Day one procedures icebreakers and policies for elementary school

Procedures for day one of elementary school

1. Ms. Poole’s 3rd Grade

2. W e l c o m e I am so happy to have you in our class! It is going to be a great year! In this class, we are a family, and we work together as a team always. Be ready for a great year full of fun and lots of learning!

3. Fire Drill/What To Do in Emergency Stand facing Ms. Poole while she calls roll. Answer loud and clear with “here!” Leave everything right where it is and line up at the door SILENTLY! There should be no talking or moving. This is serious! Walk in a single file line just like usual with ZERO TALKING!! Wait for the “all clear” from the office, and follow Ms. Poole into the building with ZERO TALKING, hands behind your back. Walk out the side doors to the benches by the fence with ZERO TALKING!!

4. 2. 3. 4. Class Rules Raise your hands to speak or leave your seat Always be honest Be a caring friend 1. Listen to the Speaker 5 . Always try your best

5. We are a family! This is our motto. This is what we believe in. When we have problems and disagreements, this is what we will remind ourselves. We don’t have to be best friends. We don’t have to like each other all the time. We do have to treat other with kindness and respect ALWAYS.

6. Let’s Talk About The Very First Procedures A procedure is a certain way of doing things. Why do you think it is important that we all do things the same way? What do you think would happen if we don’t?

7. Cafeteria behavior- Breakfast Finish up and be on time to class. You need to be out of the cafeteria by 7:45. Sit at your assigned table and stay in your seat. Be polite and cl ean up after yourself 2. 1. 3.

8. Coming into class in the morning Put your supplies away Turn in anything you might have from the day before. Begin your daily warm up Wait quietly for us to start our morning meeting. Be on time We start the day at 7:50 Put your backpack away There are hooks in the back. Do not play in that area or it will no longer be available to you.

9. Morning Meeting/Family Culture 2. 1. 3. 4. Any other family discussions Question of the Day Office Announcements Pledge As with any other class discussion time, we follow the rules of collaborative class discussion. What does it mean to have a collaborative discussion? Why do we have rules for it? What could happen if we didn’t?

10. Rules for collaborative discussion Wait our turn Listen to others ideas & give eye contact Speak kindly and with respect Stay on topic Participate actively

11. Lining Up Zero voices, open ears Wait patiently for your classmates to line up I will call on you to line up by name Always walk; never run

12. Walking in the halls as a class 2. 1. 3. 4. Walking feet always Catch a bubble, carry an O Hands behind back Stay in line always Why do you think we do it this way? What do you think could happen if we didn’t?

13. Time for Specials!

14. Let’s Review Some of the Procedures What have we talked about so far?

15. Let’s get to know each other better 1. Partner Interviews and Group Share Objective: We will build classroom relationships by getting to know our classmates through one-on-one interviews and brief presentations. I will interview a classmate and record their responses and present my findings to the group.

16. Draw names for partners Get an interview sheet Take 5 minutes reflection time to think of 2 original questions that you want to ask that person. They can be anything you want. If you can’t think of anything by the end of the time, I will come around with a basket of random questions for you to ask Take 5 minutes to do your interview Take 5 minutes to present your findings to the group SWITCH! We are going to take some time to get to know each other! Each of you is going to interview a new friend and share what you find out with the group. After you share what you find, we will switch and repeat the process. The goal is to learn more about everyone in the class, so we feel more comfortable as a class family. Have fun, remember to respect the rules of the class, and learn something new about everyone in here and maybe even yourself! Partner Interviews and Group Share

17. Purposeful talk is what we will do after we finish an activity to see what we have gained from it and expand on our own original ideas. It takes practice, and we will all get better with time. I will give you a sentence prompt, and you will use your own ideas and thoughts to complete it. Don’t be shy and don’t be afraid to try. Nobody is perfect, and everybody’s ideas are great! Today’s Purposeful Talk prompts are: “I now know ___________ (something) about __________ (someone.) or I’d like to know more about ____________ (someone.) We will go around the room. You get to choose today! Purposeful Talk

18. Closing: Talk to a new friend (other than your partner) and compare and contrast your interest for 2 minutes. Be ready to share one thing about the other person when called upon.

