New Teacher Support Archives - Page 13 of 15

How to Thrive on the First Day of School

August 22, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 1 Comment

The first day of school is one of the most anticipated and anxiety-producing days of school for teachers. Both new and seasoned teachers plan for hours for this day but most teachers never feel completely ready. Many teachers can’t sleep the night before the first day of school, and others have nightmares about showing up to teach in their pajamas!

The first day of school doesn’t have to be anxiety provoking. We sat down with Hilary James, a National Board Certified veteran teacher, and compiled a list of things teachers should do on their first day of school in order to get off to a successful start to the new school year.

Breathe.

Remember to breathe. It sounds simple enough, but when we are nervous or excited it is easy to forget to breathe. Remind yourself to breathe several times throughout the first day. Taking a deep breath will help you relax. Before you know it, the day will be over and you will have successfully made it through the first day.

Put forth positive, optimistic energy.

Realize this is the students’ first day too. You are all new to this. A classroom with this exact composition of students, in this physical space, with you as the teacher, has never existed before this moment. It is pretty amazing if you think about it. You are all taking the first steps of a year long journey. You will make memories. You will learn lessons, both academic and otherwise. Enjoy this first step together. If you feel comfortable, share your excitement as well as your anxiety at beginning anew. The students will feed off your energy. When you put forth positive, optimistic energy, the students will likely mirror it back to you.

Set the tone for the school year.

Smile and make the kids feel comfortable. First impressions matter. This does not mean that if you have a bad first day that you cannot redeem things in following classes, but it is easier to begin the year in a positive light. You don’t have to spend the entire day doing warm, fuzzy activities; you can and should talk about expectations. By the end of the day, the students should know that your room is a safe place for learning.

Plan carefully and then let go.

Prepare good plans. Over planning for the first day, and most days, is essential. You won’t use all of your plans but we can imagine nothing worse than not having enough planned for the first day and having to come up with plans on the spot. You may be able to fill free time once you know your students, but we do not suggest this for the first day. This doesn’t mean you have to get through every plan. You don’t have to get it all done, and you probably won’t. You will have more time with these students, and you can use your plans another day. Your first day does not have to be perfect. Your goal is to make it through the day the best that you can and smile at the end because you did it.

At the end of the day, take time for reflection.

After the busy pace of the first day, and the adrenaline of trying to anticipate what needs to be done next to stay ahead of the students, you will want to keep moving at that pace once the students leave. However, give yourself time and space to sit down and reflect. What went well? What has to be changed immediately? What do you want to watch for in the upcoming days? What had you anticipated that didn’t happen? What happened that you hadn’t anticipated? How will these events change the way you structure your physical space or the way the students interact with the content in the upcoming days and weeks?

Your first day of school will undoubtedly not turn out the way you anticipated. It will leave you tired and exhilarated at the same time. You will be amazed that it is over in the blink of an eye. We hope you have an opportunity to take these suggestions and use them to thrive on your first day.

Happy teaching,

Paula, Michele, and (our guest teacher) Hilary James

10 Things You Won’t Hear Excellent Teachers Say

August 2, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 2 Comments

Though we would like it if the world were always a positive, friendly place, sometimes it just isn’t so. We’ve heard our share of negative teacher room talk. Still, we try to do our part to stay positive and focus on how to handle challenges in a way that encourages positive change. Given that philosophy, here are ten things you won’t hear excellent teachers say:

These kids are all lazy and unmotivated.

Really? All of them? Show us a classroom where all of the students are unmotivated and we will show you a classroom that needs a reboot. Perhaps the lessons need to be more academically or developmentally appropriate. Maybe the work needs to be more active and engaging. Has the teacher built a good relationship with the students? If not, start there. Students are more likely to do good work for teachers they like and respect.

You’ll do what I say because I am the teacher and you are the student.

You might get students to comply with this statement, but compliance is not the same as learning. Compliance is at the low end of the motivation scale, with interest and engagement at the other end.

That’s not how we act. Were you raised in a barn?

You don’t know how they were raised. Making assumptions or belittling their background is not likely to teach them proper behavior.

When I want to control my class, I just give them a pop quiz.

There are two problems here- emphasizing control over learning and understanding the purposes of assessment.

Did you leave your brain at home today?

Teachers who say things like this think they are being sarcastic, but be aware that many, many students do not understand sarcasm and will just recognize this statement as an insult.

That is a stupid question.

If you want to make sure students never ask a question in your classroom, be sure to tell them that their questions are stupid.

Don’t smile until Christmas.

The sentiment behind this one is that you have to let students know who is in control and that you are not their friend. However, you can build a classroom environment where students will work and respect you and each other. You can be firm in your expectations while building a rapport with your students. We say, go ahead and smile on the first day.

