The first 10 days of school are for ROUTINES and RELATIONSHIPS… NOT new content! Do not stress about what to teach your students right away. I REALLY STRESS only teaching routine and doing things your students can be successful at during the first 2 weeks.
Why?- success helps them focus on routine not task
– success builds confidence and independence
– gives you time to adjust things
– gives you time to build strong relationships
– gives everyone time to get used to the schedule and all routines
ROUTINES ARE GOLD.
If your students don’t learn routines you and staff will be prompting all day long all year long.
If your staff doesn’t learn schedule and routines then they will be asking you what’s next and how to do it all year long.
Learning routines early takes the pressure off of everyone and gives you the whole year to teach.
SO MUCH TIME WILL BE WASTED if you don’t follow this structure. It may sound weird but giving them something they already know how to do for 2 weeks sets the stage for the entire year, once they trust you you can challenge them further. Building that trust, building those relationships… will carry you through the school year.
So how will you do it?
For the first 2 weeks or 10 days of school… keep repeating routines and relationships in your mind. My plans for The First 10 Days can help you set up this structure right from the start, but really… you can do this too.
EXPLICITLY teach the classroom routines. This starts with social stories and ends with practice.
This also means when students walk into your classroom on day one… you have to know each routine step by step too. You can’t make this up as you go. Think about it ahead of time.. and have each step written out ready to go. I highly suggest using visuals for this and using a book or a paint stick for students to review and follow along. You can grab my routines resource here, but it’s included in The First 10 Days too.
What If I need these in digital?
Great news! I updated this resource to include a digital file! You can now use the routines set on google slides and upload to google classroom. Here’s the link to download!
What about data?
YES! Please take data on accuracy and independence for important routines! It’s a life skill to follow a routine! I have editable data sheets available in my routines bundle!
You can download my FULL first 10 days of school plans here.
You can download the routines book here.
You can download back to school social stories with comprehension here.
