First Day of School! What Do I Do?

The first day for any class, whether it be at the elementary or collegiate level, will be at the least, mind-numbing, and at the worst, existentially nerve-racking. I have been teaching secondary and collegiate classes for about two years now, so I’ve only been around the block a couple of times. However, in this blog, I will share with you some general principles and a specific lesson plan that I have used in my classroom which helps break the tensions for students and teachers on that first day and allows for a clear direction for the entire class to follow through the rest of the year or semester. Fair warning, these tips and lesson plan are tailored for at least the upper secondary levels and are ideal for the collegiate classroom environment.

The first thing that needs to occur for a successful first day happens way before the first day even arrives. As teachers, the majority of our job happens outside the classroom as we build our curriculum and lesson plans for our students. For me, I like to have clear lesson plans made even before I walk into the classroom. Now, this is not to say that everything I have planned I will follow through with. The number one watchword for any teacher is “flexibility.” That being said, I live by the seven Ps: proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. As I plan my lessons however, I put much of my energy and prep into my first couple lesson plans. Because I teach on a semester basis at a university, I have never met my incoming students and I want to be as prepared for them as possible. However, I also know they are about to come into a whole new environment, not just in my classroom, but for many of my underclassmen, a new social setting in college. As many of us know, students can go a whole semester sitting in a class every week and never actually talk to other students in the class, much less engage with the professor. In my classes, even though I currently teach composition, a stereotypically solitary discipline, I seek to invigorate my classroom culture with the spirit of collaboration and student engagement. And all of that starts on day one!

For many underclassmen, especially first year students, their first week on campus involves activity after activity, many of which include the infamous “ice breakers.” While these well-meaning activities serve a purpose, when overused (such as in orientation weeks), students end up referring to a pre-planned script in their heads describing their major, where they are from, and their favorite hobbies. While that might be nice, I, as their classroom instructor, do not really care about those things. Rather I want to know how they think. And more than that, I want their peers to learn how each other think. Enter the “Who Are We?” activity.

When students walk into my class on the first day, I have them pick up a piece of blank paper from the front table and also grab a random cut out piece of paper square from a bowl. There are about eighteen pieces of square paper in the bowl, and on each piece is a number, 1-9. I make sure to have two sets of numbers represented between 1-9, so that there are two 1s, two 2s, two 3s, etc. Once students take a seat, I instruct them to go to this website by “Science of People,” which offers 255 deep philosophical questions. The students must find their corresponding question to match their random number and write down their response to the critical question. In this way, right off the bat, the students are beginning to write and think critically in class, whether that be pondering what it means to be a “good person” or what it means to love. After about 5 minutes of writing, I have the students ensure they have written their random number at the top of the paper. Then I have them crumple up their paper into a ball.

We then have the Florida version of a snowball fight—a paper ball fight. For the next thirty seconds, while I play music, students will throw their papers across the room to mix up the balls. Then, after the time is called, I have the students pick up whatever paper ball is closest to them. Chances are, the number on the paper will not be theirs, so I instruct students to go around the room and try to find whose paper belongs to whom. Because there are no names on the papers, students must talk with one another and begin learning names. This part of the activity can take about 10 minutes, but it is worth it. During this time, students are conversing and learning who their classmates are within the first few minutes of the first day of class in a fun and engaging manner. Once students have gotten their paper back, they must try to find their fellow partner who also wrote on their same critical question. Remember there are pairs of numbers for 1-9, which correspond with the philosophical questions. Once students have paired up, I then ask them to share their responses with their partner. Now students have not only spoken briefly with most other members of the class, but now students are engaging in meaningful discussions in one-on-one conversations with a peer.

While this activity lasts at least 30 minutes, if not longer, there are deep pedagogical justifications for such an activity on the first day of class. First, I as the instructor establish my role within the classroom as a facilitator and not the “sage on the stage.” While this activity requires a lot of prep work on the teacher’s part, when you are in the classroom, your role is minimal. When I facilitate this activity with my students, I do not even introduce myself until after this activity, meaning they might not even know my name or credentials until at least an hour into the class. While this might be controversial, for me, it is intentional. By deemphasizing myself, I elevate the students’ sense of self while simultaneously placing an importance on the inculcation of a positive classroom culture, which is student-centered. In fact, after the activity is over, and students are talking and laughing, I often ask them, “What do you know about me?” to which there is no reply. Again, this is intentional, as I am placing the student, rather than myself, first.

Another pedagogical principle underlying this activity is the importance of communication. As I said, students can go entire semesters without ever talking with others in the class. This activity requires communication and problem-solving skills, all within the first few minutes of the first class. I would argue this activity does more for the culture of the classroom than other more conventional “What’s your major” ice breakers. Not only are students trying to figure out a problem with complete strangers, but they also have to articulate their thoughts on critical issues, again with a stranger. In this way, their compositional and verbal skills are married, as students share with others their written thoughts through speech. This activity also personifies the principle of collaboration which is integral to my teaching philosophy. By beginning our first class with this activity, students see that our class will be physical, collaborative, and interdependent in nature. And the best part is, for my 75-minute classes, this is only the first part of my class for the first day. Stay tuned to my blog for more ideas you can use on your first day to encourage a positive, collaborative classroom culture for the semester or year!