First Day...

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First Day...
By Tricia

On the 1st day of school I have the students find their seats, read their letter from me and begin writing back to me. We then do a morning meeting, where we go around in a circle and introduce yourself and tell one unique
thing about themselves. We usually do some sort of activity during morning meeting also. This takes up a good chunk of time.
We spend about an hour brainstorming the classroom rules and I guide them towards RESPECT and RESPONSIBILITY. We make a chart, discuss examples of respecful & responsible behavior, etc. They then write a sentence for each "I am being respectful when..."

and illustrate it. This is a great activity because it becomes a bulletin board that stays up all year!
Biopoems/ I Am Poems are another great activity for the kids to do. I have them follow the format and write the final copy on a paper t-shirt, hang them on a wire across the room and title it "Hanging out in 5th Grade".
As far as management goes...have a good sense of humor! This grade level is wonderful because they get your jokes, helpful hints about behavior. I often say "Which rule are you breaking?...How can you make that behavior look more respectful?" They usually straighten up right away!
Hope this helps! Good luck...sorry it's so long!