First Day Organizational Checklist

SPU- Website Photo3

  • Seating Chart and desk arrangement
  • Secure class lists
  • Script of the first day
  • Syllabus created
  • Discipline and consequences plan (which align with school’s) devised
  • Procedures are in place for student behavior in these situations (Wong & Wong, 2009, p. 171):
    • Beginning of class
    • When pencils break or a student needs supplies
    • When an emergency signal sounds
    • When a student finishes their work early
    • When a student has a question or needs the teacher’s attention
    • When a student needs to use the restroom
    • Where to find the daily assignment
    • Where homework will be turned in
    • What a student should do if they miss class
    • End of class
  • Letter sent home to students and parents before the first day
  • All necessary bins for turning in homework, extra assignments, etc. have been acquired and labeled
  • Classroom is cleaned and decorated appropriately
  • Teacher knows how to work the applicable classroom equipment
  • Teacher has all applicable keys, passwords, and usernames
  • Teacher knows what the departmental and school-wide curriculum expectations and patterns there are which will impact instruction
  • Teacher knows who they can talk to if they need help in various situations
  • Teacher knows various emergency and front desk phone numbers and emails
  • Teacher knows their school’s policies on behavioral issues, such as eating in class and cell phones.

This is an example of an effective checklist for the first day of school, because it prepares the teacher.  As Sun Tzu once said, “Every battle is won before it is fought”.  This large organizational checklist will take a lot of time and effort to complete.  But, if a teacher can do this before the first day of school, they can start the school year with confidence.

This checklist makes sure that the teacher knows curricular and behavioral expectations on themselves from the school and district, which lets them structure their classroom effectively.  With that in mind, the teacher can also create their expectations for students before the first day.  Then, from day one they can communicate their expectations of all kinds to students, knowing those expectations already align with the school and district’s policies.  Communicating expectations from day one will give the teacher great consistency in the eyes of their students, which is essential to effective management.

Other portions of the checklist, such as having a clean classroom, all necessary equipment, and a fully functional syllabus, all will let the teacher focus on the most important aspects of the first week of school when the time comes: establishing good classroom norms and starting the relationship off strong with students.  If these tasks aren’t complete before the first day, the teacher endangers the health of the classroom, potentially for the whole year.

Works Cited:

Wong, H. & Wong, R. (2009) The First Days of School: How to Be an

           Effective Teacher Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications,

           Inc.