The Building Blocks of BTS: Week 1!

It's that time of year again...Back to School! You can tell by my blog feed - it's all about Back-to-School shopping and first week lesson plans. So as not to be left out, even though I am no longer in the classroom, I'm linking up with Mrs. D's Corner all month long to share some things I've learned from my years in the classroom for all of you heading back to school!

This week's theme? 

When I was a classroom teacher, we never had a "meet and greet" prior to the start of school. Sometimes, our teaching assignments were not finalized until the week before! So, during that first week (and beyond) it was especially important to build rapport, as this is the first time many of the students were meeting you.

Greeting

This one may seem simple, but a thoughtful greeting can really go a long way. Meet each of your newbies at the door, shake their hand and give them your attention. This can be especially important for the younger grades - it may be their first time in school!

Building Rapport

We all want to get started on academic work as soon as possible. Most likely, you've spent most of the summer planning out your literature centers and math curriculum. However, before any of that can get started successfully, you need to build rapport. If your students are not invested in you, they will not be invested in school. Use the first couple days of school to get to know each other by playing classroom games, having show and tell, and sharing interesting stories. I tend to have extended morning meetings during the first week of school to fit these objectives into the day.

Meet the Teacher Book

So this one takes some prep, but it's so worth it! I bought this product a couple of years ago, and I absolutely LOVE it! It's such a simple idea, but Kelly's beautiful presentations and lively colors makes it so engaging and fun.

Here's a peek at the rest of the month. Make sure to check back each week for more ideas from more terrific bloggers!

Head on over to check out Mrs. D's blog for even more awesome teaching ideas!

Link up below to join the fun!

An InLinkz Link-up