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Back to school time is so exciting . . . and hectic . . . and stressful!
If you’re . . .
. . . then, here’s my two cents on what you should do on the first day of school in your Biology class.
This plan developed over many years of trying just about everything. I even tried letting the students take turns reading through the syllabus. I’m not kidding. What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking – I was just trying to get through it!
I am VERY detailed anyway, but I get crazy detailed when I’m nervous. Over-preparing allows me to sleep at night. So I actually wrote a “script” for the first day of school and many, many other days after that. But, for this post I’ll keep the plan relatively brief and you can add your own touches to it.
Let’s get right to it!
Monday, August 7, 2023
outside and direct them to find their seats by looking for their name on the desks. They’ll figure this out – let them know that they’re basically in alphabetical order if that helps.
See more on seating charts and why I’d never teach without one in the “10 Things” article mentioned below.
As soon as the bell begins to ring, come in, seating chart in hand, and stand right in the front, center of the room. As soon as the bell stops ringing, start speaking. Seem like too much? Skip it if you want to, but I did this every single day. Really.
I always greeted my classes with a warm welcome. Try an introduction like, “Good morning, I’m Mrs. Brooks. Welcome to first-period College Prep Biology. Thanks for sitting in assigned seats. That really helps me check attendance and learn your names quickly.” Students will do a lot of things they don’t really want to do if you’re nice about it and if they think they’re helping you out.
as quickly as possible. Ask students to think about the word “biology”, what it means, and what they think they’ll be learning this year. Encourage them to look around the room for some “hints” as you’re checking attendance and making sure everyone is in the correct seat.
about the word “biology”. Students usually know what the “–ology” part means, so write it on the board when they say it and tell them the ‘bio” part if you have to. Brainstorm some topics that will be covered. Accept all answers, just as you would in any brainstorming session, and write them on the board as the discussion progresses.
Think some more about “Life” with the Frayer Model. I L-O-V-E this for stimulating thinking! The Frayer model is a research-based strategy that helps students develop deep understanding of key terms. Get your FREE Frayer Model Activity HERE.
hand out worksheets Chances are, during your Frayer model discussion, something about “cells” will come up. So this next activity fits in the plan perfectly right here. “Inner Life of the Cell” is a 3-minute video developed by a cell biology group at Harvard several years ago. It’s just short enough and awesome enough to really keep students’ attention. I even showed this to parents during Open House one year.
And, by the way, there’s a longer narrated version that you can show during your Cells chapter later.
Now that they’ve done some thinking, it’s time for some-lighthearted fun!
It’s FREE! Just click the image to get yours.
This ice-breaker game will not only help your students get to know each other, but it will also give you an opportunity to watch them in action and start learning their personalities.
Be sure to have your “Get into Groups” plan ready to go. Are they working at their desks? Or at lab tables? Have short, simple instructions prepared so this transition goes off without a hitch.
Since this will be the first time they’re working in groups in your class, you’ll want to state some quick rules. Here are my 3 basic rules for students working in small groups:
Watch the clock and start clean-up about 5 minutes before the end of class. Have a plan for this transition, too. Do students need to return to their desks? Move their desks back into place? Are they turning anything in? Or saving it for later?
Every student should be in his or her assigned seat and listening before I dismiss them at the bell. Don’t ever talk over them. Use your best manners – smile and say something nice like “great to meet you”, “see you tomorrow”, “thanks for a wonderful first day”, etc.
And, if you have a minute or two to spare, this is the perfect time to ask if anyone has questions, restate some things that came up in class today, or give them an idea of what will be happening tomorrow. You might need to discuss that syllabus tomorrow, you know?
Need to make some adjustments?
Because every school schedule is different, here are a couple of places where you can easily tweak the plan:
When you greet students at the door, they see that you care about them.
When your classroom is clean and organized, students see that you care about what you do.
When you’re prepared – seating charts, agenda, and smooth transitions from one activity to the next, they’ll see that you’ve got your teacher act together!
Teaching is very personal . . .
So, if this doesn’t sound like it will work for you, I totally understand. Maybe there’s something you can take away from this plan, but in the end, you have to do what feels right to you. The success of your school year has as much or more to do with your relationship with your students as it does with how much you know about Biology or how much they like the subject.
I’d love to hear your ideas about what to do on the First Day of Biology.
Finally, if you haven’t read my two other “Back-to-School” posts, you can link to them here:
10 Things Every Science Teacher Should Do BEFORE the First Day of School
5 Common Mistakes Science Teachers Make on the First Day of School
Need Biology curriculum? You might like this big bundle . . .
Happy Back-to-School! Have a fantastic year teaching the BEST. SUBJECT. EVER!
Carla
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