📝 What to do on the first day of the semester (and why it matters)

Even after 15 years of teaching, I still get nervous on the first day.

Not because I’m worried about the material — but because I know that the first day sets the tone.

That’s the day that students are quietly asking themselves:
Do I belong here? Will I be seen? What kind of learning will happen in this space?

I want my answer to be felt as much as it’s said.

So here's what I actually do — from the moment they walk into the room to the last thing I do before they leave. I use this approach across courses and topics. And I think you should too.

Before class begins:

I want students to feel welcomed before I ever open my mouth.
I get there early to set everything up. And when they enter, they immediately experience:

• A board that says:
  “Welcome to [Course Name]!”
  Underneath:

  1. Grab a name tent and write your first name, last initial, and pronouns

  2. Get three post-it notes and answer the prompts on the board (one per post-it):

     • I am from:

     • I’m here because:

     • I’m excited to learn about:

  3. Say hello to someone you don’t know

• Their favorite music playing — gathered from a question in the pre-course survey that they previously completed

• A warm hello and welcome directly from me

I repeat the instructions as new people arrive to minimize any time they spend feeling uncertain about what to do. And I encourage them to put their post-its on the board as they finish them so that I can read them and get a sense of who’s in the room.

Once class officially begins:

I don’t launch into content. And I definitely don’t start with the syllabus. I start with relationships and co-creation.

Here’s the core flow:

✅ My Introduction

I introduce myself. I share a bit about who I am, how long I’ve been teaching, what I do outside of the classroom, and how excited I am to get to know them this semester. I establish credibility (lightly) and invite participation.

✅ Choose Your Own Introductions

I ask the class to decide, collectively, how they want to introduce themselves. I tell them the only expectations are that everyone hears 1) everyone else’s name (to avoid them only introducing themselves to the person next to them) and 2) at least one thing about them. And once they decide how they want to do that, we do it. When we’re done I ask them why they think I let them decide rather than just telling them what to say. We use their responses to talk about what that choice signals about the space we’re building together in our classroom, and how I view teaching and learning.

✅ Best/Worst Class Ever

I tell them that I want to talk more specifically about their experiences in classrooms. On the whiteboard, I write two headers:

• The Best Class Ever

• The Worst Class Ever

Then I ask for volunteers to share, without any specifics (no names of courses, professors, students, or anything else identifying), what either the students or professors did to make it the best or worst class ever. I write exactly what they say, in their words, on the board (in alternating dry erase markers for visual engagement). Once we have two solid lists, we reflect as a group on which class we want this one to be — and how we’ll make that happen together.

✅ Group Agreements with Pictures

I share that one way we can do that is through co-creating the norms of our classroom. If any students are familiar with group agreements, I’ll ask them to share what they are. If not, I’ll explain. Then I’ll ask for the students to share any group agreements they would like for how our classroom will function throughout the semester.

I have pre-printed pictures for group agreements that I like to ensure are included (like “move up, move back”). If a student’s suggestion matches one of my pictures, I’ll tape it up. If not, I’ll ask for a student volunteer to draw a simple visual representation of that agreement on the board. (And then I’ll intentionally walk to the other side of the room as I ask for the next proposed agreement to draw attention away from the student who is drawing.)

If we get through all of their suggestions and I have some pictures left, I’ll propose those agreements to the class. They’ll decide, for each one, whether to add it to our set. And we end up with something that usually looks like this:

Group agreements from a Human Sexuality course.

Once we have them all on the board, I’ll ask if they want to make any additions, changes, etc. If not, I’ll ask if everyone agrees with what we developed. I take a photo of the set and keep it in my phone throughout the semester so we can refer back to it as needed - visual, shared, and alive.

✅ Syllabus Speed Dating

Now it’s finally time to get to the syllabus. The activity is fairly detailed, so here’s a quick video that walks you through it:

I don’t dive into the content of the syllabus during the activity. I let them know that we’ll cover that once the activity is done. I do share tidbits and learnings about myself as we go through the questions to continue to build connection and relationships.

Once we finish the activity, they go back to their seats. I walk them through the most important points in the syllabus and answer any specific questions they have.

BONUS TIP: I have a syllabus acknowledgement that they sign on the back page. Once we’ve reviewed the syllabus in class, I tell them not to sign so that they can go home and read it in full. They bring the syllabus form back the following week (and some of them successfully find the “easter egg” hidden in the acknowledgement section).

✅ One Activity That Reflects the Course

We spend the last part of class doing one activity that reflects the course in some way. It might be a values clarification activity (in a human sexuality course), a quick improv warmup (for a design thinking course), a solo writing prompt (for a senior seminar on grant writing), or something else.

Whatever it is — it introduces them to how we’ll learn, what we’ll learn, or both.

✅ Final Words: Advice From Former Students

We close the first class by having them read notes from former students, written for the next cohort. I pass out the index cards, each written by a student, and ask them to stand up and read the card they are holding out loud to the class. I encourage them to listen to the advice others read as they might get practical tips for the course, and more. Here’s how I run this activity in more detail:

The messages are thoughtful, funny, and often surprising. And I close it out by sharing that I hope their advice gets students excited for the semester ahead. I make sure to tell them all that I’m excited to see them next week.

Why it all matters:

The first day isn’t about content coverage.
It’s about making a commitment to my students that I will carry through the semester:
This space was built with care — and you’re part of it.

When students walk out of that first class, I want them to be thinking:
This is going to be different.
This might even be good.

And then I spend the rest of the semester living up to it.