Setting up First Lessons

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Written with new teachers in mind

There’s no one way to do a first lesson. You don’t have to do any of the ideas below. But this is how I set up first lessons with a class.

1. Sort the Space

In any room where I teach, I want a space where books and resources can go for each day. Typically, I’ll put everything for the day on a front table (exercise books/sheets/booklets etc) so that I can quickly move that to student desks.

I group books by row so I can put them on the end of the row and have students pass them down.

2. Create seating plans

I know some teachers create a seating plan as classes arrive. I don’t find this works well as there’s lots of faffing as students get into their seats. I like students to arrive and have somewhere to sit immediately.

I use PowerPoint so I can create a template for every class. I then populate it with the class randomly unless I know the students and have an idea about where they should sit. Also I check any students’ pupil passport as I create the seating plans – to get to know the students and also check if they need to sit somewhere specific.

You can make a more practical seating plan, considering ability and need later once you’ve got to know them.

It’s important to get orientation right on the seating plan so students can look at it and see where they’re meant to go. There’s nothing worse than a class arriving and realising the seating plan is a mirror image of the classroom.

3. Plan lessons

Obvious, right? At the start of term, it can feel like there’s so much admin to do and training to complete that lessons take a back seat. Really, your main job before term starts is to plan your first lessons.

It’s also useful as you plan to consider what resources you need, whether things need printing etc.

More on planning here:

Make sure classes are thinking.

Make sure you plan checks.

Consider who’s doing the cognitive work.

4. Organise resources

Once I know what I’m teaching, I make sure I’ve got the resources sorted. For me, this involves:
– Making piles of exercise books for each row with exact numbers for the class.

– Making piles of resources for each row.

– Sorting these by class and putting them on the table at the front of the room

I do this so that in short transitions between lessons I can quickly take in and give out resources.

5. Morning prep

On the morning of the first lessons, I get the resources in the right place, write the date on the board and open everything I’ll need for the day – PowerPoints (if using), Seating Plans, visualiser software, SIMs etc. That way, I can flick quickly between everything I need. If I have a booklet or resource I’m using in lessons, I pile these up in the order I’m using them.

I also spend more time going through the lessons, scripting introductions and making sure I know when transition moments are or students need specific resources.

Lots of this is fairly basic, I know, but I’ve found overpreparing the basics makes the first lesson run smoothly.