3 Tips For a Successful School Year
Taking time to rest and recharge is so important. I hope you’ve taken that time for yourself during these summer months. Giving yourself time and space to process and reflect on this past school year - as well as time to think about anything but teaching - is essential to your well-being as a teacher.
But… there is another gift you need to give yourself during this time away from the classroom - the gift of a smooth start.
Every teacher wants to start the school year feeling prepared, organized, and in control. And that means setting up systems at the beginning of the year so the rest of the year runs smoothly. Today, we’re talking about three systems to put in place now to help start your school year off on the path to success.
3 Tips for Making this year’s back to school a success
1 | Create a system for Handling Absent Work
Students will be absent. They’ll get sick, go on vacation, have doctor, dentist, and orthodontist appointments. Nearly every day, you’ll be missing at least one student. During cold and flu season, you’ll likely have days when you’re missing several students.
Do you have a solid system in place for handling absent work? Both keeping track of what was missed and communicating that to your students as well as collecting back the work? Putting a system in place now will save you time later and will make keeping track of missed work so much easier for you and your students.
My Absent Work Kit has everything you need to stay organized and keep your students on track when they’ve missed school. Use this kit to streamline and simplify your system for managing absent work.
2 | Build Community by Holding Morning Meetings
Are morning meetings still important in upper elementary classrooms? Absolutely. Morning meetings build community, encourage inclusion, and help set the tone for your classroom socially and academically. They are a time to make your expectations clear and for students to show you just how capable they are of rising to the challenges you set.
Teachers who hold regular morning meetings witness students grow in confidence, strengthen friendships, and show academic gains. The benefits of morning meetings are clear, but good meetings require preparation.
Putting a system in place for morning meetings saves you time - every day. Plan meetings around themes like belonging, inclusion, dealing with conflict, and more. Keep the structure of your morning meetings simple. I recommend four steps:
Greeting
Sharing
Group activity
Morning message
My Morning Meeting Slides resource gives you an easy framework from which to plan.
Students bond and get to know each other when they share during morning meetings. They develop empathy skills and are able to build relationships with students with whom they may not otherwise spend time. Spend less time planning morning meetings and more time enjoying them with your students when you have a system in place.
3 | Proactively Manage Behavior
You will face behavior challenges this year. That’s simply a fact. Every teacher does. I know I’ve had my share of difficult students over the years. With each new challenge, I tried to be proactive - working hard to avoid meltdowns before they happened. I worked hard to create a positive and supportive environment for all of my students, especially those who struggled with behavior.
It’s not possible to avoid every behavioral issue, but having systems in place to proactively manage behavior can help you prevent many behaviors before they occur.
Kids crave routine. Establish procedures and routines in your classroom starting the first day. Introduce, model, and practice routines and procedures over and over again until students have them down. Let them know what you expect and that you expect it from everyone. Your students need to see you enforcing rules and giving consequences consistently. Need help setting routines? This post will help.
Students also crave connection. Connection with each other and with you. Students whose behaviors are especially challenging are the ones who need that connection with you the most. Over the years, I’ve found some tools to use with students that have helped me connect with some of my toughest students. It takes time and extra effort on your part, but when that connection starts to grow, it is so worth it. Learn more about establishing classroom management strategies in this blog post.
Put a system in place where you are connecting with all of your students, with some additional supports in place for those who need a little extra.
Any student would love to find a motivational note from you when they arrive in the morning. I found these to be especially helpful when a student had had a rough day. Finding a note from me in the morning reassured the student that today was a new day with a fresh start. You can find this set for FREE in The Treasury or find the bundle here.
For students who have trouble talking about their feelings, consider starting a Letter to My Teacher Journal. This is a safe way for a student to “talk” to you and for you to respond. I’ve been amazed at the progress some of my students have made with their behavior and communication skills through the use of this tool. Learn more about the positive effect letter writing had for me and some of my students in this blog post.
Remember to celebrate the positive when it comes to behavior management. Consider creating a bulletin board dedicated to good news. My FREE We Have Positive News resource is a great reminder to notice and recognize the positive behaviors in your classroom and to get your students involved in doing the same!
Closing note…
The beginning of the school year brings excitement. It also brings stress and even anxiety. Having systems in place will help you and your students start your year together on a positive note.
Is your classroom - and all that it holds - organized? Having an organized classroom just makes everything easier. You can find what you need - and so can your students! Check out my collection of blog posts and resources to help you achieve the organized classroom of your dreams!
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