Meet the Teacher Night or Open House ( however you call it) can be a super stressful time for teachers. We are put under the microscope and want to make a good first impression on our parents. Usually this event is held at the beginning of the year and we are already overwhelmed with setting up our classrooms, learning the district's "new shiny thing" for the year, and getting to know our students.
There are so many things to think about to get ready for this 2 hour event. So many questions invade our minds.
Will I do a PowerPoint presentation?
Will I just talk to parents informally?
What kind of topics will I cover?
Should I have forms to fill out?
What about my non-English speaking parents?
Stations seem to work really well for some teachers. Set up a welcome table with a sign in sheet and then set stations around the classroom. Before you begin your presentation, have parents walk around and fill out the appropriate forms: volunteer forms, transportation forms, getting to know your child forms, etc.
Some teachers can benefit having everything in Spanish as well. Our school's demographics is about 60 percent Latino parents so this is a must for us.
Having a supply wish list is also a great idea. Parents will see the needs of the classroom and can volunteer to pick up just one item. Setting it up on a table like this is sure to catch the attention of your parents.
Another idea that will be memorable for your parents is to have them guess their child's seat prior to your presentation. A day before Meet the Teacher Night, have students draw a self portrait and write three clues about themselves. Place them on each child's desk. If you have name tags on the desks, cover them with the papers. Parents walk around reading the clues and looking at the self portraits until they guess their child's seat. They sit down and you start your presentation. You can use those self portraits for your bulletin boards.
A PowerPoint presentation is the perfect visual to show parents and help you with your talking points. Some topics to discuss are :
- Curriculum
- Homework Policy
- Attendance / Lateness Policy
- Assessments
- Classroom Rules
- Behavior Expectations
- Parent Communication
Use this opportunity to have parents sign up for Parent Teacher Conferences. Set up a sign up sheet with dates and time slots.
Hope you found these ideas helpful.
If you want to purchase this editable resource with all the forms included here, click on the links on each picture.
Drop me a comment below to share how you set up for Open House.
No comments:
Post a Comment