Be Present First Thing

When your students walk in the door of the classroom, it is very tempting to have sit-down, written activities or catch-up work waiting to give them an independent, silent "Do Now." This certainly provides you, as the teacher with a calm few minutes to do your last minute set-up for the lesson. However, this is the critical first few minutes of the day or lesson when students need to feel connected to you and each other in order to move forward as a cohesive learning community. Using a communal morning message, or lesson welcome message, provides focus for the class and allows students to quietly converse and connect as they respond to your prompt. Teaching, modeling, and practiciing the expectations in these first few minutes gives this time purpose and reduces opportunist behaviors during the transition into class. Most importantly, you need to be completely set-up and 100% available to your students during this time, touching base on a personal level with students who need more connection as motivation for self-control and generally establishing the atmosphere of warmth and purpose that you wish to continue throughout your time together. These first few minutes of each lesson are often under-utlilized or ignored for their potential to determine the level of engagement for the rest of your day or lesson. Be intentional about how you want to start your day or lesson and plan every detail to maximize the positive impact of this potentially chaotic process, without resorting to "sit-down," silent work. Mental priming "Do Nows" can follow these few minutes of community cohesion and will be more impactful when students feel emotionally settled into the class.

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