Day i^4 plans (a work in progress)

Well, the kiddos do not arrive until September 4th. Teachers report back on September 2nd (good 'ole NJ - after Labor Day. Go ahead and laugh when it's June and we are still in school). I went in this past week to bring supplies up to my different classrooms and to unpack my workstation (the teachers that do not have their own classrooms have desks in communal workrooms). It is a decent amount of space, but even in my third year of teaching I already have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. Ugh. I am neurotic, what can I say?

Anyway, onto my Day 1 plans. Day 1 is insanely boring. I would LOVE to do something fun, but the truth is it's just not fun. The first day is run on an extended homeroom schedule so the classes are shortened. I would rather get all of the boring stuff out of the way and then have fun starting on Day 2!

When students walk in, they are going to complete a brief "Math Attitudes" survey as the day's warm-up. Then I have a cute PowerPoint to highlight the topics covered in the Course Outline (even I would fall asleep if I went through that with them line by line).

Side note: when we do get around to starting our INBs (I'm thinking Day 3 - start fresh on a Monday?!), this sheet will be toward the front with a reminder of our class expectations. 

Sorry! I just grabbed a screen-shot right from Word, so pardon the red squiggly lines! :) And yes, there are hashtags in my list of expectations. Gotta get their attention somehow, right?!

Okay, back to Day 1. After we review key aspects from the Course Outline, I will lead students on a walk-through of my Google Site & Calendar on their Chromebooks (if they all picked them up over the summer that will be FANTASTIC, but I'm not expecting it - so I'm going to project my computer as well).

The class calendar is embedded right on my site. Since it is also shared with all of them they get annoyed when it pops up on their phones! ;-)

Also on my Google Site, I post the day's agenda. Here's Day 1, which reminds me that I forgot to mention that we take time during my PowerPoint to sign up for Remind alerts as a class. 

Mostly the parents just have homework on the first day. But I also created a quick survey about previous math classes and students' reflections about their work ethic, sense of responsibility, and friends they would like to work with in the class. This is a Google Form that they can complete right from my site. Cool!

Students will also complete the Who I Am graphic organizer (I know you have seen it, so no picture) which I have reduced to actually fit in their INBs. First I want to collect them and learn about my students though. So we will tape it in our notebooks next week. 

And then we will wrap-up the day with this idea stolen from Math=Love. I saw in her post that she has a different hashtag for this school year, but I'll still steal this one. :)

If time allows, it's puzzle time. Oh boy I do love puzzles. I picked up a dozen of these gems from a party store and I am IN LOVE. 

I plan to take the pieces out of the handy little containers before the start of school so that there is no peeking at a correct solution. And as a bribe, if any of my students complete their puzzle before the end of the period, they win a homework pass (with the exclusion that they cannot use it on any of the first day's homework or the screening test they will get on Day 2).

And that's it. That's Day 1 in a nutshell.... But, my plans may change. That is nearly two weeks away.