14 Questions To Ask Yourself Before The First Day Of School

Smart Classroom Management: 14 Questions To Ask Yourself Before The First Day Of SchoolTo help ensure you begin the school year on the right classroom management foot, I compiled a list of questions.

The questions are meant to test your preparedness.

They’re meant to assess your level of commitment.

They’re meant to save you from first-week-of-school mistakes that can haunt you the rest of the year.

You’ll notice that they don’t cover the entire SCM approach, just the principles and strategies most critical to the first week.

I recommend initially running through the questions quickly, answering with your gut instinct.

Once finished, go back and take a close look at the nos and not-sures to determine why you answered the way you did and what changes you need to make to turn them into yeses.

1. Do my rules cover every possible misbehavior? In other words, do they fully protect my freedom to teach and my students’ right to learn and enjoy school?

2. Are my rules simple, understandable, definable, enforceable, and cover misbehavior only?

3. Do I know exactly what does and doesn’t constitute breaking each rule?

4. Am I prepared to define for my new class, through detailed modeling, where the boundary lines are for each and every rule?

5. Do I know how to respond to every act of misbehavior? In other words, do I know how to approach students, what to say, how to say it, and when to walk away?

6. Am I 100% committed to following my classroom management plan as it’s written?

7. Am I committed to having a consistently pleasant demeanor, day after day, and let my classroom management plan do its intended job?

8. Does my syllabus, or back-to-school packet, clearly communicate to parents what happens if their child misbehaves and when and how they’ll be contacted?

9. Am I ready to stay as calm as a mountain lake no matter what happens in my classroom? Even if a herd of buffaloes comes crashing through my door?

10. Do I have a simple and reliable method of keeping track of consequences?

11. Am I committed to catching misbehavior when it happens through vigilant observation and supervision?

12. Am I ready to let go of glaring, arguing, battling, lecturing, scolding, and every other source of friction between me and my students?

13. Am I prepared to lay it all out ahead of time so there are no surprises, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings down the line?

14. Am I committed to the best year of teaching I’ve ever had?

Are You Ready?

Every year I get a flurry of emails and coaching sign-ups beginning the third week of school from teachers desperate to know how to rein in an out of control class.

It’s definitely possible, even if their class is in open rebellion.

But it’s a far greater challenge than getting it right the first time. Being prepared before your students arrive for the first day of school is key to ensuring a peaceful, well-behaved class the rest of the year.

It’s key to maintaining the motivation and desire to succeed students bring with them naturally upon first walking into your classroom.

I recommend taking a hard look at any question you answered no to or that you’re not quite sure about. Consider why you feel the way you do and what is holding you back from a full commitment.

You may also want to dig into our archive (at right) or use the search box (menu bar) to learn more about any issue or strategy you’re unsure of—all have been written about extensively.

Doing so may take some time, but it’s so, so worth it.

Because once you can answer yes to all fourteen questions, you’re ready to mold your new group of students into the dream class you really want.

PS – The audio version of Classroom Management for Art, Music, and PE Teachers is now available. Click here for more info.

Also, if you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.

38 thoughts on “14 Questions To Ask Yourself Before The First Day Of School”

  1. Love this! So effective.

    (Continuing to work to get my Korean co-teachers to fully understand this all – the students are never the issue.)

    Reply
  2. Hello Michael,
    I am curious about simple ways to document behaviors and consequences. Could you describe some ways to document or recommend resources to help with documentation?
    Thank you for all that you share.
    Ro

    Reply
  3. I am so excited to implement this in my classroom this year. I could not answer yes to #5 because I am not sure what to do if a student misbehaves while in time out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply
  4. Hello and thank you for the great post! I’m an avid reader of your website. I am wondering… Could you please consider writing about why or what to do when “time out” isn’t an effective consequence for some students? Every year I have a kid or two who prefers to sit on his own away from the class… So time out is more of a privilege than a consequence when it’s a part of my classroom management plan. Or, if there is already an article on this, could someone provide a link? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Hi Holly,

      The solution is to make it effective. I’ve written about this topic a lot and in various places over the years. When you get a chance please visit the Time-Out category of the archive. It’s also a core SCM principle and the central theme of The Classroom Management Secret. In the meantime, I’ll be sure and put it on the list of future articles.

      Reply
  5. Hi! Do you ever make the class rules as a class? That is usually what I have done but just wondering what your thoughts are on that.

    Thanks!

    PS – I love your website!!!

    Reply
  6. I teach preschool so we kind of lead the class in making the rules which are simple….walking feet, listening ears, keep hands to own body, and follow directions. We are not allowed to do time out. We talk about the behavior give suggestions on what needs to happen and it’s a 50/50 shot. We document extreme behaviors constant hitting of teachers and peers and destructive behaviors. I want to he better and work together for a more positive environment. Postive Guidance/ Behavior Management are not my strong suit, but I’m willing to learn. My apologies for venting 🙂

    Reply
    • Hi DeeDee,

      It’s on the list of future e-guides but not yet in the works. We’re currently working on a new book set for release next spring.

