Thread: First Year Middle School Teacher

Congratulations!!!

Have procedure ready to go though with them the first day.
Be consistent
Have a sense of humor (you will need it).

I agree with wag said, and would like to add one thing . . .

I'd recommend being STRICTER with your procedures in the beginning. It's far easier to let up on them later than to try to buckle down on them later.

I always start much stricter than I prefer to run my classroom, and most of the classes can be let up on as they prove they are responsible enough to handle it . . . and then there's always ONE class that has to have the heavy hand all year.

Thank you both for the excellent tips. I believe being prepared and being firm & direct in the beginning will established a better repore with the students.

Excellent advice so far. You'll get lots of that here. I know from experience!

I will add two things, each depending on the grade level y ou have.

1. If you have 6th grade (and perhaps this is true of 7th as well) expect the students to be somewhat immature at the outset. With some 6th grade groups it will be true a good chunk of the year. What do I mean by immature? It can manifest itself in a number of ways, but most have something to do with accountability and personal responsibility. Many 6th graders, particularly the boys, have little sense of either one. Yes, this will depend, but my own experience in the last three consecutive years is that this is true. They are coming, in most cases, from a self-contained classroom where they were led around, followed after, and taken care of. That, in itself, is not evil, but in middle school, one of our jobs is to wean them from being so needy and dependent on others, NOT because we don't care, but because we do. As they move on in school and in life, they will have to be able to do many things for themselves. The sooner we prepare them for this, the better it will be for everyone.

2. And this really goes with #1, in a sense. Don't assume your students know your expectations, know your procedures or even know how to be middle school students. You will need to train them and train them again, particularly if they are sixth graders. As someone already pointed out, some groups have to be constantly reminded far into the year. One year, I had 6th graders who still hadn't adjust as late as April! Come to think on it, I don't believe some of them ever did.

Best of luck to y ou!

Ditto what everyone said about procedures - have one for everything.

Double ditto what Bill said about not assuming. Don't assume they know when it is appropriate to sharpen a pencil or get supplies. Have a procedure for EVERYTHING!

Time spent teaching and practicing procedures the first few weeks of school pays off big time the rest of the year.

Remember that everything you tell them is news to them. You do really have to tell them everything you want them to do.

I'm going to be a new middle school Language Arts teacher, too. Do you guys have any ideas on what to do on the first day? I know that there are procedures I should go over but I would like to know how the veteran teachers handle the first day. Thanks