The first week of school is an incredibly important time. What students learn, experience, and sense as the first week unfolds can set the stage for the year ahead. Meanwhile, we can feel the pressure of managing logistics, setting expectations, and getting started with learning.
These are important elements to address, but there are other aspects of the beginning of a new year that also deserve our attention. How students feel about what lies ahead, whether they think they belong, and whether they believe they can succeed also matter. In fact, unless we address these issues with students early on, our students—and we—are likely to struggle to find a rhythm, pace, and path that will launch a successful year.
As we plan the first week of school, we need to consider the messages students want and need to hear to help them start off on the right foot. Here are five assurances students want to hear and feel confident about before the end of the first week.
You belong here. When students feel welcome, seen, valued, and respected, they are more likely to be open to forming relationships with us and with others in the class. We may not be able to create a community in the first week, but we can lay its foundation. For example, we might prioritize learning students’ names as quickly as possible. Having others know and use your name is a sign of acceptance, respect, and belonging. We might also design content-related activities to help students become acquainted with one another and interact. Our goal is for students to feel that our class is a safe, welcoming, and supportive place for their learning.
You can succeed in this class. Beyond telling students that they can succeed in our class, we can give them opportunities to experience success. It may be solving an accessible problem. We may give students an engaging but achievable challenge to work on. We might even have students share personal experiences that are meaningful to them or share their expertise in an area where they excel. The key is to give students opportunities to experience success and feel assured that success is possible. The more we build a foundation of hope and confidence, the more likely students will be to engage with the challenges that lie ahead.
I am here for you. Some students will come to our class with a history of success and expect to succeed, even without our assurance that we will be there to help and support their learning. However, more students will enter our class with questions about who we are, whether we can be trusted, and whether their learning is our priority. We may assume that students should know that we are committed to nurturing their learning. Of course, they should. Yet many students may not feel that all the teachers they have experienced have held their learning as most important. Stating our commitment and offering examples of how we will support their learning can make a big difference to these students.
We will learn together. This message may be surprising to some students. They might assume that, as teachers, we already know all there is to know about teaching students. Our opportunity is to let students know that an important part of our work is getting to know them as people and as learners. We not only want to learn about how they learn, but we may also need to learn new approaches and strategies to help them learn. Meanwhile, we can assure students that they will play an important role in the process by giving their best effort, letting us know when they need help or support, and sharing what is working for them. In the end, finding success will require that we both learn.
This is going to be a good year. The first week is a time to build excitement, anticipation, and curiosity about what lies ahead. We might discuss the interesting and useful things students will learn. We might preview some of the “headline” activities we have planned. We might also share some of our humor, interests, and experiences. Having students see us as humans who enjoy life, other people, and learning can provide a great jump start to the year.
Students come into the beginning of a new year with excitement and curiosity, but they may also be anxious, uncertain, and hesitant about what lies ahead. The first week is our time to create a vibe of excitement, possibility, and opportunity.
