6th Grade First Day Expectations And Proceedures Lesson Plan (Social Studies)

Topic:First Day Expectations and Procedures

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will understand the school-wide expectations and procedures for middle school.
• Students will learn how to work well as a team during the first day of school.

Materials

• Handbook or school-wide expectations and procedures document
• Team building activities (e.g. ice breaking exercises, trust falls, etc.)
• Copies of the school-wide expectations and procedures for each student
• Handouts with the school-wide expectations and procedures for each student

Warm-up

• Have each student introduce themselves and share a unique or interesting fact about themselves.
• Ask the students to share any embarrassing or funny middle school memories.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the middle school handbook and have students take turns reading and discussing the various policies and procedures covered.
• Discuss the importance of following school rules and procedures, and the consequences for not doing so.
• Introduce the team building activity and explain the purpose of the activity is to help the students get to know each other and develop a sense of teamwork.

Guided Practice

• Have the students complete the team building activity together as a class.
• Discourage competitiveness and focus on working together and building rapport with the other students.
• After the activity is completed, discuss any interesting or surprising things the students learned about their classmates.

Independent Practice

• Have each student work on creating their own "ideal first day" poster, which includes their own classroom expectations and procedures as well as any personal goals or wishes for the new school year.
• Encourage students to be creative and use their own words rather than just copying the handbook verbatim.
• Have the students present their posters to the class, explaining their choices and any additional details they included.

Closure:

• Review the school wide and classroom expectations and procedures that were discussed during the first day of school.
• Ask the students to think about how they can model the appropriate behavior and follow the outlined rules.
• Remind the students that they are now part of a larger community and that their actions do have a small impact on others.

Assessment:

• Observe the students during the first and last days of school to assess if they are following the outlined rules and exhibiting the appropriate behavior.
• Have the students complete a reflection at the end of the first and last days of school to assess their understanding of the school wide and classroom expectations and procedures.
• Have the students fill out a peer evaluation form at the end of the first and last days of school to assess how their classmates are modeling the appropriate behavior and following the outlined rules.