Are you teaching middle school for the first time? How are you feeling about it? Are you nervous? Excited? Overwhelmed? All of the above? (If you need some first week of school activities, click here. I’ve got you covered.) I felt all of those feelings my first day teaching eighth grade but let me tell you about the biggest mistake I made and what to do instead.
Setting the Scene
Let’s set the scene. I taught these students in sixth grade and then went on maternity leave for a year. Moving to eighth grade was not part of my plan but when the opportunity came I jumped at the chance to teach these kids again. They were lovely and I couldn’t wait to continue working with them.
They found their name tags and put their backpacks on their chairs and were disappointed that I had turned the desks around so they couldn’t put anything in them but that was fine. I told them their attendance numbers and took attendance. We talked about how I would get their attention (rainstick or 3-2-1 countdown) and I introduced myself to the new students in the class.
What Not to Do on the First Day of Middle School
That’s when it happened. I told them to come and sit on the carpet for our morning meeting and read “You’re Finally Here” by Melanie Watt, what I thought was a really cute book (which it is). When no one laughed at the funny parts and instead rolled their eyes at each other, I knew I had made a mistake.
It had only been a year but they were totally different kids. They had experienced a year of being in a 7/8 class, being exposed to high school preparation and had matured a lot. And I had just told them to sit on the carpet so I could read them a picture book like they were babies.
The Reflection
Was I still going to read picture books in my class? Absolutely. Was I still going to try to get them to sit together on the carpet? Yes, although I did loosen up to let them sit in chairs close to the carpet. Should I have thought about their perceived levels of maturity? Totally.
Was my first day ruined? No. We still went along with the other activities I had planned – setting up classroom expectations, introducing them to our classroom library, creating infinity tiles in Math, and working on their All About Me Boxes.
Looking back, I should have changed the tone of some of my activities to reflect their independence and sense of self. It should have been more about them and less about how excited I was to be teaching them again.
What TO Do on the First Day of Middle School
Here’s what I am going to build into my schedule – more time for starting those one-on-one conferences. I’m going to get them to work on an art activity like the All About Me Boxes or Map of My Heart and then I’m pulling kids aside to chat with them. I need to get to know my students quickly and I’ve written a post all about how to do that here.
Have you had an awful first day of school experience? Do you have other ideas to engage middle schoolers right from day one? Shoot me a DM on Instagram. I’d love to chat with you about it!
