How to Prepare Your Students for an Assembly Program
In-school assemblies are incredibly fun for your students. But without proper preparation, the entire experience can be a frustrating exercise that does nothing but waste valuable classroom time. Fortunately, there are simple things you can do to help make your school assembly experience a positive for both your students and you.
I’m school assembly performer Joe Romano. I’m based in Virginia and perform in about 250 schools each year. After offering educational and curriculum-based assembly shows for 30 years, I’ve seen what works in school assemblies…and what doesn’t. Read on to discover how to make your next school assembly experience a great one.
Know Your School Assembly Presenter’s Objectives
The best school assembly performers let schools know ahead of time what they will be covering during their presentations. Ask whoever is booking the assembly to keep you in the loop. If the presenter shares teacher support materials, ask for a copy.
As you look over the assembly’s main talking points, determine if they align with what your students are learning in class. Check to see if the vocabulary will be the same or similar to what your students hear in the classroom.
If you discover discrepancies, put together some notes for yourself. After the show, you can discuss them in class. Ask students about those discrepancies. See if anyone in the class knows what classroom learning points those assembly messages or lessons align with. This is a fun way to reinforce critical thinking in your students as they compare and contrast those items.
Remind Your Class Ahead of Time What Is Expected
The best school assemblies engage your children by getting them excited. Whether the performer uses magic, puppetry, or some other skill, your young students may focus more on the presenter’s skillset. But it’s up to you to prepare them to pay attention to the curriculum-based messages the performer covers.
Before the assembly, discuss behavior with your class. Remind them how to be a good audience. If your school uses a universal technique to signal to children that it’s quiet time, remind your class of it. Depending on your school, your students may be familiar with a certain clapping rhythm. or raising their hands while extending their first two fingers.
Entering the Assembly Area
Over the years, I have seen children enter the assembly area one of two ways. The successful assemblies began with kids entering the cafeteria (or gym, auditorium, or MPR) quietly single file. The unsuccessful assemblies started with children racing into the assembly area wildly, out of control, with no regard for what was happening around them.
Once kids are in that high-energy state, it’s much harder to settle them down. The best teachers and educators already know that kids have a hard time regulating their energy levels. With children, there is no “burning off energy.” Kids can and will stay active until they collapse from exhaustion.
Want your assembly to go smoothly? It starts with how you enter the assembly area.
Separating Troublemakers
Every class has them. There are children in every class who seem to bring out the worst in each other. Sometimes these kids fight or fidget, disrupting the entire class. Or these two students turn into class clowns, feeding off each other’s energy until the entire class is in an uproar.
It usually doesn’t take teachers long to spot these troublemakers. Be sure to keep them separate going to, sitting in, and leaving the assembly area. Keeping your class under control contributes to the overall experience of everyone attending the assembly program.
Waiting for the Show to Begin
No one in your school will want to admit it but there is often at least one class that is late for every assembly. If your class arrives early, you may have your kids stuck sitting in the assembly area with nothing to do while everyone else enters the area and finds their seats.
Bored kids find things to do to entertain themselves. However, the activities your students choose may not be beneficial for the other kids around them. If you suspect your students will be sitting for a while, keep a few simple game ideas in your back pocket.
Here are a few simple ones:
- The ABC Game – In this game, a topic is chosen. Then, starting with the first child in line, everyone has to name a word starting with the next letter in the alphabet. Let’s take Animals for example. A child might suggest Antelope. The next child might say Bear, and so on.
- Would You Rather – Ask the question and then each child gets the chance to answer and explain why they chose what they chose.
- 20 Questions – The teacher chooses an object. One at a time, students ask you yes or no questions to guess what the object is.
Having easy, ‘play anywhere’ games gives you and your class something fun and engaging to do while waiting for other classes to arrive. And you’ll look like the hero because while others struggle to keep their students under control, you can look up, smile, and wave. You’ll be the envy of your fellow teachers!
Looking for Fun and Engaging School Assemblies Your Students Will Love?
My school assemblies feature curriculum-based topics like reading, math, science, and more. Each program is filled with magic, kid-friendly humor, interactive fun, and much more. To discover how my assemblies can help your school, contact me today for free, no-obligation information!
SHARE POST
