First Week of School Tips for Secondary Teachers

By Tracee Orman

The first week of school can be the most stressful, anxious, and nerve-racking week of the year, but it doesn't have to be! In fact, it's one of the most important weeks for getting to know your students and building a classroom community.

After twenty years of teaching, I learned a few tricks for a smooth beginning to the year. Here are some tips for the first week of school:

Greet your students at the door or in the hallway. This is very important. No matter how introverted you are, it's crucial to be in the hallway outside your door saying hello to each student as they walk into your room. You can vary your greetings and even give instructions about where to sit. This is going to show your students that not only are you enthusiastic about class, but they are worth your time and effort to be greeted. It really does show you care. I know it isn't always feasible--you may be talking with a student from the previous class period or making a mad dash to the copier or restroom between class periods. But if the majority of the time you are greeting students at the door, it will make a difference.

 

Start the year with activities to get to know your students and build a classroom community. Your syllabus and rules can wait a couple of days. Take the time to learn about your students' interests first. This will help when you are teaching them content and want to help them relate to the material. I have a wide variety of activities I've used for over twenty years. Here are a few: 

First Day Bell Ringers: This is fun for the first few minutes of class. Students can select one of the bell ringers that prompt them to share a little bit about their interests. (Shown in image)

Back to School Pictionary: If you have a lively class that likes to talk and move around, this is a perfect activity. Students get a prompt, then have to draw that activity. You can have them elaborate on it or not after the other students have guessed. If you have a really large class, you can split them up and play in small groups.

First Week Letters: A new spin on a one-pager and all-about-me activity! Students decorate a letter of their choice with something that represents them, then they write about it.

All About Me One-Pager: A traditional all-about-me activity that you can actually customize with your own prompts.

Interest Inventory (FREE!): Download this free interest inventory to gauge students' interest.

All of these activities and more can be found in my Back to School Mega Bundle. 

 

Always set aside copies of your first week handouts for new students later in the year. I make at least five (if not more) extra copies solely for this purpose. I paper clip everything together and insert the packets in a file folder labeled "New Students." I usually attach a post-it note with a message saying "Welcome to class! We're happy to have you. -Mrs. O." Then, when a new student magically appears in your class one day (and we all know this happens!), you are ready for them. I include a copy of the syllabus, whatever activity we did the first day to get to know each other, and any beginning-of-the-year assessments I may need a new student to take for data collection and progress monitoring. 

 

Learn your students' names. You are proving to them that they matter when you learn their name (and how to correctly pronounce it). On the first day of school when I do roll call, I always ask students if they have a nick-name they prefer (i.e. Maddie for Madison). Then I call them by their preferred name. A seating chart really does help with learning their names. Greeting them at the door (tip #1) is great practice for learning their names, as well. If I mess up, I tell the student I will get it right tomorrow, then make a point of calling them by their correct name the next day. It makes the student feel good when you learn their name. And that goes a long way for classroom maintenance.

I hope these tips help, and you have a wonderful school year! -Tracee

Teaching Students How to Analyze Poetry

Teaching poetry can be daunting for some, so I hope my new pack of Poetry Analysis handouts will help you and your students through the entire process. They are designed to work with ANY poem, so you get to choose the perfect poem for your students.

I divided the sections into five areas of analysis:

• Form (Structure)

• Word Choice & Tone

• Figurative Language & Imagery

• Theme & Author's Purpose

• Context

Each area has its own page of critical-thinking questions, so they can be used individually rather than all together. For example, if I want my students to practice just figurative language one day, I can select a poem and have them just complete the Figurative Language & Imagery questions.

They are also perfect for sub plans. 

OPTIONAL: STATION ROTATIONS

I know many teachers love to use stations and have their students rotate from each station to the next (having them get up and move is great for the brain, too). So I included station signs that you can use and even helpful cheat sheets for a few of the stations.

Station 1: Form (Structure)

This area focuses on the structure and form of the poem. Students analyze the stanza breaks, the rhyme scheme, the rhythm (meter), and how it all contributes to the tone/mood of the poem. I include two helpful cheat sheets on identifying a rhyme scheme with examples and how to identify the meter/rhythm.

Station 2: Word Choice & Tone

This area focuses on the specific words and their effect on the poem. Students analyze the rhymes (and lack thereof); specific verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; and sound devices such as alliteration and consonance. They specifically dive into the negative and positive connotations of words. I include a cheat sheet with the definitions of all the different examples of assonance, consonance, and rhetorical devices used in poetry.

