#132: The No-BS Back to School Breakdown! Exactly what I do lesson-by-lesson in Week 1 to build rapport, set expectations, and create routines that stick.

The Unteachables Podcast

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29d ago 26:13

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Back to school?! Whaaaaaaat?!

If your first thought seeing this episode pop up was “Claire, I am still sipping margaritas and pretending I’ve never even heard of a seating plan,” I get it. 😅

But if you are gearing up for the next school year or term, this episode’s for you.

I’m giving you a front seat to my no-BS, non-negotiables for the first week back.

Not the Pinterest fluff. Not the cheesy icebreaker where you have to use an adjective that starts with your name (I can feel the eye-rolls already). I’m talking about real, actionable, upper-primary and secondary-friendly stuff that actually builds buy-in, community, and clear expectations from the jump.

This is the stuff that’ll have your students heading home thinking:
"Okay. I know where I sit. I know where I stand. And I think this year might actually be pretty good.”

Let’s roll the tape.

What you’ll learn:

Why I don’t start the year with expectations (and what I do instead)
The underrated power of seating plans (nope, not in a controlling way!)
My go-to “getting to know you” activities that actually work for older students
The structure I follow across my first 3 lessons—exactly what I teach, when, and why
How I sneak SEL, regulation, and wellbeing into the mix without it feeling like another PD script
What makes student expectations actually stick (hint: it’s about buy-in, not behaviour charts)

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Chapters

1. Introduction to Classroom Management Philosophy (00:00:00)

2. First Week Back: Non-BS Negotiables (00:04:35)

3. Day One: Seating Plans and Getting to Know You (00:06:03)

4. Day Two: Collaborative Expectation Setting (00:13:29)

5. Day Three: Introducing Daily Routines (00:19:23)

6. Integrating SEL Throughout the Year (00:22:27)

7. Resources and Final Thoughts (00:24:45)

137 episodes

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