The First Minute, Hour, Day in 2nd Grade
Schedule
This morning’s lesson
1. Class-Yes
2. Rule 1: Follow directions quickly!
3. The Scoreboard
4. Practice Rule 1*
5. Learn student names: Name Game**
6. Practice Rule 1
7. Mirror
This afternoon’s lesson
1. Teach-Okay
2. Five Rules
3. Oral Writing
4. Power Pix
5. Red/Green Writing
I post this schedule on my board for the students to see. This schedule contains
terms that are brand new to them. Not only does it keep the interest of my students up, it keeps me on target throughout the day. For second grade, I choose to cover up the afternoon section of the schedule until after lunch. You may choose to cover up more of the schedule depending on the ability of your class to stay focused on the activity at hand.Standing in front of your class, practice the Class-Yes a few more times…remember to smile, be confident, and be in charge! You are ready to teach Rule 1! Oh, yeah!!
Rule 1: Follow directions quickly!
Teacher: Class! Class!
Students: Yes! Yes!
Teacher: Today, I’m going to teach you the first of our Five Rules.
Rule 1 Follow directions quickly! (Make gesture)
When I say Rule 1, you say…Follow directions quickly!
Teacher: Rule 1!
Students: Follow directions quickly! (Some of the students may make the
gesture.)
Teacher: Very nice! Let’s try again, but we need to be faster! Rule 1!
Practice this two to three times.
Teacher: Class!
Students: Yes!
Teacher: Now, let’s practice following directions quickly! (Quickly give some short commands …Look up…Look down…Raise your hand…etc. Be sure to praise for speed!)
Teacher: Class! Class! Class!
Students: Yes! Yes! Yes!
Teacher: Rule 1 will help us learn and have fun! Raise your hands if you think Rule 1 will be good for our class. (No matter the number of hands raised, continue on with the following statement.) I agree that Rule 1 will be good for our class!
*Classroom Procedures with 3Peat
Procedures, procedures, procedures! These make or break a class! You know
exactly what it is like to step into a classroom where disorganization is evident just by the look on the teacher’s face! You cannot start teaching productively until you have procedures! So, starting the VERY first hour of the day, teach procedures! I will say that again! Teach procedures! Teach procedures! Teach procedures!
Rule #1, “Follow directions quickly!” has been introduced and practiced several times at this point of the day. Teaching procedures using 3peat, involves the repetition of this rule several times. Setting your expectations is very important that first hour, and day!
We repeatedly use “Seats, Seats, Seats”, “Bodies up, up, up”, and “Lines, lines,
lines” during the day. Any direction that you want a quick student response to,
becomes a 3peat! Here are some examples:
Teacher: Bodies up! Students: bodies up, up, up! Your students should
immediately stand and push in their chairs, if appropriate, and stand straight
without a sound. I model the RIGHT way and the WRONG way to do this. Do
not assume they understand your expectations the first time they hear the
direction! Practice, and use the Scoreboard!
Teacher: Line! Students: Line, line, line! Your students move quickly and
orderly to the lineup area without a sound! Use the Scoreboard, and MODEL
again.
Teacher: Seat! Students: Seats, seats, seats! Students must move to sit
down, feet under the desk, hands folded on the desk.
With all of these commands, and any others you choose, practice the right way and wrong way! If you are not consistent with your expectations, your students will cue right into that! Whatever level of response you are willing to accept, that’s what you will get! Make it right the first time, and realize you will be practicing a lot! Another big point: Use the Scoreboard…a lot! You should have a total of at least 10 marks on it by the end of the first hour!
**Name Game
Coach has come up with a fast, efficient, and fun way to learn the names of your
students…all of them! Coach B’s Name Game is not only fantastic for quickly learning your students’ names; it is a great way to set your expectations for getting your 2nd grade students to answer questions with complete sentences!
When you ask, “What is your name?” you will model how you expect them to answer. “My name is …” Since you expect “college talk” in your class this year; you get the ball rolling with the expectation of your students answering in complete sentences the very first day! Play this game with lots of energy! Remember, these are young students with “fragile” attention spans. They’ve only been in your class for an hour! You most likely don’t know who might roll out of their chair at any moment! So to keep engagement high, I use a script similar to this:
Teacher: Oh, class!
Students: Oh, yes!
Teacher: I just LOVE to play games! One of my favorites is the Name Game! It’s really fun! It’s really fast! And, the only things you need to know for this game are your name and how to listen really good! Tell your neighbor, “I can play this game! Piece of pie!””
Students: “I can play this game! Piece of pie!”
Teacher: So this is how we play! I am going to point at someone and say,
“What is your name?” That person will answer back with their name in this sentence. “My name is _____.” (To help students remember what to say, I have a frame sentence on the board for them to use if needed.)
Teacher: (Point at a student you believe will answer quickly.) What is your name?
Student: My name is Tom. (If the student does not answer with a complete
sentence, just say, “Complete sentence, please.” Student should try it again.)
Teacher: (Once student answers prompt, always ask the child to repeat their answer again.) Please, say again. (After you have called on 3 to 4
students, tell the students: Repeat after me. You will then point at a few students and say, This is Susan.
Students echo back. This is Susan.
When you come to a student that has been introduced previously, but you can’t remember the student’s name, don’t panic! Just say as you point to that student, What is this student’s name? At least one person in that class will know! Continue on with the game, pointing to a student and asking them, What is her name? This gives the class a chance to practice the names, and it will help you learn the names also! If you forget a name anytime during the day, use your class to help you! Class, what is his name? Your students will help you on the spot! Now you can proudly say at the end of the day, that you know all your students’ names, not just the three names of those three people in trouble on the playground today!)
Wishing everyone a great First Day of the new school year! Please share some of your experiences with all of us!
