often seem like kindergarteners), you may need to spend the first day – or the first several days –getting everyone comfortable. There are tons of icebreakers out there, but here are a few different techniques to try:

[tabs type=”vertical”][tabs_head][tab_title]Plan a Scavenger Hunt[/tab_title][tab_title]Assess Learning Styles[/tab_title][tab_title]Do a Self-Portrait[/tab_title][tab_title]Create a Time Capsule[/tab_title][tab_title]Get Them Guessing[/tab_title][tab_title]Start with a Challenge[/tab_title][tab_title]Begin with a Book[/tab_title][/tabs_head][tab]This could involve students searching the classroom to find things like the pencil sharpener or the hall pass, or it could ask them to discover which of their classmates took a long trip over the summer or who has a younger brother.[/tab][tab]For older students, the first day of school can be a great chance to find out more about how they learn.
There are many different learning style inventories available online. Find out the many different ways your students are smart by having them complete a multiple intelligences assessment. Have students share these results.
It can encourage students who have typically struggled if they know you are aware of the things they are good at, and it provides an opportunity to address some of those “I’m dumb/she’s dumb” issues that inevitably crop up in a classroom.[/tab][tab]Whether it’s done with words or pictures, collage or drawn by hand, having students describe themselves can be fun, informative, and occasionally surprising. Of course, the self-portrait will be most effective if you do one of yourself, too.[/tab][tab]Have students create a sample of their current work — for example, have students take a pre-test, write a paragraph or even video tape them reading aloud or speaking in a foreign language. Bring the examples out in June and let students recognize how much they’ve grown. [/tab][tab]Prediction activities can be a great way to activate students’ prior knowledge on a topic and get them excited about what lies ahead in the course.
Guessing Game 1:
Give them a series of true and false statements about the content of the course and have them guess the right answers.
Guessing Game 2:
Or do a demonstration experiment and have students guess about the results. If you teach English, try this trick: get a movie of the first novel students will read and show one brief, suspenseful or exciting scene. Make sure to stop the film so that students are “left hanging” and tell them they’ll have to read the book to find out what happens. You may get kids begging to start the book![/tab][tab]This is especially effective for older students or for classes in which you want to set a specific tone. Since most teachers spend the first day of school distributing syllabi and lecturing about class rules, you will really get the students’ attention if you make them work the first day and get around to that “business” stuff on the second or third day of class. Give students an assignment that will really challenge them. One drama teacher actually starts her beginning drama class by making students do an audition where they read a speech aloud in front of the class. It’s not graded, but it gives her valuable information about the students and it helps them get past their initial “I can’t act” attitude. If you teach an AP class, why not start the first day by giving the students part of a practice AP exam? The students will see them soon enough – just jump right in![/tab][tab]This approach is especially effective for non-language arts teachers. Find a book that puts a different spin on your subject and share it (or part of it) on the first day. Ways to Use Books to Introduce Subjects Outside Language Arts – Maybe a children’s book on animals is a fun way to begin studying biology. – A coffee table photo book might provide striking images for students to think about as they begin studying history. – For older history students, consider taking an excerpt from a book like Guns, Germs, and Steel; Founding Brothers; or Citizen Soldiers. These books describe history in a different way and may grab the attention of students inclined to “tune out” their textbook. Whatever method you choose, the first day of school offers a great opportunity to learn about your students and set the tone for a terrific school year![/tab][/tabs]

[button color=”blue” size=”small” link=”http://www.teachhub.com/first-day-school-activities-students-love” target=”blank” ]Source[/button]

• Steps: how to do it?

[tabs type=”vertical”][tabs_head][tab_title]Plan your party[/tab_title][tab_title]Get your party on the calendar[/tab_title][tab_title]Make a guest list[/tab_title][tab_title]Decide on a menu[/tab_title][tab_title]Send invitations[/tab_title][tab_title]Decorate[/tab_title][tab_title]Decoration[/tab_title][tab_title]Guests[/tab_title][/tabs_head][tab]Decide whether you want a big bash with a bartender, catered food and a DJ, or if you’d rather have a more casual evening with friends–or something in between. Consult several party books and decide on a budget before making up your mind. [/tab][tab]It’s often best to schedule a Christmas party several weeks before Christmas–before calendars are filled with other activities, shopping and baking. [/tab][tab]Ask as many people as you can accommodate to a sit-down dinner, or as many people as your house will hold for a cordial get-together with finger foods and drinks. [/tab][tab]If you are having the meal catered, consult with the caterer and choose a menu, or plan your own. [/tab][tab]Invitations should go out as early in December as possible so that your guests can schedule the party and RSVP. Be sure to include times, let guests know if a meal will be served, and mention appropriate dress. [/tab][tab]Your decor should include the traditional Christmas tree, plus lots of candles, centerpieces (if appropriate) and other holiday decorations. [/tab][tab]Make hors d’oeuvres, arrange the flowers, cook the food and chill the wine as appropriate, and set the tables or arrange the serving table. [/tab][tab]Just before guests arrive, light the candles, turn on some soft Christmas music, set out the hors d’oeuvres, and bring out the punch or open the bar.[/tab][/tabs]

Seriously, have fun! Relax and don’t worry too much if people are enjoying themselves.

