First day of school…rules, expectations, and responsibilities…students sitting in desks, listening to the mundane lists of “dos and don’ts” they will soon forget. Isn’t this characteristic of many of our first days?
In 2016, I participated in Jacob Clifford’s AP Econ workshop in Georgia. I wasn’t there for the content knowledge but rather how to deliver instruction better. One of the best pieces of advice I received there was how to transform the first day of school into something that will grasp students’ attention and make them want to come back to your classroom. And how do you do that? By presenting your absolute best lesson. Yes, you heard me. Do not spend your time going over your rules and expectations for your class but simulating your best lesson. This goes against everything educators have been trained to do, but isn’t it time this day is changed like everything else? That year, I decided to try his advice. So, what does my first day look like? Read on…
Choosing An Activity
When you decide what activity to do, try to edit your activity that will introduce a course objective (you want to engage students). You don’t want to just do a fun activity. It has to be something that relates to the class! Think about the “big picture.” For me (Economics), it is scarcity and choices. When you introduce this activity, DO NOT tell students the objective. You just dive into the lesson. The goal is to get students to identify/specify the objective at the end of the lesson (when you hopefully will conclude the lesson through a guided discussion). This will then segue into the purpose of your course. In other words, you tie it all together!
For me, there are several activities I go back and forth using. These activities that I will be sharing are not mine but ones shared with me over the years. I have taken these and edited to fit my goals. You can probably do a search and find these yourself. Also, although these lessons are geared towards Economics teachers, any teacher can adjust the “first day” concept to meet his or her need. One last side note…you need an activity that can be done during the first day (not one that will carry over into the second day).
My Activities
Economics is the study of choice. The fundamental problem is scarcity (lack of resources to meet our unlimited wants). As a result of scarcity, choices must be made in how to allocate the scarce resources. This activity will introduce students to this objective. DO NOT TELL THEM THIS! The point of the activity is to engage students and have them realize the objective by conducting a guided discussion at the end of the activity. If you share the objective first, you defeat the entire purpose of the activity.
Activity 2 – resource trade simulation
Objective – same as kidney activity (scarcity and choices). This one also includes the factors of production. I was given this activity around twenty years ago. You can find different versions online as well. I have even edited it to relate to the French and Indian War (click to access). The students love this activity. If I do this on the first day of school, the winners get candy from my bucket. If I choose to do this activity later in the school year, I give bonus points. Here is a PowerPoint link I use along with the activity: PowerPoint
So how can you transform your first day of school? The challenge is on…
