First Day of School

The speaker, Ramona Geiger, shares her experiences and tips for managing the first 15 minutes of a high school class. She emphasizes the importance of marking attendance and explains that it is a legal requirement. She recommends using a seating chart and providing a warm-up activity for students to do during this time. Ramona also suggests front-loading by writing student names on handouts and collecting papers for absent students. These steps may take time initially but are helpful in establishing a positive classroom culture. Hello, Kansas City Education Warriors. You're about to embark on an exciting adventure. This adventure will have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. My name is Ramona Geiger and this will be my fifth year at Paseo Academy, my 10th year in the Kansas City Urban Corps, and my 30th year teaching high school chemistry. It's the first week of school and you have spent hours preparing your lessons for your students. You walk with confidence into your classroom and begin introducing yourself to your students. But wait! An announcement comes on. You pick up your introduction. But wait! The phone rings. It's the attendance clerk. Why haven't you put in your attendance? You hurriedly read the names from your printed attendance roster. You haven't put any faces to these names. Once you've called attendance, you run to your computer to put your attendance into Infinite Campus. Now Infinite Campus is the platform where you'll record your attendance and your grades. But wait! A student comes to your door tardy. You fix the mark you made on your printed attendance sheet from absent to tardy and ask the student to have a seat. You finally get back to your computer to log in to Infinite Campus and the phone rings once again. Why haven't you put in your attendance? At this point, 15 minutes of your class has gone by. The adrenaline rush has come and gone and you're exhausted. It's only your first class and you still haven't introduced yourself. All this and the students have completely turned you off and are having lively conversations with each other about their summer break. This podcast will provide you with weekly tips for success as you begin your journey so that you can avoid this all-too-real situation. The tips this week will concentrate on the first 15 minutes of class. Did you know that marking attendance has great significance? The school and student receive credit when they are in class under the direct supervision of a certified teacher. Documenting your attendance is your signature that the student is or is not present. This documentation can be used in court if the situation arises. The best practice that I use to begin class is with the seating chart. The first week of school, it is helpful to put the students into alphabetical order. My campus has a seating chart function that adds the students automatically. You will need to have your classroom seating set up before you take on this task. In my experience, seating charts are the first line of communication for classroom management. Once you have your seating chart created, print the chart with student pictures. It's also very helpful to print a roster with columns to document absences and grades as you collect them. It is recommended by our administration to have an activity for students to do during the first five minutes of class. I call this step a warm-up. You may also hear do now for this activity. The first day, have an information sheet for students to fill in as you are beginning the class. You can ask for personalized information that you can refer to during the year. The next practice takes time. This is called front-loading. To fill in your seating chart, write in ink the student's first and last name. I use a bright, cheerful color of ink for this. Place the labeled papers at the seat designated for each student. As students come in, cue them to find their assigned seating. Project directions for your warm-up for students to easily see what you are expecting. For example, my directions will state, welcome to chemistry class. Find your assigned seat and begin filling in your information. I'll also post a direction for them not to move their seat for attendance purposes. Have pens and pencils ready in an obvious place for them to use. After the tardy bell rings, collect the papers for students who are absent. This makes attendance a breeze. I continue writing student names on handouts for the first two weeks. This step aids in my memorizing names and associating them with the faces. Completing these steps takes time in the beginning, but are invaluable in setting the culture of your class. Well, that's it. Send any questions my way for ideas on making you the warrior of your classroom.