Start the year grounded in what truly matters, including building connections. In episode 128 of Growing with Proficiency The Podcast, I’m sharing my first-day-back lesson plan that focuses on my three pillars: staying comprehensible, building connections, and fostering communication. These pillars keep us centered on our ultimate goal: facilitating meaningful language acquisition while creating a classroom where students feel seen and inspired.
It’s so easy to get distracted by flashy activities or trends, but this episode is all about grounding ourselves in strategies that work and staying intentional as we begin the semester. This post will highlight the episode, but to hear all the details of the first-day-back lesson plan listen here or above.
Kicking Off the New Year with a Lesson Plan
It’s important to set the tone for the entire semester on the first day back. In episode 128, I discuss my three pillars for my classes: staying comprehensible, building connections, and fostering communication. I aligned my pillars with the five pillars shared by Juliana Urtubey in the last episode of 2024.
Goals and Initial Activities
The goal of my lesson on the first day back is to get to know my students better and inspire them. I do this by discussing New Year’s resolutions. I plan to use frequent language and focus on the future tense for discussing resolutions. The lesson will start with reviewing class expectations and discussing students’ feelings about the new year. I also plan to provide students with emotions and reasons to choose from, making the activity relatable and engaging.
Interactive Activities and Reading
After discussing emotions, I’ll facilitate a conversation among students to connect and share their feelings. I will then transition to a reading activity, creating a text about New Year’s resolutions that is relatable to her students. Students will select two resolutions that apply to them and discuss them in class. I also adjust the language level for different classes, making it more complex for intermediate levels and simpler for beginners. I explain this in more detail in episode 128.
Calendar Talk and Star Student Interview
On the first day back I like to conduct a Calendar Talk, discussing winter-related topics and birthdays for the month. I also touch on cultural aspects related to the winter season and New Year’s resolutions. You can find my January Calendar Talk here. A Star Student Interview will follow, focusing on the student’s feelings and resolutions for the new year. Writing a model paragraph allows students to use it as a guide for their own resolutions. Find January’s Star Student Interview here.
Writing and Exit Ticket
Additionally, I have students write a letter to themselves based on the model paragraph, reflecting on their resolutions. You can create an anchor chart with common resolutions for students to refer to. Then, students write one resolution on a star and decorate the classroom with them. Finally, an exit ticket will be used to assess students’ understanding of the lesson and their engagement with the language.
Addressing Challenges and Adjustments
Remember that not all students may participate in activities like check-ins or reading. So, it’s important to provide comprehensible input and to use strategies that work despite student engagement levels. Listen to episode 128 to hear more about how to address challenges.
I encourage you to try these strategies and share your experiences with me. I’m excited about this lesson plan and its potential impact on students, especially building stronger connections with our students.
Resources
- Episode 126: Insights from Juliana Urtubey on the framework of Joy and Justice in education.
- Episode 50: Exploring Hexagonal Thinking with Bertha Delgadillo to foster deeper student connections.
- Free Master Class: “5 Game-Changing Twists for Your Favorite CI Activities to Keep Students Engaged”
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