The New Year Setup (and Why It Matters More Than We Admit)
Part of the Strong Starts series. View the hub.
Every new year is an opportunity.
Not in the cheesy, “new year, new me” way (although, sometimes it kind of is). I mean it in the practical, classroom way: the start of the year is the one moment where you can set up the room the way you actually want it to run, before habits harden, before little issues become “just how it is”, before you find yourself fixing the same things for the fiftieth time.
Yes, you can always fix things later. Teachers do it all the time. We adjust, we reteach, we reset after a chaotic afternoon, we tighten something up in Term 2, we overhaul something in Term 3.
But the new year is different.
It’s the cleanest chance you’ll get to proactively teach the behaviours and skills you want the class to have. Not just the academic stuff, the “how we do life together in this room” stuff.
So this year, I’m treating the start like what it is: a unique window to set things up for a win.
And one of the first things I teach Year 3 is how to have a proper discussion.
Great discussions don’t happen by accident
I want my classroom to be a place where kids can think out loud, build on each other’s ideas, disagree without it turning into drama, and actually listen instead of just waiting for their turn to talk.
Because when class discussions are good, everything gets better:
- Lessons are richer
- Kids feel heard
- Ideas get challenged in a good way
- Quieter students get drawn in
- You get real thinking, not just quick answers
But that kind of discussion doesn’t just happen. Eventually it might, but only if you train for it.
So I tell them straight: “We’re going to get really good at discussing. But we’re going to practise the skills first.”
The discussion rules (and the why behind them)
- Hands up to contribute. Hands up is about fairness. It stops the fastest voice always winning and gives slower thinkers time to catch up.
- Hands down when someone is speaking. Hands down says “you have the floor”. It shows we’re listening.
- We’re building ideas together. Discussions are a chain. Someone starts an idea. Someone else adds. Another disagrees. Someone summarises.
- You can add, or you can disagree politely. We practise stems like “I agree with…” and “I respectfully disagree because…”.
- The summariser role. A student summarises what has been said so far to reinforce listening.
The first practice run: like the first round of a board game
After I explain the rules, we do a test run. Low stakes. Slow pace. Lots of coaching. It’s like the first play-through of a board game after someone explains the rules. You don’t play properly yet. You just try it out and fix things as you go.
We use a fun topic with immediate opinions, like:
- Children should have mobile phones.
- There should be no school uniforms.
Example dialogue: “There should be no school uniforms”
Me: “Alright. Remember the goal: we are building ideas together. Hands up to contribute, hands down when someone is talking. Who wants to start us off?”
(Hands up. I wait a moment.)
Me: “I’m going to give five seconds thinking time… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Okay. Zara, start us off.”
Zara: “I think we shouldn’t have uniforms because you can wear what you want and be yourself.”
Me: “Thanks for starting us off. Hands down everyone. Who wants to add to what Zara said?”
Luca: “I want to add. If there’s no uniform, you can choose clothes that are comfortable.”
Me: “Nice. You’re building on the idea. Who wants to respectfully disagree?”
Aisha: “I respectfully disagree because uniforms are fair. If people wear expensive clothes it might make other people feel bad.”
Me: “That’s a strong point. Now we’re getting somewhere. Who can add on to Aisha’s idea?”
Noah: “I’d like to add to what Aisha said. If everyone wears the same, no one gets judged for their clothes.”
Me: “Great. Now, quick pause. I’m seeing excellent listening, but I also saw two hands stay up while Noah was talking. What do we do?”
Class: “Hands down!”
Me: “Why?”
Student: “So we listen and it feels respectful.”
Me: “Exactly. Continue.”
Me: “Okay, summariser. Mia, can you summarise what we’ve heard so far?”
Mia: “Some people think no uniforms means you can be yourself and be comfortable. Other people think uniforms are fair because people won’t judge you or feel bad if someone has expensive clothes.”
Me: “Perfect. Now we can go deeper: what matters more, freedom or fairness? And is there a way to have both?”
Why I bother doing this
Because I want kids to learn how to:
- Listen properly
- Contribute without dominating
- Disagree without being nasty
- Argue with reasons, not volume
- Focus on ideas, not people
And because I’m honest about the payoff: once you teach this properly early, you get to enjoy the fruit of it for the whole year.
Sure, we keep refining. We’ll talk about body language, not fiddling with random objects while someone speaks, not doing distracting side commentary, and treating people kindly even when we disagree.
This is one of those start of the year moves that quietly makes everything else smoother.
Next up: reading routines.