Know how you plan to seat students when they first enter the room
There are several different ways you can seat students when they first arrive in your class.
Allow students to choose their own seat Pro: Doesn't require prior planning on the part of the teacher. Con: Students will most likely sit next to friends which can cause early talking/disruption problems.
Alphabetize students Pro: Will help you remember student names. Con: There will be much chaos and confusion in the classroom while you "re-seat" students once they've entered the room.
Use a random seating arrangement. Pro: This is a great way for the teacher to meet each and every student as they enter the room. Con: It does take a little while to write student names into a seating chart.
Tips for Seating Charts
Make up a "master" seating chart that shows either desk or table seating arrangements in the room. Make several copies of this sheet so that you don't have to redraw it each time you make changes.
Use pencil when writing in student names on seating chart to help make changes easier.
Staple your seating chart to the right side of a manila folder for each class. On the left side you can staple a copy of your attendance sheet. Now you can check attendance without ever calling roll. Simply look at who is missing on the seating chart and record it on the roll sheet.
To seat students randomly, use laminated colored squares. Label each table or row of desks with a different color. When greeting students at the door, have them draw a colored square from a jar or basket. Next ask them to choose a seat at the matching table or row. You can also use die-cut shapes (primary) or suites of cards.
Know where you want students to place supplies
Most middle and high school teachers won't have to worry about this as much as the primary and elementary teachers. Older students tend to purchase supplies for themselves which will stay in their backpack or locker. However, with the younger students, you will get "classroom" supplies such as tissues, scissors, colored pencils, folders, paper, etc. that you will want to collect. Have a place in your room ready to collect those supplies.
Have an assignment ready for students to begin working on as soon as they walk in the room
This assignment could be as easy as make a name tag for your desk, fill out a student information sheet, draw a picture of your favorite summer activity. For older students, try a journal topic, a brain teaser or challenge, a student fact sheet, a prior knowledge quiz, or some other content based assignment that will help you assess student abilities.
Get to know your students
One great activity to do on the first day is the Name Game. I have used it with elementary all the way to Seniors in high school. The biggest reason why I use it is because it helps me remember everyone's name. To play, go around the room and have each student say his or her first name. The first person states his/her name, the second person repeats the first name and then adds their own. This goes on around the room until the teacher who must repeat everyone's name in the room before introducing him or herself.
Do everything in pencil the first couple of weeks
No matter what grade you teach, most likely you will have students leave and/or enter your classroom during the first several days. Enter student names on roll sheets, locker and textbook records, grade book, and seating chart in pencil so that you can make changes more easily and keep everything looking neat.
