By Laurie Miller Hornik
The next school year may be visible for you, just beyond the horizon. If so, here are some thoughts about how to begin – the school year as well as individual lessons – strongly.
Beginning the Year
I’m always a little overwhelmed when I look out that first day at a classroom filled with faces that are new to me and possibly to each other. I want my students to get to know each other and me quickly and authentically. Sometimes I wish it were already October so that everyone would already know each other. But it isn’t and we don’t.
Skip the Ice Breakers
I used to follow the advice to build community first, before introducing any curriculum or class practices. The thinking goes: Isn’t the real curriculum the students themselves? Isn’t it all about relationships? Don’t I need to establish a sense of belonging before I can do anything else?
These concerns led to the popularity of ice breakers: name games, students sharing favorites like movies and foods, and various circle- and ball-tossing games. Some students find such games enjoyable. Others find them uninteresting or even stressful. But the first day of school is too important to waste on games that are, at best, enjoyable to some students.
Try This Instead
I combine introducing the class community with introducing what we’ll be studying together. I start by considering my specific course. What is most important to me – and what do I think might be most important to my students – about the curriculum and practices of the course?
As a seventh grade English teacher, I plan a first-day activity that allows students to interact meaningfully with a short piece of literature, like a poem we can all read together. I include opportunities for students to speak with a partner so that everyone gets to speak and listen. We do some brief freewriting since writing will be an important daily practice. And each student introduces themselves in a low stakes, relevant way, such as by stating their name and reading a sentence aloud from their freewrite.
By the end of class, we might not have all memorized each other’s names, but we’ve had some authentic interactions, and everyone has a sense of what the learning and work in our community will be like.
If I were teaching math, I would similarly consider what my course is really about. If it’s about problem-solving, then I’d look for a problem we could dig into together for the first day. If it’s about working together and noticing different approaches, then I’d try to hit that with the opening activity.
Any activity we lead will require directions. There is no reason to spend time teaching students to toss a beanbag and say each other’s names in a certain way unless that’s connected more centrally to what the course is about. Our time with students is precious. Use it to create an authentic sense of belonging within the context of why your course matters.
Beginning a Lesson
Skip the Emotional Check-Ins
While some ice breakers might simply waste time, others can create larger problems. A popular type of introductory activity is the emotional check-in: Which colorful square represents your mood right now? Hold up fingers to show how you are feeling. Which of the expressions on the nine cartoon sheep best represents how you feel right now?
Confession: I tried every one of these during COVID lockdowns when our teaching was remote or hybrid. Some of them seemed fun and playful. But I also saw a potential dark side. I wondered if a student’s public declaration that they were sleepy or sad or angry might lock that into place for them for the period or even the day. And for some students, what they chose seemed to have more to do with peer pressure: choosing what another student chose – or avoiding what another student chose. By now, five or ten minutes had passed, but students didn’t seem any more ready for the actual lesson than they were before.
Try This Instead
Just as with starting the year, the beginning of class should connect to what that lesson will be about or what the overall course focus is. Try beginning with a predictable activity that doesn’t require new directions each day.
In my English class, students know that they will spend the first ten minutes of class free reading. This time is an important part of class because it serves several purposes at once: (1) it gives me a chance to greet each student and to check in with anyone I need to; (2) it settles students down without my needing to ring a bell or shush them; and (3) it shows students that reading is important enough that we will devote time to it each day.
Independent reading is a terrific way to begin any English Language Arts class. For other subjects, consider what class-specific activities students could engage in individually – or perhaps with a partner – at the beginning of class each day. Build that into a routine with predictable directions.
The Importance of Beginnings
Back in 1890, William James wrote, “It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.” This fall will offer yet another set of opportunities to help our students approach our classes with attitudes that will help them learn. We can set them up for success by beginning each day focused on the learning to come.
Laurie Miller Hornik is a K-8 educator with over 30 years of experience. Currently, she teaches seventh grade English at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in NYC. Laurie is the author of two middle-grade humorous novels, The Secrets of Ms. Snickle’s Class (Clarion, 2001) and Zoo School (Clarion, 2004). She publishes humor at Slackjaw, Belladonna Comedy, Frazzled, and on her own Substack, Sometimes Silly, Sometimes Ridiculous. She also creates mixed media collages, which she shows and sells locally and on Etsy.
