There’s nothing more boring than starting out the year reading though the syllabus to teach the classroom policies and procedures. Especially with my Level 1 Little Darlings, they’re excited to be in Spanish so I will not keep them waiting! We will dive right into Spanish learning about Celia Cruz and they’ll be singing Ríe Llora before the first week is finished. Then, just because I can’t help it, we’ll have some Jolly Rancher fun.

But those Classroom Policies and Procedures are important and I think, the secret to a smooth year is starting out strong with the classroom management. So, to introduce the way our classroom runs in a community building sort of way, last year I tried something new. I dumped all my classroom policies and procedures into a Quizlet Set, in the form of questions and answers. Take a look at my set for inspiration, but please oh please, make your own set. It will be weird if they start referring to you as Señora Chase.

Several times during the first few weeks of school, we play a few rounds of Quizlet Live, which is awesome in more ways than one…even though it’s in English. Hear me out:

• I shuffle the teams each round, so everyone is working with new people each time. This moves kids around AND they start to get to know their classmates. To facilitate this, I don’t start the game until they’ve introduced themselves to everyone in their team. Each round I tell them to do something different each time we play: Introduce yourself to everyone in your team and tell them your favorite dessert. Introduce yourself to everyone in your team and give high fives all around “¡Chócala!” Introduce yourselves and line up oldest to youngest. And so on…I want them learning names, moving around and making connections.
• The first few times we play, they have no idea what the answers are. I have not pre-taught any of this information, so they have to talk to each other and make guesses. The conversations are great to hear- Yay for more connections!
• Oh and, they’re learning where to leave their binders and that they can get extra help at lunch during Make Up Mondays and where to find extra copies of papers and all that good stuff. Of course, as things come up during class I teach them how The Chase Place runs, but the Quizlet set is a fun way to introduce everything from the start.
• It’s an easy bailout move when my lesson FLEW much faster than I was expecting and I need something meaningful to fill the last few minutes of class.

If you’re looking for a way to jazz up your classroom policy spiel, you just might try playing Quizlet Live with them!

Holy Moly, where did the summer go and how on earth am I starting my 18th year in the classroom NEXT WEEK?! What about you? What year is this for you? Are you already back to work or soaking up the last precious moments of summer?!

Either way, wishing you an excellent Back to School, dear friends!