BACK-TO-SCHOOL ORIENTATION ASSEMBLIES CAN BE A PAIN!

“Johnny, get back in line, please.” Ms. Kelly said, as she rolled her eyes because she’s already spoken to Johnny about the same thing 5 times already.

“Pattie, pay attention,” Mr. Brown chastised, when he saw Pattie on her phone during the assembly in the auditorium.

These instances are not unique to Ms. Kelly or Mr. Brown. We have all experienced our version of Johnny or Pattie. That’s one thing we all, as teachers, have in common.

Sure! Whenever we prepare our lessons, sometimes we have to adapt our plans to meet the assessment deadlines imposed by our school or education system.

For sure, there’s an announcement for all 5th Grade teachers to escort their classes to the cafeteria or all 10th grade classes to come to the auditorium. Somewhere in a school we dread these announcements and emails that take students away from the lessons we’ve constructed and need to cover before the assessment slated in a few days or months.

That’s not even the only problem! After we’ve endured the assembly or orientation, after the pleading with your students (and others) to pay attention and to put their phones and headphones away, we have to go back into the classroom and try to focus our students. Yes, BACK-TO-SCHOOL ORIENTATION ASSEMBLIES can be a pain!

Students will be either excited or worried about the events of the year, as told through their principal and other presenters at the assembly. Regardless, they’ll be talkative and sometimes hard to get them to refocus.

Sometimes, even, the assemblies take the entire class period, so your lesson will be a wash and you’ll have to refocus students the next day or the day after. Wow. That’s distressing.

And, we’re not even going to talk about the years when I’ve had Grade Level Assemblies, Whole School Assemblies, AP Department Assemblies, fire drills and such all in the same week. It was hard to keep up and remember where you left off with each class.

I got so tired of all the interruptions that may or may not happen that I created some ACTIVITIES for students to maintain their engagement even after we’ve left the assembly.

1. WORKSHEET ACTIVITIES: Students are able to respond to questions about the assembly. I sometimes warn them before going to the orientation, so they’ll know they have to pay attention. The questions aren’t even stressful. Some questions are like (1) One thing I found Interesting was? (2) I loved when…It’s just for me to make certain they paid attention.

2. TASK CARDS: Students are either given individual cards to complete or to pair up and discuss. Sometimes, I’d even just use the cards and discuss them as a class. It depends on the year and the students in front of me. Some need to talk, some talk too much. Some are more academic, some just need to participation grade. Also, it depends on what I’ve got going on. You know in the beginning of the year, we’ve got so much administrative paperwork – it’s like we’re buying a small country.

3. ASSEMBLY PROJECTS: Students get to recall their time away from the class. I’d give them a small, easy to grade project that engages them for the remainder of the day or week, and we’re still using expected standards.

These come in handy when counselors are still changing schedules, students are being whisked here and there; some students are still returning from summer break, etc.

These are just some of the things I do to keep sane. Sometimes I grade them, sometimes I get to know more about my students, sometimes it’s just so they can alleviate their first week nervousness…or mine.

My bad…I forgot to mention.

Here are some stress-relieving ideas for your classrooms that require no preparation and can be tailored to your students’ needs. They are editable and can be adapted to suit you, your classroom, and school requirements.

You can find this product in my TPT store or sign up for my email list to receive helpful tips for this school year.

Let’s go out there and do well, educators!

Have a wonderful academic year!