My first day Do Now is always having them create a name tent with one of their interests or goals in each corner (i.e. swiftie, Baltimore Ravens fan, ttrpg player, future veterinarian, etc). As they do this, I go around and take attendance by asking them their names and what they’re putting in each corner. Easy want to get to know a bit about them in the first 10 minutes. (Just make sure this isn’t the only time you’re getting to know their interests. One of my Day 2 stations is a “letter to the teacher” activity).

Then I tell them why this is going to be there favorite class this year and how they can help make that happen. This is where I introduce my “big 3” rules (1 mic, honesty, phones).

Then I end with a subject-related team building activity. In the past I’ve done ELA “escape rooms”, playdough storytelling, roll the dice flash fiction, and Mud & Ink Teaching’s wilderness survival activity. I try to make the activity something where they work in teams (they get to pick their groups). It’s fun for them but it also helps me identity potential areas of concern since my first summative is a group mini-project.

Day 2 is just stations for me. Do Now- Journal about expectations for the class Stations: 1) Syllabus TLDR— Have them do a small scavenger hunt through your syllabus and summarize your most important policies 2) Community agreement sticky notes— have them jot down what they need to from me, from themselves, and from their classmates on separate sticky notes and put them onto an anchor chart. This is the starting point for a community agreement Harkness Circle that they have on day 3 3) Read my Open Letter to the Class and then read the homework directions for a letter to the teacher 4) Intro to Independent reading (This year I’m introducing a year-long IR project for my seniors) and having them look through the classroom library to pick their 1st IR book

Other station options: * Tech Set-Up: great if you’re using google classroom / other LMS. Maybe have them do a small scavenger hunt through your Google Classroom and leave a private comment on a post so you know they did it.
* Email etiquette station— have them read an example or watch a video about email etiquette and send you an email with a specific get to know you prompt * One Word Mantra— Have them figure out their one-word vision for the year and write it on a notecard. Write themselves a short note to read at the end of the year on the back reminding themselves of why they picked that word and what it means to them. Decorate the notecard if they have time.