The First Library Class

Deciding how you want your first library class to go can be an intimidating task. I teach library class in the special area rotation and see all 500 students in the first week of school. The first class sets the tone for your year. To help spark ideas for how to run your first class I have detailed everything I do for my first class. For reference, I teach K-5th and my classes are 50 minutes long. Below each heading, I have included how many minutes each task approximately takes.

Entering the Library - Line Up On Rainbow Dots

2 minutes

I stand at the door and welcome students in. I have a line of 30 dots that start at the door and  span the width of the library. This is where I have students line up when they come in and when they are lining up to leave. This is what I have students do every day for the entire year. I only see students once a week so being consistent is crucial to classroom management success. If expectations are constantly changing, you set students up for failure. Students wait on dots quietly. While students are standing on dots I tell them what we are doing that day and the expectations. I have found this is a huge time saver and cuts down on the time it takes them to transition. 

Story Time - Reading Carpet

10 minutes

I am fortunate to have a large library. I have a separate reading area, and a separate area for assigned seats. I will have students start at our reading carpet. I have never bothered with assigned seats at the reading carpet because I have never needed to; I try to give students as much choice as possible when they are with me. That being said, throughout the year there are always a few students that I end up separating. This year I am reading How To Get Your Octopus to School by Becky Scharnhorst for all of my students’ first class. In the book, the little red octopus is scared to go to school and he is hiding throughout most of the pages. I bought a small red octopus to pair with the story and plan to hide it throughout the library for the rest of the year. 

Pick Your Seat - Choose Wisely

2-3 minutes

After the story we transition to tables and chairs. For the first class I let students pick where they sit. I tell them I will record where everyone sits today, then based on how the class goes I move people around for their permanent assigned seats starting their next class. Before students move I tell them once they sit they can’t switch, they have to welcome anyone that comes to sit with them at the same table, and they have to walk. If there are new students, I remind them to include our new friends. If they can’t follow those parameters, I pick their seat for them. I like to do it this way to ensure everyone ends up with at least one friend moving forward. 

Preferred Names - How do you spell that?

5 minutes

Once everyone is seated I let them know that I am quickly coming around to record who is sitting where. During this time I let them talk quietly, with the expectation that when I get to their group they pause their conversation. I go to each table with a printed class roster and my digital seating chart. If I remember the students’ names from last year I type it in and say hi to them. If I have forgotten their name I say something like “remind me how to spell your name.” Most of the time they don’t catch on that I have forgotten and they are excited to help. If there is a new student, I welcome them, ask their name, and how to spell it. If there is a student with a name I know I will not remember how to pronounce, I ensure I am pronouncing it correctly, then phonetically spell their name in pencil on the roster. The students never see this, it is for me to refer back to when they come back. I have found this eliminates the awkwardness of butchering names on a roster by calling them out to everyone and it saves time. 

Expectations Presentation - 3 Simple Rules

10 minutes

I use the same presentation every year, but I change the aesthetic of the slides so the kids stay engaged from year to year. If you are curious, this is the exact presentation I use. While presenting I refer to the matching expectations posters (linked with presentation). My expectations are simple: Be responsible. Be respectful. Be safe. We talk about what those 3 rules look like in the library. This is also the time I go over any house keeping and safety protocols. Finally, I go over our behavior point system for special area classes. I will make a separate post about this as soon as I can!

Centers - Explore the Space

15 minutes

If you are curious about how I set up centers check out my first blog post. I do not dive into deep detail about how centers are assigned on the first day; it would be way too much information for students. I do however have certain centers set up and quickly show kids where they are allowed to explore today. We go over super quick expectations - stay where you pick, 3 people to a center, be respectful with materials, clean up when it is time. I let students pick where they go today for a few reasons. 

1. They are super excited to be back and see their friends. I want them to make a positive connection with the library from the first day. 

2. By letting them pick where they go I can see who they are choosing to play with and what they like to do. 

3. The biggest reason - I observe how they interact with one another and place them in assigned tables while they are still in the room with me. This saves time by not having to do it later, prevents me from forgetting my observations, and sets me up for success when they come back. I walk around with my laptop and actively move names around on my spreadsheet. Sometimes there are a few groups I need to split up so I ask a couple students who are two people they would be happy to sit with, and I guarantee they will be with at least one of them. 

Dismissal - Clean Up & Line Up

5 minutes

Five minutes before class is over an alarm goes off to signal the end of class. At this time students clean up carefully, put everything back how they found it and line up on rainbow dots. This is not something they automatically do at first. When the alarm goes off we talk about it. Once students are on rainbow dots we finish out our points system and fill out our points chart (once again, more info on that coming soon). 

Questions?

This is how I have done my first day for the last few years and it goes well for me. If you have any questions about how I do things please leave a comment below and I will respond. Thanks for reading!