New first grade teacher...

Question

I am a retired teacher / principal. I had no plans to return to the classroom, but I have agreed to start the year for a neighborhood school that had a sudden, urgent need. I will be teaching first grade. I have previously taught every grade, BUT FIRST! Go figure!! My question is, "What do I need to start the year.....for bulletin boards,teaching materials, etc...?

Answer 1

I teach second and this is what I do the week before school starts -

1.  Decorate the room  - fadeless bulletin board paper and bulletin board trim.  I also hang a welcome sign on the bulletin board.

2.  I make sure I have a welcome letter typed and a class supplies list to send home with the kids.

3.  I have the kids name tags made up and taped to the desk using clear packing tape. (This also makes the kids feel important because they think you remembered their name on the first day)

4.  I go to the library and get big, colorful books to use as read alouds and have them placed around the room on display.

5.  I have a poster hanging with the rules of the class.

6.  Lots of handouts like - What I did over the summer, A list of things I like, First Day of School

7.  I have boxes of crayons available for the kids to use to color their handouts.

8.  I have activities planned for the kids to get to know each other and for me to get to know them.

9. I go over the rules everyday and I am VERY consistent with them.

10.  I give them all a manilla colored notebook to be used as a journal and allow them to put their name on the front and decorate it - I have my kids journal EVERY day!

I could go on and on. However, I suggest you go to the school a week before it starts and network with other teachers.  Look at their rooms and get ideas and ask them for handouts and activities you can use!

Good luck!!!

Answer 2

i'm gonna be a tenth grade student so i don't know how much help i'll be. for bulletin boards you might want to go with a sectin for today's day ("today is wednesday, etc.), as well as a calendar. you might also want to have the class mention the days weather. for behavior, you could have a poster that holds "pockets" (one for every student in the room) with 5 small recatngular sheets of construction paper (each a different color), maybe starting with green for well behaved and blue for badly behaved, their parent needing to speak with you. use bright, vivid colors! :) hope that helps.

Answer 3

You will need to have a calendar bulletin board where you can discuss the date, etc.  Today is________, Yesterday was_______, Tomorrow will be_________, etc.  You can include weather charts, etc on this board.

You may want to have a reading corner ( I have the calendar bulletin board in my reading corner).  I have a "fancy" chair and there is a special chair for the student of the week child to sit on.  I also have a selection of picture books with different coloured stickers on them, which signify different reading levels...Blue dotted books for low readers, red dotted books for medium to average, etc.  I test the kids at the beginning of the year to see what their reading skills are and tell what dotted books they can start with.

You can have a word wall (I buy the words at the local teaching store)  It's a set you can buy.

I have a pocket chart on the board outlining what special jobs the kids do for the week, then I change them every Monday...i.e.  recycling, office runner, paper collector, etc.

I go and buy bulletin board sets for science and social.

I also have a bulletin board with bookworms on it with each kid's name written on them.  I keep track of how many minutes they read at home (parent's record on a calendar) and I add stickers to the bookworm at the end of every month.  Like one sticker signifies 10 mins.  The kids return their reading calendars at the end of every month.

I could go on forever.

If you need help, send me a message.

Answer 4

My son had a teacher that sent home a questionnaire asking about each childs interests and motivators then she incorporated the input from parents into her lessons.  For example, I said that my son has a love for the ocean and marine biology... she did a bulletin board of sea life and made the lessons around sea creatures, read books about sea life, had fishy facts (for math facts), did spelling words like ocean, coral, reef, etc....  Then she would move on to different kids interests.  First grade is a great age!! I'm sure you'll have fun with them!!

Answer 5

if it's first grade, then it's really going to be tricky.  these are the kids who believe they've stepped up from the baby stage and therefore they can now rule the world.  they're highly-opinionated, more critical, and more straightforward in telling you that you're actually boring them.

yep...they've become miniature adults.

so what you need is to treat them like adults.

instead of the usual flip chart and text book attack, invest in creative activities.  involve them in experiements.  involve them in in-depth discussions about animals, the universe, technology.  first graders have a lot to say and you might even learn something from them.

the best instrument --and teacher --is experience.  so you have to let them 'experience' their lesson rather than just ram it into them.

and finally, have fun --because they will.

good luck!

Answer 6

You need to find out what your curriculum will be and what your new principal expects.  At my school we have to have a calendar where we do "Everyday Counts" and a Word Wall.  The rest is up to you.  I'm also doing a welcome bullentin board that will be come a star student bb and that's all the space I have.

I'd STRONGLY recommend Spaces & Places, Designing Classrooms for Literacy.  I'm new to a primary grade after being out of work, and I have found this book to be very helpful!

http://www.amazon.com/Spaces-Places-Desi...

Also, google "first grade classrooms" and puruse the images.