[tabs type=”vertical”][tabs_head][tab_title]Listen to yourself[/tab_title][tab_title]Slow down![/tab_title][tab_title]Forget about democracy[/tab_title][tab_title] Picture it…[/tab_title][tab_title]Get physical! [/tab_title][tab_title]Watch yourself[/tab_title][tab_title]Copy the experts[/tab_title][tab_title]Practice alone[/tab_title][tab_title]Find a language buddy[/tab_title][tab_title]Be poetic[/tab_title][tab_title]Sing a song![/tab_title][/tabs_head][tab]If you can’t hear your pronunciation problems, it’s tough to correct them. Try recording your speech on a tape and comparing it with a native speaker’s.[/tab][tab]Many English learners say that speaking too quickly reinforces their bad habits. Practice a few basics each day. Start with single sounds, then move on to words, and finally, string several words together.[/tab][tab]You want to be a supportive, open-minded autocrat. If you make soft suggestions and ask for input, you create a lack of confidence among your subordinates. Be assertive; lead by unwavering decisiveness.[/tab][tab]Close your eyes and think about how to make a sound before saying it. Visualize the positioning of your mouth and face.[/tab][tab]Pronunciation is a physical skill. You’re teaching your mouth a new way to move and using different muscles. Focus on difficult sounds each day. Having trouble with ‘th’? Put your tongue between your teeth (don’t bite down) and blow air out of your mouth. Feel the air move over the top of your tongue.[/tab][tab]Stand in front of a mirror to see the placement of your tongue, lips, and shape of your mouth when you make certain sounds. Compare what you see with an Englishtown pronunciation video![/tab][tab]There’s no replacement for learning pronunciation from the experts – native speakers. So listen! Listen to English radio programs and watch television and movies in English. (Don’t read the subtitles!) Imitate what you’re hearing – even if you’re not sure what they’re saying yet.[/tab][tab]Pronunciation problems persist because we’re afraid to make mistakes. Create scenarios – meeting someone for the first time, ordering at a restaurant, asking for directions – then act out the dialogue by yourself. Don’t be shy![/tab][tab]Getting feedback from an outside observer is crucial. Find a friend who’s also interested in improving their English. Try exchanging recorded messages so you can listen closely to each other’s pronunciation.[/tab][tab]Good pronunciation is more than just mastering individual sounds. It’s also understanding intonation (the rise and fall of the voice) and stress (some sounds in words and some words in sentences are louder or clearer than others). Read poems, speeches and songs aloud, concentrating on the word stress and intonation.[/tab][tab]Learn the words to popular English songs and sing along. Singing helps you relax and just get those words out, as well as helping your rhythm and intonation.[/tab][/tabs]

[tabs type=”vertical”][tabs_head][tab_title]Choose a video of the day[/tab_title][tab_title] Start a book club[/tab_title][tab_title]Schedule in creative team building[/tab_title][tab_title]Curate content[/tab_title][tab_title]Take a MOOC together[/tab_title][/tabs_head][tab]When Sal Khan started posting his videos years ago at KhanAcademy.org, he only covered math topics. But now Khan Academy features everything from physics to economics to art history. Send around a selection of a favorite video each day and bring up what you learned in conversations. Even writing a fact from a video on the white board before meeting starts will send the message that it’s OK to spend time stretching your brain. [/tab][tab]You can access classic works of literature in bite-size chunks via DailyLit (which emails a passage every day from books like The Odyssey or Moby Dick). Host once-a-month lunchtime discussions until you make your way through. Or you can buy a more current book for everyone and have the author call in during a lunchtime discussion. You may be surprised how many authors are willing to do this! [/tab][tab]Yes, you’re busy. Yes, everyone has a lot of work to do. But the work will still be there if you have an art teacher come in with paints and canvases for a 90-minute workshop. It will still be there if you all go do a session at a local pottery studio or learn how to make fabulous pastries at a commercial kitchen that does classes. When people get away from their inboxes for a while, they get a ton of ideas, and doing team building during the workday scores points from people who feel like they don’t see their families enough anyway.[/tab][tab]This takes some effort, as people get a lot of emails and tend to delete most newsletters they receive. But if your links to articles and reports are relevant and interesting (be sure to put the highlights in the email and interrupt an intriguing sentence with a “…” to get people to click), you can get your team in the habit of reading them. This is especially true if you devote 5 minutes at the start of any staff meetings or calls to discussing them.[/tab][tab]Massive open online courses (MOOCs) let people around the world hear from top professors and work through assignments, just like you would at that university. Coursera.org, for instance, features free courses taught by professors from Princeton, the University of Michigan, Duke University and other places, and covers topics from robotics to world history. MOOCs tend to have a high dropout rate, but if you take a course as a team, you’ll be accountable to each other.[/tab][/tabs]