- Tuesday 05 July 2016
- 0 Comments
The first day of a new term can be exhausting. After two weeks of holiday fun and relaxation, students are likely to be excited to see their friends and be back in the learning environment—and difficult to calm down, engage and motivate.
To make the experience slightly less stressful for you, as well as fun for them, here are a few ideas for organising the classroom and preparing for the new semester.
Give the students something different and exciting to look at! Choose some new decorations for around the room to capture their attention and enhance their learning experience. 
Some themes for Term 3 include:
- The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, which commence on August 5. View our comprehensive teaching resource.
- National Literacy and Numeracy Week which begins on August 29.
- Stories by Roald Dahl. This year marks 100 years since the birth of the world's number one storyteller. Decorate your classroom for the term or have a special celebration on Roald Dahl Day - September 13.
- International Talk Like a Pirate Day which falls on September 19.
Aside from having decorations it is also useful to have strategies for managing behaviour, lining up/following school rules, handing in finished work and keeping the workspace tidy.
Some ideas for reinforcing and adapting classroom routines include:
- Changing the seating plan and classroom layout. A ‘new’ learning environment is an effective way of inspiring students as they are able to recreate their workspace.
- Having ‘in’ and ‘out’ trays for students to submit completed work and collect again when marked.
- Changing teaching pedagogy. Instead of relying on the same type of work/activities, try something new; e.g. projects, outside learning, games etc.
- Creating a new rewards system. This could include awarding stickers, selecting a ‘Star of the day’, implementing a monetary-based reward system or using ClassDojo.
- Writing each day’s schedule on the board. As many students are visual learners, this will help them to organise themselves and make transitions between lessons easier. This will also help the teacher to organise their thoughts and visualise the day ahead.
In addition to students starting back for a new semester, there is often the added anxiety for new students arriving at the school. This can be a time of confusion, nervousness and other mixed emotions, as well as stress for the teacher who strives to integrate the student into the class as seamlessly as possible, helping them make new friends and catch up on any lessons they may have missed. A great idea to help new students is to create a ‘Supply pack’ which includes information and supplies among other things to help the student and make them feel welcome. See this and other awesome ideas at New Kids on the Block: Welcome New Students.
For more ideas, check out 18 Amazing classroom organisation tips & tricks.