Coming back to school after a long break can be exhausting. Students have forgotten all about the classroom rules, and everyone is dragging. Despite the challenges, it’s the perfect time for a classroom reset. You can also use this opportunity to establish new methods for classroom management or implement new behavior management strategies. Whether you just want a refresh or want to try something new, here are a few areas I recommend focusing on during your classroom reset.  

#1 Introduce Agenda Slides – the ultimate new year classroom reset

Agenda slides are a great method for classroom management. They help students prepare for the day and know exactly what to expect. Your agenda slides can contain information like the objective, warm up question, daily schedule, or supplies to have ready.

#2 Review Supply Procedures

A big part of your classroom reset is reviewing procedures for getting supplies. Go over where students can find supplies, when they should get them, etc. This is one of the behavior management strategies that will make a big difference in engagement (because the sound of a pencil sharpener going off mid-lesson is always distracting).  

#3 Utilize Warm-Ups

January is a good time to rethink your warm ups. Maybe change how students find their warm ups or where they turn them in. You might even reconsider the type of warm up you use, like switching from a problem of the day to a review question.

#4 Refresh Lab Safety

This is a big one! Go over your lab rules, like no food on lab days, wearing closed-toe shoes, and how to clean broken glass or another mess properly. These lab safety activities will keep your refresh engaging and can be used year after year.  

#5 Review Clean-Up Procedures

If you want to avoid that end of the day mess (you know, the one where you pick up 27 pencils off the floor), then you definitely want to review this method of classroom management. Go over your end-of-class procedures, like cleaning the floor, storing journals, and tidying their desk.  

#6 Managing Interactive Notebooks

You and I both know that interactive notebooks can easily become a mess. Having conversations before it gets to that point, though, is the best behavior management strategy. Remind students where to glue pages, how much glue to use, how notebooks are graded, where they are kept, and how often students need to bring them to class. Use this interactive notebook set-up kit to help keep those notebooks organized!

#7 Maintain a Safe Space

A safe space means both physically and emotionally safe. Go over campus-wide rules and procedures, like not running in the hallways and lockdown drills. Also, remind students that your classroom will remain a safe space for ideas and thoughts to be shared.   Coming back from a long holiday break can often feel like the first week of school, but you know your students at this point – so you have an edge. The best method for classroom management is to stay consistent (even when you’re #teachertired) and focus on student relationships.