Lesson 1 - Our First Day
🕐 Lesson Overview
- Opening Remarks
- Meet your teacher
- Lockdown procedures
- Index cards
- Icebreakers
⭐ Objectives
- I can make a positive first impression.
- I can have a great start to the school year.
🗒️ Lesson Plan
Anticipatory Set
The teacher will open class by introducing themselves and sharing remarks about the school year. Specific highlights include years spent teaching; hobbies and interests, favorite books and authors; and free periods when students can drop in for extra help. The overall message should center on new beginnings and each year as an exciting opportunity to start fresh.
Developmental Activity
The teacher will review emergency procedures (lockdown drills).
The teacher will give each student a 3x5 index card. On the index card, the teacher will direct students to write the following:
- Your Full Legal Name (first & last) as it appears on school rosters
- Your Name or Nickname that you would like to use in class
- Your Pronouns (she/her, he/him, they/them... or something else!)
- Name & Pronouns that you use at home (if different from above)
- Three songs to add to the class Spotify playlist
- Two people you'd like to sit near in class (or "I don't care")
- Anything else you want me to know or that will help me teach you!
For the last item, the teacher should suggest ideas like where the student prefers to sit, what the student likes to read (if anything), what skills the student would like to work on this year, etc. After students finish their index cards, they should hold them up in the air. The teacher will collect them.
Closure
Once all students have finished their index cards, the teacher will call on students one-by-one by drawing index cards from the pile. The teacher will use the name and pronouns written on the index cards. The teacher will ask students a random icebreaker question. I typically use Wheel of Names with the following questions:
- What is your favorite midnight snack?
- If you had to teach a class on one thing, what would you teach?
- What is your absolute dream job?
- What is your favorite video game or board game?
- Teleportation or flying? Why?
- What would your superpower be and why?
- What’s the last great TV show or movie you wanted?
- If you had to eat one meal everyday for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- If you had a million dollars, what would you buy first?
- What is your favorite breakfast food?
- What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?
- How long would you last in a zombie apocalypse?
- What's your favorite season?
- What is your least favorite chore?
- If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
- Sweet, salty, or sour?
- If you could travel to any planet, where would you go?
- What is your favorite thing to do after school?
- What's your favorite ice cream flavor?
- How would you spend a rainy day?
Students may "re-roll" for a new question if they don't like the one they receive. The teacher may repeat this process after every student has gone if time remains in the period. Before students leave, the teacher will remind them to please bring a single-subject notebook (to be used only for English class) and a folder.
🧠 Rationale
This lesson allows the teacher to introduce themselves and learn about their students. The index cards provide important first day of school information as well as allows the teacher to informally assess students' handwriting abilities.