19. Stretch Break!!

20. A p i c t u r e i s w o r t h a t h o u s a n d w o r d s

21. What are some words to describe this painting? How does it make you feel? Does it remind you of anything?

22. What are some words to describe this painting? How does it make you feel? Does it remind you of anything?

23. Let’s get to know each other better 2 . Spider Web Questions Objective: We will build classroom relationships by getting to know our classmates through a group question and answer session. I will ask a classmate a question and answer a question that another classmate asks me.

24. Catch the string Hold onto the string Answer the question Throw the ball of string to someone else while holding onto your part of the string still Ask the next person a question that you think of (or get one out of the basket) Repeat the process until we have a cool web! We are going to sit in a circle on the floor at the back of the room. I will start the game by tossing the ball of string to someone and asking them a question. They will answer the question, hold onto their part of the string, and then toss the string to someone else. When the next person catches the ball of string, the first person will ask them a question. Don’t worry if you can’t think of a question; I have a basket full of silly questions you can ask if you can’t think of one. We will keep going until we have a cool web! Spider Webs Questions

25. Closing: Purposeful talk: Choose one of these sentences to complete and share with the group. “I now know ___________ (something) about __________ (someone.) or I’d like to know more about ____________ (someone.)

26. Let’s Talk About Some More Procedures A procedure is a certain way of doing things. Why do you think it is important that we all do things the same way? What do you think would happen if we don’t?

27. Walking in the halls by yourself 2. 1. 3. 4. Always straight there and straight back Always zero voices Always walking feet Always have permission and a pass Remember when you are in the hall, you represent our classroom family! Represent us with pride! A good report from another staff member gets points for the Brag Board, so make us proud!

28. Bathroom Behavior Always do your business and get right back to class Always have permission and a pass–one boy and one girl at a time only! Always clean up after yourself 2. 1. 3. Note: If you cannot handle going by yourself, I will have to call an EA to escort you. Be responsible and represent our class family with pride ALWAYS!

29. Playground Behavior Always get an adult if anyone gets hurt Always keep your hands and feet to yourself Always be kind, take turns, and be inclusive 2. 1. 3. Be kind and represent our class family with pride ALWAYS!

30. Cafeteria Behavior-Lunch Sit at your assigned table and seat. If you are asked to move, do so without arguing. Wait at your table until your class is called to get in line All class rules apply here too! When you are waiting in line, wait with hands behind your back and 0 voices. Good reports in the cafeteria count toward our brag board for our class reward, so make me proud! Be polite to all staff. Say please and thank you. Clean up your own mess.

31. What does this quote mean to you? How does it make you feel? What does it remind you of? Let’s take a break to Practice Collaborative Talk!

32. —Dr. Seuss “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.”

33. Are you more into science or reading? Do you like basketball or football more? Let’s Try It Some More! Explain what is your favorite... Subject Sport

34. Stretch Break!!

35. Observation 3. Objective: We will get to know each other by observing our friend’s personal styles and mannerisms. I will observe my partner and then try to figure out what change they make to themselves.

36. Draw names for partners and line up facing each other Make observations for 2 minutes One partner turns around while the other closes their eyes Partner who turns around changes one detail Ms. Poole counts to 10 Partner who makes change turns back around and everyone opens their eyes Ms. Poole goes down the line asking everyone to guess the change We switch roles and repeat We will draw names for partners and line up facing each other. We will have 2 minutes to make observations about our partner- what are they wearing? How are they standing? What expressions are on their faces? Make as many mental notes as you can. When the time is up, they will turn around and change one thing while we close our eyes so we don’t see. Don’t peek, or it won’t be any fun. Then they will turn around, we will open our eyes, and Ms. Poole will ask us one at a time to guess the change. Using Your Powers of Observation

37. Closing: We’ve been making changes to ourselves during this activity. Share something about yourself that you wouldn’t change. Now share something about your partner that you like, and you think they shouldn’t change.