She works so hard she makes the rest of us look bad.

The general public does enough teacher bashing. We don’t need to do it to ourselves. If you make this statement, you are really making a statement about how YOU work.

There are only 39 days left of school!

The problem with counting down the number of days of school is that the subtle message is “this place is so bad we can’t wait to get out of here!” In your glee, you are negating the fact that school is a positive, purposeful place for learning. While we all like our vacation, many students are safe, fed, and happy at school. Sometimes home and summer brings unknown and unsettling circumstances. If you are confronted with an end of the year countdown, consider saying things like “Only six more days until we can stay home and read all day long.”

How many years until I retire?

This is not a problem if you are actually planning your retirement. But if you are an early career teacher and you are starting to count the days and years until you retire, you might want to take a look at why you are so miserable in your job. Yes, teaching is hard work and we know that not every minute is enjoyable. The good should outweigh the bad. Good teachers generally like their work!

Here’s to positive teacher talk,

An Open Letter to a First Year Teacher from a Second Year Teacher: What I Wish I Had Known

July 25, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 1 Comment

Dear First Year Teacher,

Welcome to the first year of teaching. Have a blast. Your students and principal can’t wait to have a first year teacher full of energy and enthusiasm. Have fun and pay attention. The year is going to fly by. Keep a journal, blog or just take notes in your lesson planner because you are going to learn a lot. Here is what I wish someone had told me before I began my first year last August.

Try not to stress, and when you do feel stress somehow hide it from your students. Students and staff can sense stress and do not respond well to it. A teacher who has high energy and enthusiasm should balance that with a calm demeanor. Calm does not mean passive or lazy. Breath, walk away from tension, and take care of yourself. I am talking to you Type A, first year teacher. Do not be the first one in the building and the last one to leave at night. Go home, eat healthy, exercise, see your friends. Enjoy your life outside of school. It will make you a better teacher, I promise.

Focus on the students that are not behavior problems. Teachers and staff have a tendency to focus on the frequent flyers, the students who are acting out on a regular basis. Do not fall into that trap. Most students are wonderful: kind, hard-working, positive.

Speaking of focus, don’t put too much focus on students with academic problems and or parents who expect special accommodations for their student. Follow the IEP and accommodations plan but be aware of going above and beyond for only one student. Some parents scream for extra attention, help and communication with the teacher. Be careful, this is not always helpful to that particular student, or the other students in the room. Redirect your energies and pay attention to all of your students. The squeaky wheel should not always get the grease.

People can be mean. Don’t let this throw you off your game. Listen and learn from people who offer advice in a substantive and meaningful way. Otherwise, just tune the mean people out. Assume that their meanness will be counteracted by others in their life or the building.

On the other hand, when people give your criticism, and good teachers must have criticism, listen. Resist defensiveness and embrace curiosity. Remember: administrators, parents, teachers and students do not respond well to defensive behavior. Take a deep breath, put on your poker face and open yourself to criticism when it is given with good intentions.

Watch what works in your classroom and abandon what doesn’t even if your administrator, famous/successful teachers or professors say it is the best way to teach. Be a scientist in your own classroom and when you see evidence of growth: pounce. Take notes, look at data, listen to students, and repeat what you think is working.

Find a friend. Teachers don’t always welcome newcomers. Conversations with colleagues can be awkward, and you might feel like an outsider. Find the people in the building that are like you and make an effort to connect. Stop by their room for a chat or try to sit next to them during meetings. If your teacher’s lounge and lunchtime crowd gets negative, don’t join in. Be the positive teacher in the room.

Keep track of success and celebrate it with your students and yourself. Leave notes for yourself in your lesson plans when things go well and when they don’t. Praise students and yourself more and criticize less. Do not give students fake praise, but praise them for actual growth and achievement in all areas of school and life.

Be patient. Remember you have years to get better as a teacher, and students have many more years of school ahead of them. Do not think you need to help them climb the whole education mountain in one year. You are only supposed to lead them part of the way. They will make progress in your classroom and next year’s classroom and so on.

Some subjects are harder to teach than others. Don’t get discouraged. I teach ancient world history to sixth graders. I wish I had worried less about making it to a certain place in our textbook my first year and focused more on engagement, cooperative learning and critical thinking. My new goal is that my students are more open to the idea that our world is shaped by nearly all time periods, regions, religions, and ethnicities. Yet, somehow, the people of the world are more alike than different. The number zero was “invented” in at least two different completely disconnected civilizations at about the same time period and for different reasons. When my students discover that fact, I want them to say “wow!” That is a much easier goal to reach than hitting page 492 by June 1st.

