One of the toughest parts about each class period is the transition from the hallway to the classroom. The hallway is full of chaos, with students having lots of freedom and opportunity to get into trouble! So transitioning into the classroom can be hard for students. I found that the best way to ease students in is to have a structured activity ready the moment they walk into class, like agenda slides. Not only do these slides end up being a great classroom management idea, but they help students review material throughout the year.

How I Use Agenda Slides in My Classroom

As soon as my students walk into the room, they see an agenda slide projected onto the board or displayed on a screen. This slide has the agenda for the day, the objective, and the daily warm up. 

 

Students know they need to immediately get started on that warm up. This routine will take a while to build, but students will get the hang of it. My students knew they had about five minutes to work before I came around to start checking their warm up.

The Advantages of Agenda Slides

Because this becomes a daily routine and expectation, students can start the class period independently. As a teacher, we all hope our students will take accountability for their learning, so agenda slides are just one more area where that is possible.

 

My students knew that if their warm ups weren’t complete by the time I walked around to check, I wouldn’t sign off on it to give them a grade for the day. This really got students to focus from the moment they came in through the door. 

 

While students work, they also have a moment to catch their breath, calm down, and get focused before instruction begins. This is why agenda slides also double as a great classroom management idea. It serves as a structured buffer time for students and can eliminate some negative behavior during the lesson.

 

Another advantage to agenda slides is setting the expectations for the day. If you’ve ever had students ask, “What are we doing today” on repeat, then you know students are curious about what’s happening in the classroom. With the slides, this goes right on the screen next to their warm up, so they can mentally prepare for class.

 

I also found that using slides supported my diverse learners who needed to see things visually or needed consistent reminders. With agenda slides, all instructions were clearly written out, and I could also add pictures for students who needed them.

 

I highly recommend trying agenda slides as a classroom management idea this school year. Grab the free agenda slides below and see if you experience any of the same benefits with your students!