Station 3: Figurative Language & Imagery

This area focuses specifically on the figurative devices used to create imagery in the poem. Students identify and explain the different figurative language types used, including metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, and symbolism. I include a cheat sheet with definitions and examples of each figurative language device.

Station 4: Theme & Author's Purpose

This area focuses on the meaning of the poem. Students look at the title, analyze the subject matter, and think about why the author wrote it. 

Station 5: Context

This area is an extension of theme and author's purpose. It asks students to research what was going on in the world and even in the author's life at the time. Because many poems have connections to world or regional events, or are inspired by people, places, or things, this is a way for students to learn about the context of the poem that can bring an even deeper understanding to the work.

Using the stations is OPTIONAL. The handouts themselves do not have the station number on them. 

I hope you find these helpful for your poetry unit. These, along with ALL of my poetry resources, are included in my mega bundle.

Why I Stopped Marking Up Student Essays

Have you ever made a student cry?

Unfortunately, I have. And it's one of my worst teaching moments ever.

You see, for years I had a tendency to mark up students' papers. I thought I was helping them by correcting every little grammar or spelling mistake, every run-on sentence, every little punctuation mistake. It took me hours and I loathed it. But I thought I was helping them.

Then one day as I passed back rough drafts, I handed one to Sarah (not her real name). She looked at her paper--which was heavily marked up with loads of suggestions for improvement (and honestly, it was a pretty well-written paper). Her face dropped. Then her head dropped. I finished passing the rest of the papers back, then went over to her. 

"Hey, Sarah, do you have any questions about my feedback...?" She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and asked if she could go to the restroom. I said "yes," of course. It still hadn't hit me that I was the cause of her tears.

When she returned, I asked her if everything was OK. She looked at me and said, "Am I really that terrible of a writer?" I was horrified. I tried so hard to reassure her that she was a great writer...but the damage was done. She just pointed to her paper and said, "Look at this!" I was truly sick to my stomach.

I never wanted to feel that way again. I talked to one of my colleagues and asked her how she handled grading essays. She had several more years of experience than me and gave me some great advice. I vowed to never make a student cry over their writing.

A few years later, I sat at a conference in Springfield, Illinois and attended a session given by the children's/young-adult writer Avi (Edward Irving Wortis). He began his session by projecting an image from one of his papers in high school. It looked like this (sorry for the terrible quality):

He held on to this paper all these years. He has published over 70 books in his lifetime...but he still remembers. I was reminded of Sarah and felt terrible all over again. But it also reinforced my belief that marking up a student's paper is not the way to teach writing.

So what is the answer? Here are some small things I implemented to help students with their writing:

 

• Have students read their first draft aloud to another student. It's VERY IMPORTANT that they read it aloud. They will notice their own mistakes when they read it aloud and whatever they miss, their classmate may catch. Four ears are better than two. 😁

• Have students read their papers aloud to you. This is a great way to see if they used AI. If they can't tell you what some sentences mean or what their main parts actually mean, chances are they may not have written it.

• Decide to only grade one area of importance at a time. For example, if you want to focus on grading for mechanics/grammar, only grade on that area. If you want to focus on supporting details, only mark the paper for improvement in that area. Use a different focus area per paper. (This was one of my colleague's pieces of advice.)

• Stop after five mistakes. (This was her other piece of advice.) After you get to five mistakes, hand the paper back and let them make those corrections and check the rest of their paper for similar mistakes.

• Let them write freely daily. Don't grade it (you can give completion points to motivate them). I use these daily journal prompts and if they don't like the prompt, they can write about anything. I allow them to keep it short--2-3 sentences is fine! I scan read them (because it truly helps to learn about them and build a relationship) then enter a completion grade. If it has mistakes, I don't correct them or point them out. I allow them to make mistakes without penalty. That's what learning is, right? The thing is, the more students write, the better they become. Even with short writing assignments.

• READ more. Just like daily writing, daily reading actually helps students improve. It's funny how the two things go hand-in-hand.

What would you add to the list? 

I'd love to connect with you! Join my email list to continue the conversation, or find me the most active on my Instagram account.

Have a great week, Friends!

-Tracee

Tracee Orman Teaching Resources