Back to school season is almost here! Are you a teacher who likes to work a little in the summer to make the start of the year smoother, or do you a take your well-deserved break and not touch your work stuff until your first day? I always let myself have a good month off (June) and then by July I’m ready to work here and there on back-to-school stuff.
One thing all teachers think about when August rolls around is Meet the Teacher Night (or Open House Night). What do I need to cover? I personally like to let families get to know me a little bit before covering important classroom topics. Here are some things that I have found helpful to cover on Meet the Teacher/ Open House night.
What to go over:
Teacher Introduction
Parents love to know about their child’s teacher, and it’s a great time to share fun facts about yourself such as where you went to college, if you have kids and even your favorite food! Parents want to feel reassured that their babies are in good hands. Let them get to know you a little.
Class Schedule
Share how your class schedule and how you run your room. Parents want to know when you teach reading or math, so they don’t check them out during those times. They also want to know when you have library, art, etc. I like to go over a daily schedule and talk about how our special activities work during Meet the Teacher so parents can ask questions and write down these important times if needed. Bonus if you already have your yearly field trips planned you can share those in advance too!
Classroom Procedures
Do you have policies for homework, grading, volunteers, folder return, etc? If so, this is a GREAT time to share those before the year gets very far underway! This is also the perfect time to go over classroom rules/ expectations. This allows parents to reinforce those procedures at home.
Class Website/ Helpful Links
Do you use Google classroom, Class Dojo, or other online tools? Let your families know about it AND how to access each platform. Give out any usernames/ passwords needed to parents. This will keep families up to date on learning/ classroom activities as well as save you lots of time answering questions later.
Class Wishlist
I always needed some extra fun items to support our learning each year. Many parents are eager to help out and donate these things. Put a list together of some classroom needs and share on Meet the Teacher Night!
Once you have made a “Meet the Teacher” presentation, don’t just use it on Meet the Teacher/ Open House Night! Use it during the first day/ week of school with your students as well.
There are so many things you can add beyond these 5 ideas, but this will give you a great start.
Don’t have the time to create a Meet the Teacher presentation of your own? I’ve got you covered! This Meet the Teacher template includes over 40 colorful slides to choose from to create your perfect presentation, no matter your grade level. It includes a template for both PowerPoint and Google Slides. Simply fill in the slides you want to use and delete the rest. You will have a cute, ready to use presentation in no time that can be used year after year!
Looking for more ways to get “back to school” ready? Check out this blog post!
Happy teaching!
Leave a Reply