The last few months has meant a lot of changes for us and our students. And now we’re having to plan a virtual meet the teacher session?! And an online first day of the school year lesson!?
Don’t worry. I’ve got you.
Every year I look forward to meet the teacher and the first day of school. Getting to see all of your students faces – everyone all bright eyed and bushy tailed. Well – that’s usually what I’m hoping for anyway. But this year, it’s going to be a lot different.
That first meeting can be nerve-wracking for our students. And even more so now when it’s online and we haven’t had the chance to meet in person yet.
That’s when I knew I had to come up with something fun and relaxed to get everyone to feel comfortable with our new ‘class’ and the school year ahead. And what better way to do that than with a teddy bear picnic?!
The Plan
I wanted this first day of ‘school’ as such to be a time where students would be able to get to know me, each other – and me get to know them too. You know how much I always talk about how important it is to spend time getting to know your students and building relationships with them – and now more than ever, during distance learning, it’s so important.
I’ve actually shared a bunch of ideas for how you can build relationships with your students during distance learning over in this podcast episode.
First of all, I made a note of what I wanted my students to get out of this lesson. And the main objectives were;
- Them getting to know me and the other students.
- Being able to connect and build relationships with them.
- Help my students to feel more comfortable about the new school year.
- Engage my students in learning opportunities that will have them excited for the year.
- Give my students a chance to talk and show off something of their own.
- Provide students with an ice breaker to help ease the nerves and build confidence.
- A chance for parents/family members to see who I am, and the way that I will be intending to teach their child(ren) through distance learning.
- Gain a basic understanding of levels of my students.
Of course there were also a huge amount of other opportunities that arose throughout the lesson. But those were the main objectives that I wanted to hit with the lesson that I was planning.
The Theme
There were so many different themes that I wanted to go with. But some of the most popular distance learning lessons that I have done over the last few months have been the ‘PJ Party’ and the ‘Beauty and the Beast Day’ – so I figured another fun theme would go down well. And that’s when I found myself look on my bookshelf, and spotted one of my favorite old books – The Teddy Bear Picnic.
Plus – what child doesn’t have a favorite teddy that helps them to feel more comfortable and confident in their surroundings? So I thought this would be the perfect theme. Plus, with bears – this was a great topic for me to be able to expand upon and continue our learning through the following few weeks online.
Pre-Lesson
Before the day, I wanted to make sure my students families were kept up to date. But I also wanted to get my students excited for our get together, so I did a few things;
- First, I sent home a letter to the parents explaining about the upcoming lesson. I explained when and how it would take place – on Zoom.
- I talked about what the lesson would include – as well as things that they needed to do beforehand. This included completing the teddy bear hat craft, baking a teddy themed recipe (I included 3 options for them) and getting hold of some play dough for our creative time.
- I sent home an invite for my students to receive – inviting them and their favorite teddy to our Teddy Bear Picnic.
- I set about making the slideshow, including information about me, photos of the students in class, adding in some educational content, and of course some fun activities too.
On the Day
- I emailed home a Zoom link for the lesson, and I arrived 10 minutes early. This meant I had time to set myself up, get everything ready and not have to rush last minute to check everything was working.
- When the students arrived I greeted them individually and introducing myself.
- When everyone arrived, I started the slideshow. I was able to share my screen through Zoom so that everyone could see it.
The Slideshow
The slideshow was effectively the whole lesson, and it went like this;
- Welcome slide.
- Visual schedule of today’s lesson.
- Put on your teddy bear hat.
- Meet the teacher slide.
- Meet your classmates slide.
- Show and eat.
- Our online rules.
- My teddy.
- Our class schedule.
- Movement breaks.
- Read the story – or click the link to watch the story.
- Design a bear – play dough.
- Stand up, sit down activity.
- Finished
My students had so much fun during the lesson – and the feedback that I had from family members after was all positive and grateful. The lesson showed my students how much fun our online learning could be, and it helped to ease their nerves for the new school year ahead.
To find out more about our teddy bear picnic or to get access to this editable resource for yourself to use with your students, click here.
What do you have planned for the first day of the school year? Whether it’s virtual or in person, leave a comment down below and let us know.
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