I learned a lot in my first year of teaching, mostly due to stumbles along the way. I’m sure most people can say the same thing when looking back on their first solo year in the classroom. I tried all, and I mean all of the classroom management strategies out there.
I had a classroom full of chatty students that often came in late in the morning. Sometimes I would only have 5 students in my line-up when the bell rang. The constant talking paired with students strolling in as they pleased for the first half hour of school led to a challenging first period. Students that were settled would get distracted, students that were arriving late didn’t know what was going on, and all of this resulted in me losing my mind before 10:00am 🙂
This is when I created morning slides to project for my students each day. Before the bell rang, I would open up the slide for the day and turn the projector on. That way, it was the first thing my students saw when they walked in, and it provided them with some important information:
1) Homework/agenda message for the night
2) A note from me – usually about the first period or two, but sometimes to give them a message about a change in our day or an important announcement
3) Timer to see how long they had to complete their agenda and any other tasks listed in my note!
This. Was. Life. Changing.
(…dramatic but necessary)
Students knew exactly what to do, and how long they had to do it for. The consistency in the messaging kept them organized, and the timer taught them to manage their time better. The best part is that since these slides are on Google Drive, they are accessible anywhere. Which meant, that even when I was away one day – I would still be able to edit the slides and have the supply teacher project them. Keeping this consistent when I was away helped me, my students, and any supply teacher that came in.
The best part of this was not only that it calmed my students and mornings down, but that it freed me up and allowed me to take 20 minutes in the morning to check in with my students. Whether it be the at-risk students, or the ones who simply want to tell me something exciting about their night, it helped me create strong relationships and build my classroom community up.
Want to try a free sample of the morning slides? Click here!
