First Day Classroom Behavior Lesson Plan

Name: Sean Harkness Class/Subject: 11th Grade United States History Time
8:05-8:10

8:10-8:20

8:20-8:45

Start of Class: Students will enter the classroom for the first day and choose their seats with the knowledge that they will be able to sit wherever they like every day as long as they there are no issues with staying on task and unnecessary conservation which is distracting to the rest of the classroom. Introduction of Lesson: I will introduce myself and provide my background as well as the story as to how I ended up as a History and Education major in college. Also, I will take the opportunity to explain to them why I became a teacher and the value that I see in a strong education, especially considering many of them will be going to college soon. Lastly, the floor will be open for questions that they have for me about college, teaching, the coaching I do, and any other questions they may have. Lesson Instruction: In order to make the classroom rules applicable to the students I will introduce the idea of the students assisting in the creation of the rules. One of the reasons for doing this is to make the students accountable to themselves and each other. By having a say in the creation of the rules they have to abide by they will have a greater respect for them and if they broke them they cannot argue against any kind of punishment because they had a say in its creation. I will begin by writing down on the board which rules are school-wide and set out guidelines that the classroom rules must be within reason. Rules in the classroom cannot trump those that are enforced throughout the school and must be appropriate. Next, I will allow the students to give individual rules they would like to have in class such as input on late assignment policy, cell phone use in the room, code of conduct, etc. They will write each of these on the board. I will add some of my own suggestions and insights as well. Once this is done, students will vote as a class on each rule with a simple majority needed for each to become a classroom rule (over half). Those which do not receive a majority vote will be scrapped. The rules and guidelines which receive a majority will then be written on butcherboard paper and hung on the walls so that the students can reference them at their leisure. Closure/Wrap-Up/Review: To finish the lesson, I will ask the students what they learned about themselves and about the student-teacher and student-student behavioral dynamic in classrooms based on this activity. Also, feedback will be provided on whether the activity was worthwhile to them.

8:45-8:50