38. Would you rather …? How are we different? How are we alike? Vote with a Or a

39. Purple Green Have purple hair or green hair ?

40. Really short legs Really long arms Have really short legs or really long arms?

41. Tiger’s stripes Porcupine’s needles Have a tiger’s stripes or a porcupine’s needles?

42. Treehouse Igloo Live in a treehouse or an igloo?

43. Wash dishes Fold laundry Wash dishes or fold laundry ?

44. Teeth Hair Lose all of your teeth or all of your hair ?

45. Pizza Ice cream Never eat pizza again or never eat ice cream again ?

46. Pepper Pickle Eat the hottest pepper or the most sour pickle ?

47. Space Ocean Visit outer space or the bottom of the ocean ?

48. Baby Grown-up Go back to being a baby or fast forward to being a grown-up ?

49. Build a Tower 4 . Objective: We will discuss the value of working together as a team to construct a tower using the given supplies in the time allotted. I will practice measuring and write down my data with my teammates.

50. After the review of measuring, use the supplies provided to construct the tallest standing tower in 10 minutes. After time is up, use the ruler or measuring tape to measure your tower with your team and write it down. Ms. Poole will come around and measure everyone’s tower, and we will talk about them all. The team with the tallest standing tower wins! You are going to be placed into teams. This is a great chance to practice working together as a team. The rules of collaboration apply. You have been given some straws, some tape, and some scissors. You will be given ten minutes to build the tallest tower you can with these supplies. The tower must stand to be counted. At the end of the time, you will use the ruler or measuring tape to measure your tower to the nearest quarter inch. Before we begin we will review measuring. After everyone has measured their towers, Ms. Poole will come around and measure the towers and we will talk about everyone’s towers. The team with the tallest standing tower wins! Build A Tower

51. Closing: Purposeful talk: Choose one of these sentences to complete and share with the group. “I chose to add ______ to the tower design because_____” “This activity reminds me of ______” “Today I learned….”

52. Read Aloud Let’s read a story and discuss it using our rules for collaborative discussion. Remember, when I ask a question to raise your hands and wait to be called upon.

53. Hot Seat!!! Let’s play a game…

54. We will draw a name for who goes first Ms. Poole will write a word on the board The class will describe the word without saying the word The hot seat has 2 minutes to guess the word At the end of time, if they haven’t guessed, we will draw a new name We will repeat the process for the duration of the game (20-30 minutes) One student is selected to start in the “hot seat.” That student should sit facing the rest of the class with their back to the board. Write a word on the board behind them and then have the rest of the class describe that word without actually saying it. The student in the hot seat must guess the word. We especially love that this game uses critical thinking and gets students thinking about descriptive details. Hot Seat

55. Four Corners About Me A Mini-Arts and Crafts Project

56. Fold your papers into fourths . Write your name in the very middle where the corners meet. Choose four of your favorite things. It can be anything, like games, food, sports, shows, etc. In each of the squares, label your four things and draw a picture. Share your four favorites with the group. Post for display. Have fun and be creative! Let’s make a visual representation about who we are! You will be given a piece of construction paper to fold into fourths. In the center of the paper, write your name. In each corner, choose four of your favorite things. You will label them and draw them, and then we will share our four corners and display them in the class. Four Corners About Me

57. Three Words Let’s play a game… Brainstorm a topic for a story- like a day at the zoo, a trip to space, etc. Start the story with three words, then go around the room with each student adding three words.

58. Let’s Review Some of the Procedures What have we talked about so far?

59. Fire Drill Information

60. Wrapping Up/Dismissal 2. 1. 3. 4. Wait to be released by me Walk outside following our procedure Clean up your area Pack up your materials I have to be able to see who you leave with. If you ride the bus, I need to see you walk to the bus. This is a safety issue. Please do not leave without checking with me first!

61. Have a great weekend!!! I am so happy to have you in our class! It is going to be a great year! In this class, we are a family, and we work together as a team always. Be ready for a great year full of fun and lots of learning!