      Reply
  7. Yes! I need to know ASAP how to make this all work in an 8th grade classroom. I have 90 students, so keeping track of warnings is pretty cumbersome. If I have clearly modeled and students fully understand the boundaries, can I skip warning and go straight to consequence? What does “time out” look like for 8th grade? What are the best and most appropriate consequences for 8th grade? I have read Happy Teacher Habits, and I’m halfway through The Classroom Management Secret. I am 100% committed to making this work this year. Thank you for answering my questions.

    Reply
  8. Thank you so much for everything you write! It has helped me so much. I have been following your website for over two years now. I do have one question that I would love for your input on. What is your procedure for students who don’t have a pencil?

    I teach at a title one school middle school and nobody ever has a pencil. It seems that the methods that have caused the least amount of class disruption (simply giving kids a pencil when they ask) result in my loosing literally hundreds of pencils a week. The methods that I’ve used in which I’ve retained pencils (written lists of all student who have a pencil, having a pencil sign out, taping a flower or something to pencil) seem to take up a lot of class time (when I don’t have 17 flowered-pencils…). How do you handle pencils in class?

    Reply
    • Hi Nathan, I too teach in a Title 1 school and this has been an incredibly frustrating challenge for me, too!

      This year I am going to teach the procedure for “borrowing a pencil” during the first week of school. There will be a location where pencils are available next to a box where “collateral” is placed. You need a pencil? Feel free to borrow one once you have given me collateral…your ID, your bag of chips, that beloved phone of yours. The expectation will be that this “transaction” has taken place independently so that the student will be able to complete the bellringer/warm-up in the first 5 minutes of class.

      At the end of class collateral is returned to the owner when the pencil is returned.

      With practice, once the procedure is taught and in place, this should be a self-managing system.

      (Ps. To ensure honesty, my pencils will be brightly colored/easily recognizable. Should be able to tell at a glance who has borrowed and if the number borrowed match the number of collateral items.)

      Reply
    • I heard that some teachers require the child to exchange a shoe or their phone, thus insuring the teacher gets the shoe back; this may help your problem after kids see what happens to the first couple of kids that don’t have pencils

      Reply
    • I got out of the “pencil- lending business”. It is amazing how quickly students take responsibility for their materials if given the chance. Little league baseball players are expected to bring a glove to practice. I realize it sounds draconian to make them 100 % responsible but it has worked for me and teaches the students responsibility. Students will borrow pencils from each other but I take myself out of it entirely. You could always give them everyone a pencil once a month or something in case there really do not have one.

      Reply
  9. Thanks so much for all the articles on this website. I bought the Elementary School Plan and am excited to start up the next school year with the behaviour plan you suggest. When I send the parent note home do I only check the box for one of the 4 behaviour rules that were broken or do I also write a note under the rule about what specifically the student did when they broke that particular rule. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Hi Wilma,

      It’s okay to add a note if you wish, depending on your grade level. But the idea is for the student to explain how they broke the rule. In this way, the consequence is more effective.

      Reply
  10. Hi Michael,

    After teaching expectations for timeout, do you post those expectations on the timeout desk(s)? Do you think this is a good idea or will it take away from student responsibility of knowing and remembering expectations?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Gail,

      Yes, of course. There are many, many articles on this topic you can find in our archive. Our entire approach, in fact, is designed to garner strong respect from students.

      Reply
  11. Hi Michael.

    Let’s say the student breaks rule number 2 (not raising hand) and gets a warning. Then they break rule number 3 (pushing in line) so they get a time out. Then they break rule number 1 (not listening) so they get a note home.

    Do you check all 3 items on the note home or just the one that landed them with the note home?

    And is this correct by the way? Even if they are breaking different rules, you still advance along the warning, time out, and note home continuum?

    Reply
  12. Hi Michael,

    I am a huge fan of your work and have read Dream Class and Happy Teacher Habits. Your writing definitely speaks to me and has transformed my teaching career as a middle school teacher. I am at a new school this year. What do you recommend I should do if my schedule is only 30 minutes the first day of school? At my old school I had at least an hour to do introductions, modeling rules/ consequences, building rapport, and modeling the entering class routine. It had been really successful because the kids got to experience the rules and procedures and knew how to start the class right the next day. However, this year I am afraid that I am not going to have enough time for detailed modeling and practice of all this, so I’m trying to figure out what I should focus on. How do you suggest I use my 30 minutes most effectively? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Hi Alyssa,

      I would do an overview of your plan and then model and get into greater detail on subsequent days. If you don’t have time to teach a short routine, it too can wait.

      Reply
  13. Hi Michael! This year will be my first implementing many of your classroom management strategies (I’m PUMPED)!

    Quick question. After teaching the rules/consequences, I was thinking about breaking kids into groups and having them come up with common misbehaviors that would fall under each rule… just so everyone is clear on #3 (not just me). How do you feel about that idea? Is there a better way to make sure the students are also crystal clear on #3? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi Kelsey,

      You modeling the common misbehaviors is most effective and preferred over students coming up with them on their own.

      Reply

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