Welcome Back Week!

Is Anyone Else Overwhelmed by the First Week of School?

Although it's exciting, the first week of school always hits like a tidal wave. There's an infinite list of tasks to accomplish in so little time—all while trying to memorize dozens of names! In my Welcome Week Slides, I prioritize four key goals: building community, clarifying expectations, stressing the importance of functional literacy, and administering pre-assessments.

Building Community

Without respect and trust in the classroom, we don't have much do we? The Equity &

Excellence in Education Program at McDaniel taught me how to create a culturally responsive classroom. A great way to get started is by playing games. I've learned (the hard way) that during the first week of school freshies are shy and do NOT want to be singled out. I've tried to stick with games in which they are part of a group or in which verbal participation is voluntary. These are tried in true activities that have helped students build relationships with each other and me. I can't take credit for all of them as a few were gifted to me by fellow teachers.

I continue to build community throughout the year. For starters, I always greet my students at the door with a smile. My attendance question Monday-Thursday is a "Would You Rather" question. I thought about posting these but I discovered that this is no longer an original idea and there are an abundance to choose from on the internet. Plus, now that I see what's out there, they are not quite "pretty" enough to publish! On Fridays, we do "Fake Headline of the Week" which is exactly what it sounds like. They love guessing which outrageous news story I fabricated. Both games commence hilarious debates and discussion. They are great ways to get to know someone.

Of course, building a safe and welcoming environment isn't all fun and games. In a remedial reading course, you can expect that students have experienced trauma. Consistency, connection, and emotional safety serve as powerful protective factors that can buffer the negative effects of trauma. When I notice signs of trauma, such as withdrawal, aggression, hypervigilance, difficulty concentrating, or unexplained physical complaints, I respond with empathy and support. Many students, regardless of their history, have not been taught coping mechanisms and exhibit dysregulation.   I'd love to go into more detail about trauma informed practices at a later date as it deserves its own post, at the very minimum. There are entire blogs and graduate courses on this important topic. I recommend Choose Calm. They have tons of asynchronous classes at affordable prices for graduate credit!

Clarifying Expectations

Setting clear expectations is also essential to building community. I never assume we all share the same definition of respect or that students were paying close attention during school-wide orientation. So, we review expectations explicitly. We watch short video clips that model respectful and disrespectful behaviors, and we go over the syllabus in a competitive format to keep it engaging. Every Monday, I review a one-slide policy reminder directly after attendance. It may seem repetitive, but as they say: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The Importance of Functional Literacy

I’m hitting this point hard this year. I spent way too much time creating the infographics in the Welcome Week Slides—but it was worth it. My goal is to battle apathy and dropout rates with cold, hard facts.

I say that partially in jest. I worked hard to balance reality with optimism, and urgency with compassion. Many of the literacy statistics I found weren’t appropriate for my students because, ironically, they weren’t accessible to non-proficient readers. So, I created materials that speak to them, not above them. I want students to take literacy seriously. Too many skip or drop the class. While some of that is beyond my control, I have to balance empathy with accountability.

One key message I emphasize: illiteracy is not linked to intelligence. It’s often the result of systemic failure. I hope my “Literacy as a Civil Right” slides will inspire students to see education as a tool of empowerment. I’ve also included a few video clips that I think will resonate.

Pre-Assessments & Goal-Setting

I administer four pre-tests to gather baseline data, Phonology Pre-Tests Part I and Part II

Morphology Pre-Test, DIBELS, and The Phonology Awareness Screening Test. A major highlight for the 25-26 school year is my student Reading Data & Goals capture sheet. As described in the slides, we are spending more time than ever in thoughtfully and explicitly setting the purpose and tone for the school year. For more information about the pre-assessments and goal-setting, see my post here.

Don't forget to also grab the Welcome Week Capture Sheet to accompany the Welcome Week Slides. Both are designed to help build community, clarify expectations, uplift the importance of functional literacy, and—hopefully—inspire.