fabulous ideas for the first day of class
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Onthefirstdayofclass,thehallsbuzzwithexcitement.
Teachersgetreadytogreettheirstudents,anxioustogetstarted,andouryoung,ornotsoyoung,learnersarenervous,wonderingwhattheirteacherslike.Ofcourse,firstimpressionscount,anditsessentialtohaveafirstdayofclassthatwillsetthetoneforwhattherestof
theschoolyearorcoursewillbelike.Anditwillbefun!
Herearesomefabulousideasfortheallimportantfirstdayofclass:
Gettingtoknowyournewstudents
Thefirstdayofclassisagreatopportunitytogettoknowyournewstudentsandfindoutalittlemoreaboutthem.
1.ThisIsMe(http://busyteacher.org/2897thisisme.html):Thisisaverysimpleworksheetforveryyounglearnerswhomaynotbeabletowrite.Theydrawapictureofthemselvesandseveraloftheirfavoritethings.Aftertheyvecompletedtheirworksheetsaskthemtostandupandshowtheirpicturestotheclass.Ifpossible,youmayaskthemtodescribeornamesomeofthethingsinEnglish.
2.ThisIsMe(forolderstudents)(http://busyteacher.org/2899thisismeolderstudents.html)ThisoneissimilartotheaboveworksheetbutforstudentswhoarealreadyabletoreadandwriteinEnglish.Youmayalsoaskthemtosharetheinformationtheyvewrittendownwiththeclass.Thelastpartoftheworksheetisparticularlyusefulforteachers.Itasksstudentsbasicallyhowmuchtheylikecertainactivitieslikesinging,coloring,playinggames,etc.anditwillgiveyouanideaastowhattypeoflearnereachmaybe.
Icebreakers
Neverunderestimatetheimportanceofactivitiestobreaktheiceonthefirstdayofclass(youhavealreadycheckedournewWarmersandIceBreakers(http://busyteacher.org/teaching_ideas_and_techniques/warmersworksheets/)category,haventyou?).Nomatterhowoldorhowyoungyourstudentsare,thereisalwaysalittleanxiety
Fabulous Ideas for the First Day of Class
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WORKSHEETS ESLARTICLES(/HOWTO/) SEASONAL (/SEASONALWORKSHEETS/) MORE OURSTORE
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abouthavingtospeakalanguagethatisnottheirown.Togettheyearofftoagreatstart,tryeitheroftheseicebreakers,andyou'llseeyourstudentswillbemorerelaxedandlessanxiousaboutlearningEnglish.
1.Introduceme:Thisactivityisagreatwaytostartaclassofadultlearnerswhoarenotcompletebeginners.Splitthemupintopairsandhavethemtaketurnsaskingeachotherquestions.Youshouldhavesomepromptswrittendownontheboardoronahandout,andtheyshouldbesuitabletotheirlevel.Forexample,beginnerintermediatestudentsshouldhavealistofquestions,like:
Wheredoyoulive?Whatdoyoudo?Wheredoyouwork?Etc.
Moreadvancedstudents,maybesimplygivenareastoinvestigate,like:
EducationFamilyWorkLeisureactivitiesandhobbiesEtc.
Theyshouldbeencouragedtotakenotes,andtrytorememberasmuchastheycanabouttheirpartner.Oncetheyredoneinterviewingeachother,eachstudenthastointroducehisorherpartnerandtelltheclasswhatthey'velearnedaboutthatperson.
Veryyounglearnersorbeginnerscansimplybetaughttoasksimplequestionslike,Whatsyourname?andHowoldareyou?,thenintroducetheirnewfriendtotheclass:ThisisSandra.Shes7yearsold.
2.Mygoals:Unlikemostschoolcourses,learningEnglishasasecondlanguageisquiteoftensomethingthatischosenbythestudentsthemselves.Adultstudents,attheveryleast,willbeabletotellyouwhytheyveenrolledinanESLcourse.ButlittleonesmayalsohavegreatreasonstowanttolearnEnglish.So,askeachofthemtosharetheirreasonsforsigningupforthecourse,andwhattheyhopetoaccomplish.Youmayaskthemtowritethisdownonthefirstpageoftheirnotebooks,sotheycanalwayshavethattolookbackto.
Awordbook
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Createapersonalizeddictionarythateachstudentwillkeepforthedurationofthecourse.Handoutafewblanksheetsofpapertoeachofyourstudents,aswellasapieceofposterboardofthesamesize.Theposterboardwillbethefrontcoveroftheirdictionary,whichtheycandecorateastheyplease.Theblanksheetsofpaperwillbethepagesoftheirdictionary.Theyshouldwritedownnewwordsintheirdictionaries,withashortdefinition,example,ordrawing.
LookingtothefutureBuriedTreasure
Heresanothergreatactivityforthefirstdayofschoolthatwillblowyourstudentsawayontheverylastdayofclass.CreateaTreasureChest.Askyourstudentstodrawpicturesofthemselvesandwritesomethingontheback:adescriptionofthemselves,theirfavoritethings,whattheyhopetolearnanddoinclass,etcMeasureeachoftheirheightswithapieceofstringoryarnandlabeleachonewithachild'sname.Ifpossible,recordeachofthemspeaking,brieflystatingtheirnamesandalittlesomethingaboutthemselves.Getacardboardboxthatwillholdallofthedrawings,piecesofstring,andthecassetteordisc,sealitwithtape,andhideitsomewhereintheclassroom,ortakeithomewithyou.
Onthelastdayofclass,youcanplayaTreasureHunt(http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activitiesvocabulary/quizzes_and_huntsworksheets/)game,completewithtreasuremap,orsimplyreopentheboxinagrandceremony.Studentswillhaveablastlookingattheirearlierwork,andtheyllbeamazedtoseehowmuchthey'velearnedandgrown.
Youcandosomethingsimilarwithadultlearners.Askthemtowriteaparagraphaboutthemselves,withnocorrectionsfromyou,justaspontaneoussampleofwriting.Keepallofyourstudentswritings,andonthelastdayofclassshowthesetothem,sotheycanseehowfarthey'veprogressedintheirwritingskills.Youcanalsorecordthemspeaking.Thisactivityisalotoffun,butitalsopresentsverytangibleevidenceofhowfarthey'vecome,somethingthatanyESLlearnerwillappreciate.
Whateveryoudoonthefirstdayofclass,takethetimetogettoknowyourstudentsandletthemgettoknowyou.
Setforththeclassroomrules(http://busyteacher.org/3040backtoschoolhowtoestablishclassroomrules.html)withthelittleonesdiscussyourstudentsgoalsforthecourse.Butthemostimportantthingistolayasolidfoundationforwhatwillbeayearofcooperationandlearning.
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