Back to Spanish Class: What to Prioritize before Day 1

• Is every PowerPoint ready to go?
• Have you checked over your handouts for those spelling errors that embarrassed you last year?
• Have any policies from last year changed in your head that you need to put on paper?
• Are you sure you have every minute filled with engaging material?
• Have you made copies? Do you have enough copies for when they give you 5 extra kids at the last second without telling you? Because you know they’ll do that.

• How do you want to arrange your desks?

Do you want to have the kids sit in groups? In rows? I’m personally partial to rows, but it really depends on the culture of your school and how much space you have to work with.

• Do you have a way of marking the floors so you know exactly where each row or group will be?

Desks have a way of traveling around the room throughout the day.

(Are you allowed to mark the floors? Will the janitors wish bad things upon you if you do it?)

I’ve seen teachers make lines on the floors with sharpies (the janitors definitely wished bad things upon them) and also just put colored tape down.

• How will you decide where students sit?
• How will you tell students where they sit?

Or will you let them choose their seats on Day 1? *insert look of shock and horror*

I labeled the desks with a piece of tape and sharpie in a corner of each desk and then have a slide on the PowerPoint with each student’s name and desk number on it. That way they could find their desks quickly without me.