Earlier in the summer, I listed all of the start-of-school year events, but now with the start right around the corner, I'm adding greater detail to those days and shifting activities in order to make a good mix of active, playful, relaxed learning which for the first day includes the following events:
Day One Activities and Prep
- Find your table, unload your supplies.
- Meet at the gathering area. What's your name? Read name list. Take lunch count. Announce leader of the day.
Set up the audio visual/presentation area. Set up gathering area.
- Music Class.
- Recess.
Check in with students at recess--notice who seems comfortable and who needs a bit of extra support.
- Meet at gathering space. Review room set up, assign studio stations and discuss set-up, expectations, and share. Focus on What is a team? What makes a team strong? Introduce notecard tower activity. Students work with team to create note card towers.
Review what makes a team. Have poster board ready for to write down student ideas. Take pictures of the teams.
- Review and practice transition, lunch, and music ensemble routines. Review schedule.
Review rationale for quiet lines and seamless routines. Practice.
- Math RTI: Work on tile pattern activity at tables.
Prep tiles, activity sheets.
- Review end-day routine, pack-up, stack and gather for read aloud. Begin read aloud. Visualization and Empathy to understand historic context and roles as we read the historic fiction text, James Printer, a Novel of Rebellion. Review homework: make a word find of classmates' and teachers' names by hand on graph papers so every child gets to see and read each others names.
Set up comfy fair chair list, prep pass-out materials.
