Anda di halaman 1dari 4

1

Running head: THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL LITERATURE REVIEW

the First Days of School Literature Review


Gordon Pate
National University

This essay is a literature review of the First Days of School by Wong and Wong. The
book is a great guide for new teachers. In the book, a new teacher is told what to

2
THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL LITERATURE REVIEW
expect during the first week through the first year. It covers classroom
management, lesson plans, assessments, and more.

the First Days of School is an excellent tool for beginning teachers. The book
covers pretty much everything that a new teacher needs to know. it teaches

3
THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL LITERATURE REVIEW
classroom management, teacher attitude, lesson preparation; and most
importantly; how to help students achieve content mastery. As a teacher candidate,
there isn't much that is both scarier and more exciting than the thought of my first
week in my own classroom with no one there to help and answer all of the questions
I will have. however, this book does an excellent job of showing the new teacher
how to have a successful first year with limited stress by being prepared
beforehand. Wong addresses all of the domains, but says the most important
chapters in the book pertain to lesson and assignment creation because if we fail to
create effective lessons and assignments, then students will not learn (Wong and
Wong, 2009).
Wong gives simple steps to create effective assignments. The four steps
given are: 1. know what you want the students to know and accomplish. 2. Write it
out! Keep it short and simple. 3. Don't keep it a secret, let you students know what
is expected of them. 4. Let the parents know what is expected of the students. In a
nutshell, communication is key. how can students be expected to learn if they do
not know what they are learning or what the end goal is (Wong and Wong, 2009).
Just like you wouldn't tell a car designer to build a car, but not tell him what the end
goal is. Don't tell a student to learn, but not tell her what she is to learn. This can be
done by sharing the standards and goals with the students.
There are a few things Wong says to never do. These include asking: What
can I do to keep them busy or pass the time? What will make the students like me
more? Isn't there a worksheet I can give the students? Wong calls pointless
assignments, such as those from the questions above, "jobs" because they only tell
a student what to do with no explanation of why. Giving students jobs leads to a
lack of motivation and no sense of accomplishment. Wong says an appropriate
assignment will foster questions like these: "How am I doing?", "Is this good enough
for an A?" "Will I be first chair?" (p.232) (Wong and Wong, 2009). If a student is
asking those questions, then the teacher knows the student is taking responsibility
for his work and wants to succeed.
The same rules apply for lessons as for assignments, the objectives must be
clearly understood by the teacher and then passed on to the students. Students do
not necessarily need to know that content standard 5.2a.23.4 etc. means they need
to learn division, but they do need to know what the objective is and why it is
important. It is also a good idea to explain when students will use what they are
about to learn and how it can be applied to their lives outside of school. Wong also
stresses the importance of Bloom's Taxonomy of Higher Order Thinking.

4
THE FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL LITERATURE REVIEW

References
Wong, H.K. and Wong, R.T. (2009). the First Days of School: How to be an Effective
Teacher. Harry K. Wong Publications. Mountain View, Ca.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai