Things to Include in Your First Days of School Presentation

When I was in college, I created a presentation for my students for the first days of school. Surprisingly, I have kept a lot of the original content! Of course, I have also added important tidbits over the years. Creating a presentation keeps you on track amidst the many curveballs and must-dos that plague the first week of school. Additionally, it is easy to refer to the information or to print slides for students who join late or are absent. Here are my suggestions on what you should include in your welcome back presentation:

1. About Me- It makes it much easier to be personable with my students if I tell them about the important parts of my life from day 1. This sends the students the message that I want to get to know them and that I want them to get to know me. I include pictures of family and hobbies. I make this into a game by showing clip art and letting the students guess my hobbies based on the pictures. 

2. My Expectations- These are different from my rules. These are my dreams and hopes for the students. This starts us off on a high ground and shows the students that I am passionate about their success. 

3. My Rules- I have four simple rules and I hang them on my classroom board. They are general and cover pretty much everything that takes place in my classroom. One rule always includes following school policy. I take this as an opportunity to highlight some easily forgotten/very important policies that are school wide. Another rule involves listening carefully. A third rule involves coming prepared. And most importantly, the final rule involves respecting others. 

4. My Procedures- Why are students nervous on the first day of school? They have no idea what to expect or what is expected of them! Procedures alleviate this stress by detailing precise expectations and routines. Students should know what is expected of them throughout the entire school day. These procedures will need to be reviewed very frequently, especially in the beginning of the school year, but they should always be covered in-full on the first day of school. I include physical classroom procedures, curriculum timelines and assignments, and behavioral expectations. Don’t leave any expectation unsaid- even the seemingly obvious ones! You never know what perceptions and experiences students are bringing to the classroom. I usually reserve a significant amount of time detailing these procedures. The presentation provides a wonderful road map that allows me to cover all of my procedures in an organized way.

a. Classroom Routines

b. Classroom Supplies

c. Homework Policies

d. Classwork Policies

e. Tests and Quizzes

f. Arrival/Departure/Passing

g. Bathroom Procedures

h. Student Expectations- Behavior and Participation

5. Fun Stuff- I love talking about the novel studies and read alouds that we will encounter throughout the school year. And my students always get excited talking about my reading incentive program. Make sure that you take time to weave in the fun stuff! You want your new students to be excited about your class!

6. About You- As I said earlier, I want to get to know my students! This provides an active component to the content that we need cover on the first days of school. Every year, I facilitate a different get-to-know-you activity or project. Whatever this activity looks like for you, be sure to embed it into your presentation. I usually like to position this portion between large clusters of information to break up the content. Be sure to give specific instructions that students can refer to while they are completing your chosen activity!

7. Mini Lesson- Students are inundated with new (and let’s be honest: sometimes boring!) information over the first few days of school. My students are typically so tired of listening that they rejoice when I give them an assignment. Break up the information over a few days by including mini lessons that will catapult students into the school year in a natural way. I always include a journal assignment on the first day of school because it is something that they will be required to do daily. Why not start on the first day? Additionally, I will begin to weave mini grammar lessons, games, and reviews into the first few days. 

Review- Make sure that you leave an opportunity for students to review all of the valuable information that you shared over the first days of school. Whether it is a review section of slides or a quick review game, take time to review!