Most kids would be surprised to know that teachers are every bit as nervous as they are on the first day of school! Why do we worry so much? Perhaps it’s because we know that the first day of school sets the tone for the rest of the year. We want to get it right on Day One or we may pay the price all year! But the problem is that we hear conflicting messages about what the first day of school should look like. Veteran teachers used to tell newbies that it’s best not to smile until Christmas – that way the kids know you mean business. I don’t think anyone really believes that advice anymore, but we should we go to the other extreme? Should we seat kids in teams right away, or should they be in straight rows for the first few weeks of school? Should the first day of school be fun, or should it be a time to learn the rules and classroom procedures?
Personally, I think we can do both on the first day of school. In fact, if we want to establish a caring classroom climate, I think we must do both on the first day of school. We need to let kids know that our classroom will be a fun place to learn, but it’s also a classroom with clear rules and procedures.
One of the big considerations for the first day of school is how to seat students. Should they be seated in rows or teams? If they are in teams, should they pick their teammates?
My view is that the best way to teach kids how to work in cooperative learning teams is to start teaching them that way on the first day of school. If you put them in rows on the first day, then later when you put them in teams, your students may think it’s play time.
My kids are placed in teams from the very first day of school. When my students arrive in my classroom, they will find a nametag on an assigned seat for the first day of school. That seat will be a part of a team of four students, and we’ll begin learning appropriate ways to interact in teams. Throughout the day, we’ll do several fun team-building and class-building activities, and each time I’ll share specific procedures for movement and conversation. For the next two or three days, I will mix them up in different teams so they can get to know their classmates. Then on the third or fourth day I’ll create more permanent, mixed-ability teams. At no time do I let them pick their own teams. Sometimes they may choose a partner for an activity, but their teams are always assigned by me.
For more information on how to create mixed-ability teams, visit the Team Formation page on Teaching Resources. You can also find information and diagrams about how to arrange seating to foster cooperative learning activities.
What’s your experience with team formation? Do you like to put kids in teams on the first day of school or wait until you teach other classroom procedures? My way is just one way . . . and I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
I chucked my desks in favor of tables as I like how it fosters teamwork and cooperative grouping. I start right off (obviously) balancing learning the procedures and expectations with fun activities and teambuilding. I have cubbies for their supplies until we establish groups so I switch them every few days until they all know each other.
ReplyDeleteI have also started with coop. groups the first day. I do a lot of getting to know activities which requires groups so it just makes it easier to start the year that way.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see a list of cooperative group activities for team building purposes during the first few weeks of school. Does anyone know of such a list?
ReplyDeleteOn the first day of school I like to leave it open to the children where they sit. We meet at the end of the previous year so the children know what class they are in, who their teacher is, who else is in their class and a little bit of what will be expected on the first day. We have tried to eliminate the first day jitters and it does seem to alleviate some of this for children. I like to see who the children team up with and how much they mix naturally. I have children feeding in from about 3 classes. I reserve the right to move any children if I think the dynamics will not be what I want, but good to see what happens naturally. I also try to do lots of co-operative games and lots of talking and learning about each other to start with. I teach 8 year olds.
ReplyDeleteI also sit my students in groups the first day. I meet my students at the door and give them a die-cut apple which has a math problem written on it for them to solve. The answer is on a die-cut apple taped to a desk. That is where they are to sit for the day. It is fun to listen to them guess what the math problem is for the answers around where they are already sitting. "I hope my friend has 6 + 4!"
ReplyDeleteI always start the year in groups---it just seems like a friendly way to meet new classmates and to get the year started. After the first six weeks I usually let my students have some input as to where they sit. I give each student a file card and ask them to write down which learning team they would like to be a member of and to name one person that they would like to work with. My promise is to try to give them at least one of their requests.
ReplyDeleteI also have my kids sit in groups right away and do team building activities. I would like to have new ideas also for these activities.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be great to start with your 8 Kinds of Smart activity and have the kids work cooperatively as they learn about themselves and each other.
ReplyDeleteIthink that the team idea is wonderful for community building and cohesion. I currently am at an "open concept" school with no walls, and there's not enough room for desks, so I'm used to tables for the students. After having worked with classes with desks and classes with tables, children in classes with tables seem to work together much better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for everyone's comments! Some of you have asked to see cooperative learning activities for team building. You'll find some on my Caring Classroom page at http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/caringclass.php. Feel free to post your own ideas!
ReplyDeleteI also use cooperative grouping team building activities the first few weeks of school. My team formation is very similar to Laura's. When I get to know my students' abilities better, I use color coded index cards to group them, eg. high (red), medium high (yellow), medium low (orange), and low (green) abilities. Then when I decide to move a student to another group, I can get a particular colored set of cards and switch, eg. a yellow student with another yellow student in order to maintain the medium high, medium low, and low group formation. Also, if you have a very large class, color coding makes it much less confusing when laying out the cards for the first time to determine the grouping placements. I liked Laura's idea of listing other criteria on each card when determining the grouping formation. These could be added to each student's color coded card as well.
ReplyDeleteI believe in a balance. The first day should be fun and interesting with structure and procedures. As for seating, I'm in a unique classroom, with a computer for every two students. Students sit at computer tables and have to share their "workstation". I also live by the philosophy shared in great detail in a book called The First Six Weeks. I use many of the strategies and activities, including morning meetings. I highly recommend it and I don't think it is too late if your school year has already started.
ReplyDeleteI usually use groups but this year I have the largest class I have had in my teaching history.I am unable to create groups because there are just too many desks in the classroom. Does anyone have suggestions for building teams when you can't group students.... or ideas for large numbers...25+?
ReplyDeleteI started the year with 26 students and I had 4 teams of 4 and two teams of 5. I don't like teams of 5, but my room is too small to add another team without getting rid of furniture. However, if I didn't use teams the desks would be spread out even more so teams offer the best use of space. Check out the seating diagrams in my Cooperative Learning files on this page: http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/co-op.php.
ReplyDeleteI just spent several hours going through everything (I think) on your website. Lots and lots of wonderful ideas or other places to find them. I would like to request more primary activities, games, worksheets. It seems to be geared more for grades 3, 4, and 5. Now that you are using a blog, I'll be checking that too!
ReplyDeleteHi! You are correct that my site is for grades 3 - 5 because my background is in upper elementary. Luckily for you there are hundreds of teacher blogs for the primary grades. Here's a list of some of them on Denise Boehm's blog (Sunny Days in Second Grade). Blogs I Love
ReplyDelete