Making a First Impression & Setting the Tone

First impressions are important, especially with the first days of school. What happens in those first days sets the tone for the entire school year through a combination spoken expectations, student learning experiences, and classroom rituals. Here are some questions worth considering when planning for the first days of school:

• How will I get all students talking about their mathematical thinking from Day 1?

• How will I set the expectation that all students will actively be involved in mathematical thinking and discourse each and every day? How will I model and communicate my role as a teacher in the classroom?

• How will I encourage students to embrace a growth mindset with their ability to succeed math, despite prior experiences? How will I cultivate positive student math identities?

• What kinds of tasks will I use that promote collaboration, problem solving, and mathematical discourse in the first days? How will I utilize productive struggle in a positive way?

• What norms do I want for my classroom? How might students be involved in creating such norms?

In thinking about the first days of school, here are some resources for exploration:

• Using Problem-Solving to Build Community From Day 1 (Edutopia)

• Dos and Don’ts for the First 2 Weeks of Elementary Math Classes (Edutopia)

• Week of Inspirational Math(s) (youcubed.org)

• Building a Thinking Classroom in Math (Edutopia)

Establishing Classroom Norms

Daily mathematical discourse and fostering a language-rich learning environment where it's the students that are doing the talking, the thinking, and the mathematics doesn't happen by chance. It takes strong classroom norms, explicit modeling by teachers, and positive reinforcement for such norms to be established in forming the culture of the classroom. Having classroom norms not only defines how interpersonal communication will operate in the classroom, but they also empower students to take ownership of their learning and their thinking. 

Two examples of norms specific to the mathematics classroom are shown below:

Even the Seven Norms of Collaborative Work can be adapted for students in a classroom.