Teachers of Chinese! Now is the time to start thinking about planning for the new school year. Below is a list of things that you can plan beforehand, ready for your students to enter your classroom.

BACK TO SCHOOL PACK

Prepare a Back To School pack for the first day. In this pack you can include:

an introduction of yourself,
information the Chinese course you are teaching,
and contact information for parents.

For example: Welcome to our Chinese classroom. My name is _______. I have taught Chinese for _____ years and I am excited to be your child’s teacher this year. I grew up in ________________ and graduated from ____________________.

I want our Chinese classroom to be fun and engaging for all students. It is a positive learning environment where students can learn to speak, read and write Chinese. Attached are the Expectations of our classroom. Please read them and if you have any questions, please contact me. This year in Chinese classes, we will be exploring the following topics: ________________________ I am excited to get to know your students and work as a team to give your child this wonderful opportunity of learning the Chinese language. Below is my contact information, so please contact me at any time if you have any questions:

Phone: _____________________________ Email: __________________

Sincerely, (name of teacher) _________________________________

2. ROUTINES

Now is the time to think about what routines you will have in your language classroom. On the first day of school, start building routines immediately. Model how students will enter the room, how they will sit or stand. Explain the structure of the lesson – First we will warm up, then we will review yesterday’s content, then we will watch a short video. It is important that students know how things will run in the classroom.

Display Arrival Routine (Walk in quietly. Stand behind your chair. Greet teacher in Chinese. Sit) and Dismissal Routine. (Clean up your desk. Stand behind your desk. Wait for your group to be called. Exit quietly)

3. INDEPENDENCE

Build student independence immediately. Have materials in your classroom that students can access when they have completed work. (Finished Early? materials) Assign student mentors to help if someone is having trouble with their work.

4. PLANNING

Plan everything! From the first greeting at the door and introduction to the final goodbye, everything needs to be planned for the first few weeks. This is the time you will win or lose your class. Prepare for the whole week in advance. Copy worksheets, buy materials, prepare name-tags etc., Back to school is not a time to ‘wing it’ and hope everything goes well.

5. CURRICULUM

Prepare a 12-month overview of your Curriculum. Schedule in holidays and themes you will be teaching. Display the Yearly Overview in your classroom and even give students a copy to motivate and encourage their interest.

6. GRADING

Show a Grading sheet to students so they know exactly how they will be graded. Begin observing students informally from Day 1. Keep a log of observations. Before school starts, I like to print off many class lists and jot down comments during the day as an informal way of gathering information about the students and their progress. For example: John wrote his first characters well but he was distracted toward the end or Mae is reluctant to participate in the class.

7. CLASSROOM ECONOMY

Some teachers, as part of their classroom management plan, set up a Class-wide Reinforcement System. You can use a Classroom Economy with 熊猫钱（print your own fake 钱) where students earn money by consistently being on task, and then swap their money for cultural objects at the end of the month.

When teaching 9th grade boys I gave out small tickets at the end of the class to those students who were on task, and at the end of the month, we had a class lunch of take out Chinese! Be sure you print Award Certificates or send notes home to parents, to reward students for great work in the language classroom.

8. TRANSITIONS

You will have a number of transitions that break up the lesson. So when you are transitioning between direct teaching and forming groups or changing from a speaking activity to a quieter reading activity, have a transition that makes that change happen smoothly.

Firstly, you need to get the attention of students (clapping, counting 5-1, a bell etc.,) You can also say “I need your attention, 3-2-1. Thank you.” (this should be practiced many times so it is automatic in the class)
Once you have the attention of students, tell them how long you need their attention. For example: “I need your attention for 30 seconds/2 minutes to give you directions for the next activity”. Do not, just tell students to “stop what you are doing and take out your textbook.” Attention is essential when transitioning between activities.
Give directions by steps: “Take out your textbook. You have 10 seconds to have your book on your desk. Great. Now, turn to page 3. (count down 5 seconds) I’m giving you 3 minutes to read the new vocabulary to yourself. (set the timer)

By breaking down instructions during transitions, most disruptions are minimized. This is an art and you need to practice ‘chunking’ in all aspects of teaching. This relates as much to younger students to High School students.

