Beginning of School Check List

Weeks Before
Organization/Setup
____ Create a weekly homework sheet.
____ Create a system for absent students to receive notes and assignments

Communication
____ Write a letter to families about your goals and expectations
____ Design a classroom newsletter or website
____ Find websites for students to put on bulletin board
____ Create a family information survey
____ Create a Parent/Family Communication Log binder with student information sheets,
contact information, and a log of all the phone calls you make and receive.
____ Decide how you are going to communicate weekly behavior grades to families.
____ Establish classroom messages focused on hard work and community. Ensure that they
are messages you feel comfortable repeating on a daily basis for the entire year.
teach
____ Get in touch with your administration to reintroduce yourself and find out any last
minute details.

Classroom Management/ Behavior

____ Develop all material associated with your behavior management system
____ Decide how you are going to keep track of consequences that are applied outside the
classroom.
____ Decide what tangible systems of positive reinforcement to put in place for individuals
____ Decide what tangible systems of positive reinforcement to put in place for whole-group.
____ Make a hall pass, and find a place to keep it in the classroom.
____ Make a late sign in log
____ Create CD with inspirational music

Instructional/Tracking
____ Get your hands on your grade-level standards for every subject you will
____ Gather the teachers’ editions for all of your textbooks.
____ Skim your textbooks to get a sense of scope and sequence for each subject in your
grade.
____ Find out if there are district-wide or school-based pacing charts for the subjects you
will teach.
____ Create course syllabus (with procedures, expectations, and academic plans)
____ Produce diagnostics for every subject you will be teaching.
____ Set up tracker with objectives included.

Pre Planning Days

Organization/Setup
____ Set up Centers (Reading, Writing, Music, Enrichment, etc)
____ Put nametags on every desk (I recommend an index card with string, so they can wear
them for a couple of days). Also, if you just put name labels on desks, you won’t know
their names in line or at lunch.
____ set up a crate with hanging folders labeled for each student (to keep their graded work).
 ____ Label homework/ classwork folders or trays
____ Number your textbooks and label them with your name. Assign students textbooks
according to their roster number.
____ Make sure room is decorated and ready to receive students
____ Set up your desk:
o paper clips o hole punch
o stapler o glue,
o scotch tape o highlighters
o packing tape o white out
o pens o markers
o scissors o push pins
o safety pins o ruler
o Band-Aids o pencil sharpener
o rubber bands o stickers
o Post-It notes o index cards
____ Set up your files (tape or glue folders or clothes pins to wall around your desk so your desk
stays clear)
o administrative memorandums (in desk)
o teacher portfolio (evaluations, contract, workshop certificates, etc.) (in desk)
o individual student file (copies of report cards, notes from parents, copies of notes to
parents, punish work, etc.) (big binder)
o office referral forms (you never, ever want to run out of copies) (in desk)
o Useful teacher resources and websites (on wall)
o Paper that need to go to the office (on wall)
o Work to be completed by the end of the day (on wall)
o Work to be completed by the end of the week (on wall)
o Subject-specific folders: old units, lesson plans, and activities, (in a large container)
o Graphic Organizer Folder or Binder (in desk or content container)
o Emergency substitute folder (lesson, seating chart, schedule, behavior log, etc.)
____ Post signs & Bulletin boards.
o Rules, Rewards and o Substitute folder
Consequences o Center Signs
o Procedures o Class Schedule
o Fire Drill o Photo Board (for pic
o Heading your Papers of lab and class activities)
o Classroom Managers o Student Work
o CMCD o Word Wall
o Back to Basics Math o Completion Sign and
o Math/Science folder (tasks students can
Connection volunteer to complete)
o Success for All o Your name and room
Reading number (for outside the
door)

Communication
____ Create a checklist with your students name in the left column and several blank
columns. Use this checklist to check in supplies.
Classroom Management/ Behavior
____ Look at student records (behavior grades, test scores, and report card grades) to create a
temporary seating chart.
____ Make copies of office referrals.
____ Make a poster of your rules and consequences
____ Make a visual representation to represent how many consequences students have
received.
____ Become familiar with school-wide discipline policy.

Instructional/Tracking
____ Prioritize every objective you want your students to achieve during this school year
(based on the state standards). Talk with veteran teachers!
____ Organize all your objectives into units (e.g. Multiplication, Persuasive Writing, etc.)
____ Sit down with a calendar and schedule your units. Again, talk with other teachers!
Check the district web page for information about school holidays, report card dates,
etc.
____ Update syllabus with new information acquired from meeting with other teachers.
____ Find out what your daily schedule is and organize your subjects and transitional
activities accordingly.
____ Post the daily schedule
____ Plan and make copies of first day and week materials.
____ Organize grade book (hardcopy and computer) and tracker with student names
____ Prepare your white (or chalk) board for the first days (name, date, agenda, etc)

First Day.
____ Collect supplies
____ Teach and practice rules and procedures.
____ Pass out homework folders with weekly homework sheets.
____ Student Surveys/ Inventory sheet/ Learning Styles
____ Call all families to see if they have any questions about all the paperwork you sent
home. Record these calls on your log.
____ Call families of students who misbehaved on the first day.
____ Rearrange the seating chart if necessary.
____ Reflect on what went well and what needs to be improved for tomorrow.
____ Call someone if you need advice or if you need to vent/ celebrate

First Week
____ Call families to introduce yourself and express how much you look forward to working
with them. Tell them to look for the information coming home.
____ Assign students textbooks.
____ Assign classroom managers.
____ Complete student strengths chart
____ Grade diagnostics.

Second Week
____ Send home a bi-weekly progress report.
____ Assess the objectives you covered. Rules and procedures count as objectives!
 absent?

Materials You May Need

____ accordion file (transport classwork/tests from school to home)
____ stacking trays (I have one for each class to turn in papers and one for each class with
graded work in my classroom~ 8)
____ crates for hanging folders (I have two of these)
____ hanging folders for the crates
____ a basket or folder to be used as a copy basket
____ manila folders
____ binders (definitely one for your family log, discipline, and school papers)
____ sheet protectors
____ paper clips
____ Post-It notes
____ stapler
____ scotch tape
____ packing tape (works well for posters on walls)
____ hot glue gun and sticks (works well for posters on walls)
____ pens (bright colors for grading, black for grade books; also get pens that will clip onto
your shirt or lanyard if you don’t wear pockets often)
____ scissors
____ safety pins
____ Band-Aids/ first aid
____ rubber bands
____ 3-hole punch
____ 1-hole punch
____ glue (both white and a glue sticks)
____ white out
____ markers (vis-à-vis, wet and dry erase
____ color pencils/ crayons/ paint/ paint brushes
____ push pins
____ ruler
____ pencil sharpener if your classroom doesn’t have one (handheld pencil sharpeners also)
____ stickers
____ stamps
____ index cards
____ poster board
____ Tupperware (shoe-box size for supplies—scissors, glue, markers, rulers, etc.—I have
one for each cooperative learning group)
____ highlighters
____ construction paper
____ colored paper for special notices
____ colored card stock
____ white boards (home depot)
____ various size sandwich bags (great for storing and passing out item.
____ yarn or string
____ labels
____ mounting spray glue
This document is an extension of the checklist Jason Nelson created and uploaded on the tfanet.org Resource
Exchange.