I remember always thinking, "Ugh, it's so soon in the year. I barely know their kids. Why can't it be a few weeks in???" But now that I've thought about it, it's okay that it's early. I prefer it so that I get all my information out to them as soon as possible. There are definitely years where I had to wing it when I told them about curriculum since it wasn't all figured out yet, but it's also okay if you change things.
So what's on students' desks???
- Name tag (I encourage parents to check out their child's desk for neatness and see what we've been working on so far)
- Apple for parent (see below for information about the poem and where I got the idea)
- Packet of information about classroom/curriculum & tips on how they can help their child this year (packet is underneath so you can't see it)
- Letter to parent from student welcoming them and telling them what they are excited about and what they've already learned so far.
- Tent card for parent to write a positive note to their child while they mingle and wait.
- Pen/pencil so parent can write the note.
The apple idea I got from this site and it is a poem that says, "An apple for the teacher is really nothing new, except when you remember, parents are teachers, too." I also made a couple leaves that say "Grandparents" or "Aunt/Uncle" for kiddos with different family situations.
What do I present???
While waiting for people to file in between presentations, I like to introduce myself personally and then encourage parents to check out the classroom and student work already displayed. I also remind them to write the positive note to their child on the tent card provided if they have not already done so.
I basically have my PowerPoint slideshow up that guides me through what I talk about with some pictures. Here's the order I have things in:
- Teacher introduction (where from, family, education, my goals as a teacher
- Class rules, rewards/consequences, & economic system (This part is HUGE! You can read more about it from this post.)
- Ways to communicate with me (I purposefully put this slide in because I don't check the school phone ever, and need to make it known.)
- My class website to access information about our class throughout the year; what it features
- HW expectations and how to utilize the student binders
- Brief overview of curriculum in reading, writing, math, social studies, and science
- Schedule/Specials (library, PE, music, etc.)
- How to access student grades & first conferences
- Miscellaneous topics (birthdays & half birthdays, volunteering, donation needs, any school wide expectations)
- Student needs: organization, designated place to do work/study, healthy habits
- End with a poem (I don't usually end with a question and answer session since there's not enough time. I simply tell them to email me or talk to me later if they have any questions.)
Other touches...
- I have extra chairs & handouts in the back
- Some years, I have an estimation jar for family members who come. They can guess how many M&Ms are in the jar and whoever is closest, their child gets the candy... I don't always do this though. I have no reason why.
- Donations area where I printed items I would like/need directly onto post-its. That way, parents can simply grab what they can donate and hopefully not forget! (picture below)
- Volunteer sign up utilizing my class website at the computer station. I use Google Docs, so anyone can access the live document and sign up, see who's already signed up, and I don't get too many people signing up for the same job (picture below)
3 Things
Basically, I feel it's important that during Back to School Night, teachers convey three things:
- They are competent about the curriculum.
- They are enthusiastic about their job.
- They care for their students' development academically, emotionally, and socially.
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