As a high school teacher with a short 42-minute period in which to teach and a 1,000-page textbook supplied by the district, it’s hard not to feel the pressure to get things done . . . and get them done quickly. There is so much that I want to do with the year that in the past, I’ve often felt overwhelmed and have rushed to pack it all in. Over time, I’ve realized that spending more time establishing essential class routines during the first month of school goes a long way toward helping my students have a successful year. These are the five objectives that I now work to accomplish during the first month of school:
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Establish the Habit of Writing
From the first day, I want my students to know that writing will be an important component of the class. To get this point across, we begin writing on the very first day. I like to present students with a poem or short prose piece that has a distinctive style that helps us begin discussing author’s craft and that we use as a model for our own pieces.
Within the first week, we begin setting up and writing in the composition notebooks that we will use throughout the year. During the first month, we flood the brainstorming section with ideas that we can return to all year long for inspiration, and we write almost daily in the writing section on a variety of topics. Not only does this practice develop writing fluency and stamina, but it creates a large body of work that students can return to throughout the year for expanding, playing with craft, and revising.
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Create a Culture of Sharing
If writing is a large part of our classroom, my students need to be comfortable sharing it with others. At the beginning of the year, I always make time for sharing after we write in our composition notebooks. I encourage my students to share a bit of what they wrote with the class, and I do the same. There are always students who are willing to share from day one, but there are just as many who need to build up the courage to do so. Continuing to make time for sharing throughout the first month allows the more reluctant students to warm up to the idea. The added bonus is that through sharing stories of our names, scars, neighborhoods, and treasured items, we get to know each other in ways we may not have otherwise.
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Establish the Habit of Silent Reading
Independent reading is a large part of our classroom, and in the first month I work to establish it as a habit. If I rush into telling students to read but offer little to no support, many students will not be successful. Taking the time to share and look at books will help my students make choices throughout the year. Discovering each student’s reading rate helps us see where they are and what they can accomplish. And setting appropriate goals gives students a plan of action.
We also begin the routine of reading for 10 minutes at the beginning of each class. This sets the tone for the out-of-class reading that students are required to do. Many of my students are out of the habit of reading, and allowing time for it in class is enough to get them into a book, which will often make them want to keep reading.
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Hold the First Reading Conference
I informally chat with my students about reading and books from day one, but during the first month I like to hold my first “official” reading conferences. This usually occurs toward the end of the first month, after students have had enough time to choose and settle into a book. My first conference focuses on how things are going. Students can talk with me about their concerns, surprises, and early successes. I have found that if I don’t schedule time for reading conferences in advance, they will most likely be swept aside for the sake of time. If they are a recurring event, say, on the last Friday of the month, I am more likely to keep them going throughout the year.
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Take One Piece of Writing Through the Writing Process
Toward the end of the first month, I want students to have produced a polished piece of writing. To get to the finished piece, students will have spent time in different stages of the writing process. Lots of brainstorming and quick-writes in our composition notebooks give students many options for choosing a piece of writing to expand. After an initial draft, we revise for content, adding, deleting, or rearranging words and details. Once I read the drafts, I plan instruction over a grammar issue for more focused editing. At this point, students have an essay that is ready for publication.
My ultimate goal for the first month of school is to establish the important reading and writing habits that will be the foundation of the entire year. I sometimes still feel the pressure to rush on and jump into other content on my syllabus, but I know that habits are not established in a day or even in a week. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Success is not an action, but a habit.” If this is true, at the end of the first month of school, my students should be well on their way to becoming stronger readers and writers.
