At home, I’m a nester. My environment is important—it’s not fancy, but I tend to surround myself with things I care about. My giant couch is a bit threadbare, but it’s turquoise, soft, and can fit my family of three (plus dog) for a session of Netflix binging!
Every August, I would walk into my classroom, following these same instincts. I started by asking myself: What’s my purpose? Where do I need to get students this year? How do I create a comfortable environment where students can take risks, but that also reinforces high expectations?
I realized, after a day of summer cleaning and letting my mind wander, that I was curating my classes. Like my desire to organize my home into a friendly, yet functional space—I did a similar thing in my classes. So, I came up with the following suggestions for curating your 2015-2016 year.
- Plan your year: Create a detailed syllabus.
Create a detailed syllabus for your students (and yourself) and include more than grading policies and bathroom passes. Give students a sense of what they can expect during the year. List themes, books, and articles. Include sample project topics and essays. This begins your culture of expectations and is a great communication tool with parents. Have them keep their syllabus close, refer to it regularly, but don’t “cover” your syllabus the first two days of class (yawn!) More on that later.
- Plan your week: Set your tone and level of expectations.
I had a recurring dream every July. I arrived in class and forgot how to teach. This would haunt me as I planned my first week of instruction, and as a result, I would get VERY detailed. But, it served me well, because through this detailed planning, I created the tone and the level of expectation for my year. The takeaway? Your first week of class should reflect the level of interaction, rigor, and activity that you expect the rest of the year. Want to have students interact and discuss regularly? Have them do an activity that gets them up and discussing in the first 15 minutes of your first class. Want to establish that close reading is going to be a recurring strategy? Close read, together, a high interest text on the first day (like “The Myth of Homework”—that will get them talking!). Touch on the syllabus, but don’t read it to them. Give them a quiz during the second week instead. By giving students meaningful, purposeful, and well-planned instruction the first week—you establish a tone that your class is important and that you care about student learning.
- Plan your layout: Establish your physical environment.
Hang your favorite posters. Post important notices. Create bulletin boards. Then, think beyond the walls. How are your desks configured? In rows? In a U-shape? In groups? Establishing a culture that reinforces listening, speaking, and collaboration means that your physical environment should reflect this: desks in pairs and groups. And configurations where students can see each other. Then, who sits in these groups? Friends? All of the student’s whose names end in T? Think about starting the year with a random arrangement, knowing that you will continue to mix it up during the year, maybe basing your choices on student strengths and areas for growth when you get to know your students.
What have been successful strategies for you as you begin your school year? What rituals and processes have helped your students be successful?
Have a great year!
Lorrie
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