Transitions are also a great opportunity to use students as helpers who pass out worksheets, collect papers etc.,

We don’t eat a whole hamburger all at once! We take small bites - that is how our instructions need to be given when students are transitioning from one activity to another.

9. EXPECTATIONS

Some teachers tell students what the expectations for the classroom are, and others co-create expectations with student input. When explaining Expectations for your classroom, make sure you include questions like ‘What does it sound like?’ and ‘What does it look like?’ As teachers we may understand what it means to enter the room quietly, but unless we specifically say ‘ This is what quietly sounds like..’ then students may not understand. I practice what the expectations look and sound like for the first month of school and after that students will need reminders.

10. CONSEQUENCES

When expectations are explained, there needs to be clear consequences for students who choose not to follow the classroom rules. Teachers need to emphasize choice. When students make good choices, they do the right thing and are rewarded, but if students make a bad choice, then there are consequences. Consequences are not punishments. They are the logical consequence of their choice. First consequence might be a warning. Simply restate the expectation: “Michael, Remember that we raise our hand.” The second consequence may be: “Michael, I have reminded you about raising your hand. Let’s have a quick chat after class. (This is spoken privately and not in front of the class)

The third consequence may be for the student to complete a Reflection Sheet that is signed by the student and sent home to parents to sign. It is up to each teacher to decide on the consequences you will have in your classroom. Make sure the consequence is logical and not punishment. Classroom management is about connecting with the student, preserving that positive relationship and working together to ensure all students are successful learners. Keep the focus on learning, not on discipline.

11. COMMUNICATION ONLINE

Create your own Class website (there are lots of free options out there!) and include homework assignments, contact information, weekly descriptions of topics, expectations, a photo gallery and a curriculum outline for parents and students. While you are at it, create a social media presence with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, so parents can be part of their child’s learning experiences.

12. CLASSROOM SET UP

Set up your classroom to make it inviting and colorful. Include a Culture Table and add objects like chopsticks, abacus, clothing, posters, lanterns, fans etc.,) If you don’t have your own classroom, you can create curiosity by bringing a mystery Chinese object once a week for students to touch and explore. For a first year teacher I suggest you start with individual desks for students, then as you get to know the dynamics of the class, you can adjust the classroom set up differently. I like to start with groups. This format allows for workstations, and collaborative work that is so important in the learning of a language.

13. ATTENTION SIGNAL

This is one of the most important elements of planning the first week of school. Teachers need to have a way of getting the attention of students at any time. Whether the students are silent or speaking, there needs to be an immediate response to the Attention Signal. Depending on the age of the student, the Attention Signal can be either a song, rhyme, bell, clap etc., For older students, it can be music, 321-Thank you, Buzzer, chime, or hands up. Choose an Attention Signal that you fee comfortable with.

14. GROUP WORK

Do not put students into groups and expect them to work well. Group skills are learned and the teacher needs to model what group work looks and sounds like. Teach the skill of taking turns, making eye contact, and using a low voice before putting students into groups. All students should have a designated role in the group and each member of the group is responsible to complete their tasks in a given time.

15. POSITIVE COMMENTS

From Day 1, catch students doing the right thing in the classroom. Say things like: “I liked the way, you walked in quietly.” Or “I liked how you all raised your hand. Thank you.” These positive comments create a positive environment and lessen the possibility of students disrupting the class.

16. KNOW YOUR STUDENTS

Before you do anything: Get to know your students. During the first week of class get to know your students, their friends and their interests. This builds a relationship that will lead to a positive learning environment. Teachers can use a Student Survey to find out about the students or do student-student interviews to gain information about each student. Create name-tags for students, so you can easily say their name during class. If you have multiple classes, students can make name tents to place on their desk, so it makes it easier to identify each student. Create a seating plan and write names of students on the plan to refer to throughout the year.

👉 Let’s learn from each other! What’s one tip you always use to get your students engaged in the first week?