The start of a new term can always be tricky, especially after an exciting period such as Christmas. Getting your students engaged and ready for action again is easy with a bit of preparation and planning.
Getting organised for the new term
Firstly, as a teacher it is key that you are organised when it comes to the start of term. With shorter breaks it can be more challenging but try and make sure you have basic some lesson plans and outlines prepped so that you can start re-introducing some routine and structure. Think about how your class performed in the previous term and use this to start forming lessons and teaching methods that you will use for the new term.
Getting some sleep and feeling relaxed going in to the first day is also crucial. The night before, make sure you have all of your bags ready to go and have your lunch and outfit sorted so that you aren’t rushing around in the morning.
By organising yourself, you will start the week off feeling calmer and will feel good knowing that you are prepared and ready to give it your all.
Next, focus on your classroom and on how you will start to get students engaging with lessons again. This can seem hard as they will be full of excitement still and wanting to chatter amongst themselves, but once they have gotten back in to the swing of things.
Make sure the classroom is welcoming and colourful when students arrive, posters and other visual aids can really help with this.
Then, try and make sure your first lesson isn’t too information or writing heavy. The key here is to get students using their brains again, but in a fun way without bombarding them with too much work. There are lots of great online resources made by teachers that can give you some ideas for lessons that are a bit more relaxed.
The start of a new term doesn’t have to be negative for students or teachers and it’s actually a great way of starting fresh and finding new ways to approach both teaching and learning.