Starting and the year and surviving the first few months doesn’t have to feel like a survival of the fittest game show!  Here some ways that I’ve learned (the hard way) that can make going to back to school less stressful.

One of the biggest battles (especially at the secondary level) is making sure everyone is on the same page.  It is important to get going with the communication early on so that it doesn’t blow up into a huge problem later on.  If you are fighting trying to get forms in or homework signed all year, you will never feel caught up.  I teach secondary English, and parents seem never to know when a project is due or when a report card comes out, and teenagers like to keep it that way. However, I’ve found that my students can’t resist social media and their electronic devices.  There are several options available.  Remind is a texting app/website that sends text messages to anyone signed up for your list.  I like it because it doesn’t use my cell phone number, I can schedule the messages for right after school, and parents and students can sign up.  One thing I found that works for me with different periods and assignments due, etc. is to set up different classes.   Then I can do one big blast or just pick certain classes. Students have to sign up using a code the website generates, and parents see the code on the syllabus I send home.  The second tool I use is dialmycalls.com.  With this I do have to use the school number, but it is online based.  You get 25 free messages per week.   You can pick the text-to-speech feature for failure notices each month.  Both of these methods are easily documented and quick.  And an added bonus: My principal loves it!  Now days I’ve adapted 100% over into Google classroom, so I do all my messaging to students that way.  Plus, this year, Google classroom added an “invite parents” button, so I’ll be using that to keep parents informed.  I also love to get information from my students and parents on the first day with an informational collection sheet.  It is designed to interview BOTH the student and guardian. I really do enjoy reading the answers from both points of view.  You can get the editable form in my Back to School Survival Pack!

I discovered this trick several years ago.  Every week, usually Fridays, I plan an activity that takes the pressure off of me, but still keeps the students engaged in a purposeful and meaningful way.  For example, all week long I am lecturing on skills, monitoring assessments, engaging discussions, facilitating small groups, and being full-on up and going for 90 minutes straight.  The kids are working, too, but I am doing a lot as well.  Typically, on Fridays I plan a sneaky little breather for myself.  Maybe the kids do a hands-on activity to reinforce what we did that week, and I just mingle and offer encouragement.  Maybe the kids take a quiz or spend the period doing a quick writing assignment.  One of my favorite things to do each week on Friday is my weekly reflection and book club meetings.  The weekly reflection takes about 15 minutes, but it is the best 15 minutes! The kids are working, thinking, and talking while I am just sitting back listening, learning, and loving it! Find it in my back to school survival kit!  Read more about my book club meetings here.

It’s really hard working with people you don’t really know.  The more you know someone the better the relationship is and the time you spend together is better. Now, right off the bat let me say that I don’t get to know my juniors and seniors too much, nor do I tell them every detail of my private life. With that said, what I mean is it works to have a healthy relationship.  I believe it is important to do some getting-to-know you activities at the beginning of the year, but not the kind that you forget and throw away after a few weeks.  And certainly not ones that are just busy work.  I only have so much time with my students to get everything covered, so every minute counts.  Also, I used to be hesitant to say anything about myself at all, but I’ve come to realize that it does help to do some honest sharing with students. Otherwise, all they ever know about you is what you wear each day and everything else that they imagine to be true.   Also whatever you choose needs to have some sort of  a diagnostic component.  For me as an English teacher, it is easy to fall back on a quick writing assignment or short project.  I can share my own response to the writing or project so they learn about me.  If you are teaching math, think about what students could accomplish or do to show their math abilities and have a fun product that shows you something about them.  I love what Solutions for Math did with THIS back-to-school Figure Me Out getting-to-know you activity for high school math students.  They will be practicing equations while getting to know their teacher and peers!   General tasks for the first days work very well if you have very short periods or need something quick.  My back to school survival kit has several of those.  But for the next few days, direct your attention to something a little more standards-driven and subject-specific.  Below is one of my favorite projects to do. It was featured in the History Channel‘s teacher magazine, and it’s free! It is really perfect for English, history, or digital classes!

Chaos is overwhelming and anxiety inducing.  It’s frustrating for teachers and students.  Overtime that starts to affect your health and emotions. Decide what routines you need in your class to make each period run smoothly, start them from day one, and practice them with students.  Each day, my students come into the room and do a few things BEFORE the bell rings:

   -Put their bags and purses on the cabinet near the door. They get out what they need and leave the bulk behind.

   -Check the “Take One Table” for any worksheets they need to pick up for the day.

   -Sign in on the activboard for attendance. I have an easy excel sheet that I use for this.

   -Get started on the ten-minute grammar bell ringers.   I love that they have so much responsibility before the tardy bell rings because it frees me

     up to greet them, eat a snack, and get anything else ready.  It also allows us to waste zero time at the beginning of the period.

Some other routines I swear by are turning in papers into one place every time, labeling papers a certain way, and moving in and out of groups quickly and quietly. All these are things that I teach students during the first week of school – week, not day. It’s impossible to teach them all on one day and expect students to remember.  Just add in and teach the different routines once they come up. Also, to be sure you’ve covered them all, make a list and chart out in your lesson plans what day you’ll be doing them.   You can see more of my journey-themed classroom at this post.