Lessen the stress of your students on their first day of school by implementing the First Day Welcome Strategy in your class. Strategy can be tailored for all grades.
Preschoolers to college students have a roller-coaster of emotions on their first day of school. The first day is filled with excitement and anxiety at the prospect of meeting their teacher, fellow students, and being informed of the upcoming year. Implement this first day welcome strategy to decrease anxiety in your students by quickly making them feel welcomed by you and their fellow classmates.
First Day Welcome Strategy
- Welcome each student as they enter the classroom with a firm handshake with eye contact. Take the time to introduce yourself and allow them to introduce themselves, use prompting if required.
- Let students sit where they want in the classroom. Before you group students it is best to observe their position in the classroom and which students sit together. Students feel more relaxed when they have an option of where they sit. Some students feel safer in the front of the class while others like to sit next to someone they know from a previous year.
- Make a welcome circle with all students, (hands holding or not). Ask the students to say their name and for them to answer a specific question. Questions such as your favourite television show, sport, food, colour...the list is endless. E.g. My name is Debbie and my favourite television show is Spongebob. (All examples will be based on the above question.)
- Split the students into groups based on their answers. You want 4-5 students in each group; you may have to be creative with grouping. E.g. If you asked the students their favourite cartoon and only one chose Spongebob, place the student in a cartoon similar to Spongebob or ask the student to choose another cartoon based on the ones already chosen.
- Once in the smaller group, have the students introduce themselves to each other and each student has to say one thing they like about their favourite television show.
- Students will illustrate a picture together of their favourite television show and write a few sentences on why they like the show.
- Each group will present what they like about their television show and show their picture to the class.
This strategy will take about 1 hour from inception to completion. This is an excellent exercise because students will have been introduced to all their classmates but have a closer relationship with 4-5 students who were in their group. The students should feel more comfortable because they have bonded with at least one student and now they have some common likes and experiences to share at recess or lunch.
Teachers Role: The teacher will move from group to group to learn more about his students and to inject his personal views on each group's subject, to allow the students to learn about their teacher.
