First Week Plans

For the past three years, the beginning of every year has meant a new school, new students, new classes. Last year I had FOUR preps, one of which I didn't know about until a week before school started. So my first days of school have always been pretty mundane. Here's the syllabus, here's your book, here's the rules... blah blah blah. But this year I am at the same school, in the same room and feel like I can breathe under my three preps (two of which are new, but oh well!).

After reading the #mssunfun and hearing(reading) so many posts about not starting the year like a robot I'm inspired to not even mention my syllabus until our third (and first full 90 minute block) class. Now, school is still a week and a half away from starting, so my plans are not set yet, but here are some of the ideas that have most struck me.

• Google doc survey. There's your homework for the first day. And it's all saved there in my gdocs so I can get a hold of a student or parent even when I'm on vacation in Tahiti. (lol)
• By the numbers quiz. Love the idea of making the kids think I'm giving them a quiz the first day, and then having it actually be about me! Also giving them the opportunity to share about themselves. Nice posts on this here and here.
• Who Am I Chart - I know it's Dan Meyer's but I can't seem to find his actual post about it. Here's the chart the kids fill in.
• Algebra 2 Graphing Stories - which I will use for Algebra 2 and Calculus

And then in no particular order, here are some of the ideas I stole off the Middle School list, 

• 31 Game
• Nametag/Feedback card
• Vacation Human Bingo
• Sherlock Holmes
• Rice/Gold on a Chessboard 
• Puzzles for Geometry and Algebra 2
• Block Games
• Watermelon in the desert problem

Read through the rest of the middle school math teachers' first day posts HERE