Welcome to episode #12 of Ready, Set, Science! Today’s episode is part one of three on how to get yourself ready for a great school year. I know that many of you are still on summer break but I wanted to give you a few things to think about as you prepare for the first day of school. So get ready, get set, let’s teach science!

• Reflection and goal setting

  • Think about what was good and what could be improved

    • Student reflection form (3 times a year)

    • Look at your own notes

  • Set goals for the school year

    • Vision Boards https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Vision-Board-Guidelines-5355688

• Physical Layout

  • Student Centers

    • Make this easy and accessible - it should be in a place where students can see it and access it easily during class without causing a disruption

    • Make it student friendly with all supplies they might need

    • Let students know that these are their supplies, they do not have to ask to use the things in the student center

  • Teacher desk/work space

    • Folders for for things like “to copy”, “to grade”, etc….

  • Boards

    • Have at least 1 board dedicated to student information.

      • Calendars

      • Lunch menus

      • Rules/guidelines

      • School policies

        • I set up QR codes to direct them to the school website to find the handbook or other important things

      • E-hall pass QR code

    • Use fabric as you background instead of paper! Fabric will last longer and it will not fade.

  • Desk set up and seating

    • Flexible seating

    • Set up rules for flexible movement

• Plan and prep

  • Use some time before the school year starts to plan the following

    • Syllabus - review it and update with important information. I ask students to leave this in their binder. Click here to see the syllabus I use.

      • Make a quick reference or “one sheet” for the parents to keep at home

        • Template Links:

          • Canva 1 sheet template 

    • The first week (4 days) of school

      • Day one - do something fun to learn about your students 

        • 4 corners

      • Day two & three - continue to learn about each other and the classroom space

        • This is where you go over the syllabus

        • Scavenger Hunt

      • Day four - design challenge or team building

  • Set up your LMS

    • This is the time for you to make it look fancy and get it organized.

    • I use Schoology so I am able to access my old courses and reuse many of the links. 

    • Remember to review your LMS set up as part of your course syllabus

• Videos

  • I like to record quick videos on how to use specific tools or apps. Where to find things on my LMS and other important information. This is a great way to help parents understand where things are and how things work but it also serves as a reminder for students.

Well that is all for today’s episode! If you have any things that you do to get your classroom ready for the school year I would love to hear about them. Head over to instagram and share it with the community!

Thanks for listening!

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