Back to School Checklist for Teachers
Tips for Preparing to Return to Teaching in a Middle or High School
Aug 1, 2008
Preparing a classroom for the new school year can be a daunting task. This handy checklist can be used to keep track of meaningful preparation activities.
The stress of preparing for a new school year can overwhelm new and seasoned teachers alike. Sometimes it may seem that the number of things to prepare is never ending. A checklist can help keep track of what needs to be done as well as what is still necessary to accomplish so the first day of school less stressful.
Back to School Checklist
- Read through student files. This provides a glimpse as to problem behaviors, learning challenges and gives an initial impression of each child.
- Decide on a room layout. Consider how to arrange desks or tables and where to best place technological devices. Keep in mind both teaching style and the needs of learners.
- Determine whether or not to use a seating chart. Alternatives to creating an initial seating arrangement are to place the responsibility for choice on the students or to have the creation of the chart to be a first day activity for the class.
- Organize the file cabinet. A few minutes now can eliminate the later frustration of piles of papers on the desk.
- Determine rules and consequences or what activity to use to have rules and consequences agreed upon by the class. This decision can be influenced by sources such as school rules, personal preference and the knowledge gained through student files.
- Create a poster of the daily schedule or obtain a copy from administration. Laminate it and place it in an obvious location for students.
- Hang selected posters on the walls. These can be motivational, educational or even for amusement and placed appropriately for their content.
- Decorate the bulletin board. Decide how to organize pieces that will stay for a long while and those that will change often. This is also a good time to decide how often to update different parts of the board.
- Check the computer and other technology devices. If they are not working as expected, turn in a request for repair now so it will be working by the time students arrive.
- Become familiar with any technological changes made over the summer. Whether a new portable lab, new piece of software or upgrades to the computer in the classroom it is good to investigate the changes now so they are not a surprise later.
- Look for new ways to integrate technology. Find a current assignment that could use a new approach and decide if part of it can be accomplished with a computer.
- Review collected ideas for activities and lessons for possible use. Especially look for ones that might be useful in the first month.
- Decide what activities to do the first week. How to welcome the students, introduce them to classroom rules and each other while also assessing their academic skills. Remember to vary activities for different learning styles.
Though the school year is just beginning a teacher can enjoy a less stressful start knowing that the necessary preparation is done. Once all of the preparation is completed, a teacher can be ready to welcome students and be better ready mentally to face the challenges of a new school year.
The copyright of the article Back to School Checklist for Teachers in Teaching Strategies/Mentorship is owned by Tammy Andrew. Permission to republish Back to School Checklist for Teachers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
