Daniel Patrick Dillon
October 14, 2014
First Days of School
First Grade
Mrs. Turner’s Scholars
The first day of school for students is tomorrow, and there is much to do, and
little time to do it. It is far from Mrs. Turner’s first day in the first grade classroom,
but that does not mean it will be any less hectic than any of the past six years. In
between professional development, getting an entirely new curriculum just two
days before the start of class, and a crush of clerical and administrative work, Mrs.
Turner still needs to find the time to get her room together, and prepare for her next
incoming group of scholars.
The rugs for the reading areas are laid out, shelves full of materials are
labeled and organized, cushions and bean bag chairs are placed around the room,
and a small wicker couch is in one corner of the room, nestled next to a large sock
monkey pillow. Colorful posters line the walls, full of information on how to sit,
appropriate noise levels at various times, calendars, number lines, and alphabet
displays on the word wall, as well as, on the nametags that designate each scholar’s
desk. The desks are arranged in four pods each containing four desks. There is a cup
with Velcro attached to each desk with four sharpened pencils, one eraser, one
highlighter, and one dry erase marker. It took years of trial and error to arrive at
this setup. Who knew that pencil distribution could be so tricky?
It is now the first day, and the halls are full of students milling about, trying
to find their new classroom. Mrs. Turner greets students outside the door to her
room, some lost, some former scholars headed to classrooms up the stairs, and of
course her new group of first grade scholars. She instructs each scholar to put his or
her backpack in the closet behind her makeshift desk, and to find the desk with his
or her name on it.
The bell rings, and Mrs. Turner closes her door as the morning
announcements welcome the students back for another year of school at Bellevue
Elementary. At the conclusion of the announcements, Mrs. Turner introduces herself
to her new group of scholars. The introduction is short, as her scholars will learn
plenty about her as the year progresses. She then has the new scholars introduce
themselves, and gives them an opportunity to share something about them with the
class.
Above the white board in the front of the class, there is a large poster with
black and yellow writing on a red and blue background. It reads, “Scholars Don’t
Make Mistakes, They Make Discoveries!” She wants the class to understand that
when they are in her classroom they are all scholars, and calls them all scholars
when not referring to them by name. She teaches the class a call and response that
they will perform each morning at the start of the day. Mrs. Turner begins by asking
the class, “What is a Scholar?” The class responds, “A scholar is a person who lives to
learn, and is good at it. I am a scholar!” Mrs. Turner concludes the exercise by
replying, “And don’t you forget it!”
It is time to establish the rules for the classroom. Mrs. Turner has a general
set of rules that stay the same from year to year. She reads from a book called, What
if Everybody Did That? written by Ellen Javernick. The book focuses on considerate
behavior and leads into establishing the rules for the classroom. There is a class
discussion to establish the specific set of rules that govern the class for that year.
Mrs. Turner leads a class discussion, and guides the students toward her general set
of rules when applicable, and add novel ones that the students create. The next day,
she adds a poster enumerating the class-generated list of rules.
The rest of the first week, and most of the first month, is focused on
classroom procedure. Mrs. Turner is a big believer in establishing classroom
procedures early. If the class needs to work on walking in line in the hall forty times,
it is well worth the effort later on. Despite getting her new curriculum two days
before the start of class, she has found the focus on procedures during the first
thirty days to be incredibly helpful. She found past curriculum to be too content
focused early on, leaving her “behind the eight ball when it comes to classroom
management.”
As the first week of school draws to a close, and the students head home for
the weekend, Mrs. Turner reflects on what has worked, what could be improved,
and what this particular group of scholars will require. It is a constant learning
process, both for her and her budding scholars. The road ahead may be long and at
times arduous, but with a positive, focused atmosphere, and with her rules and
procedures clear and taking shape, she feels that her scholars are heading in the
right direction.
3 Artifacts:
Artifact 1: Establishing students’ identity as scholars.- Text: “Scholars Don’t Make
Mistakes. They Make Discoveries!’
Artifact 2: Classroom Rules- Text: “Scholar’s Code of Conduct. 1. Be good to people.
2. Respect the classroom and everybody in it. 3. Show respect when people are
talking. 4. Be the BEST you be!”
Artifact 3: Guide on appropriate noise levels during various activities. The Noise-OMeter- Text: “Noise O Meter. No Voice 0. Whisper 1. Conversation 2. Presentation 3.
Outside 4.”
Bibliography
From Emily Turner, photographed on September 18, 2014, Bellevue Elementary
School, Richmond Public Schools.