Continue to love your students. This is not always easy, but it is essential to being a great teacher. Love them in the agape sense of love which to me means be present and open to their uniqueness in this world. Know their favorite sports teams, foods and how many siblings they have. Ask about their dance competitions, basketball tournaments and favorite video games. The more open you are to the person they are becoming the more they will surprise you with their capacity to grow academically and emotionally. Your classroom will pulsate with enthusiasm, engagement and energy if you keep an open heart.

And at the risk of repeating myself, have fun. At our end of the year class discussion, all my students talked about one thing they wished they had done differently in their 6th grade year. The answers ranged from not being so scared at the start of 6th grade, to reading more books in the beginning of the year, to reaching out to new classmates sooner. I said, “I wish I had had more fun with all of you.” Don’t make that mistake. You have worked hard to get your own classroom – now enjoy it.

Good luck and best wishes for a fantastic first year,

Heather Trees

Heather Trees is a TYT Tribe mentor and a sixth-grade teacher at Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle school In Dubuque, Iowa. She teaches social studies, religion, and language arts. Her greatest passion is inspiring a love of reading in all students. She believes there are no nonreaders just children who have not found their gateway book into a love of reading. Last year her 24 students read 437 books, many from her classroom library.

Teaching is a second career for Heather. She has a BA in theater and communications from Northwestern University and an MA in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. Her first career was a television journalist and nightly news anchor at TV stations in Iowa and California. After taking time to stay home with her children, she began a career working with children in a school library, which led to her returning to school to get her teaching credential.

6 Yard Sale Bargains For New Teachers

July 18, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers 1 Comment

In the summer, yard sales are everywhere. As a new teacher, yard sales (also called garage sales) are exactly what you need to fill your classroom shelves and spaces efficiently and inexpensively.

The next time you are tempted to drive by that yard/garage sale, slow down and make sure they aren’t selling any of these items that you will likely need for your classroom:

Games. Games are a great garage sale find because they don’t have to be fully intact to be useful. Gameboards can be easily modified to fit whatever content you are teaching as a review activity. The dice and spinners can be separated from the game for many classroom activities and as a grouping tool. While most games teach a skill or two, if you are lucky, you will find a game that serves a clear academic purpose. Boggle can be a perfect station for spelling. Zingo! provides picture cues to accompany words for your early readers and Mancala makes even those of us who love mathematic problems stretch our thinking.

2. Puzzles. Puzzles are the perfect indoor recess activity for students of any age. In addition, puzzles serve to enhance motor skills for our youngest learners. Puzzles also offer a creative way to form groups. Pick six connecting pieces from each corner, break them off, mix them up, distribute one to each member of the class, and then have the students find their group members by searching out others with conjoining pieces. If you think out of the box, there are also many other uses for puzzles in your classroom.

3. Puppets. Although not as easy to find as puzzles or games, it is not uncommon to find puppets at garage sales. When purchased new, puppets can be pricey. However, at yard sales they are often affordable. Don’t shy away from puppets that look “overly loved.” Although they might look a bit shabby to you, there is some quality about that puppet that made some child love it so much. Could your students feel the same? Puppets have several uses in a classroom depending on the age of your students. From the basic chef puppet that reads the lunch menu each morning, to the cat and mouse puppets that can be used to teach about dialogue, we think you can find a classroom use for even the most interesting yard sale puppets.

4. Carpet squares. If you are fortunate enough to come across these at a yard sale, grab them and run. If they are still at the yard sale, it means a more veteran teacher hasn’t been to the yard sale yet. Carpet squares provide much more comfort when sitting on hard classroom floors. Plus, they create perfect boundaries for students when working on the floor and are easily transportable by the students themselves.

5. Furniture for flexible seating. Grab those bean bags, director’s chairs, and butterfly chairs with neon green faux fur. All of these and more are most likely waiting for you at the yard sale around the corner. They are inexpensive, easy to move, and will be a hit with your students. Most likely your students will give you credit for picking out such a “cool polka-dotted bean bag” for the reading corner. You don’t have to tell them that your 12 year-old neighbor actually purchased the chair and you just bought it from her for $3 at the yard sale.

6. Books. Books are teacher goldmines just waiting to be explored at yard sales. Lucky for you, parents love to buy books for their kids. When the kids grow up, the parents pick a few favorites to keep and the rest are yours for the taking at their next garage sale. You will be surprised how quickly you can build a classroom library just by attending yard sales. We know you may be hesitant to buy so many used books because your vision of a classroom library is filled with shiny new books. However, trust us when we say that the favorites will be lovingly battered and bruised by November. The garage sale books just got a bit of a head start.

We also advise you to watch your local ads. Experienced garage salers will advertise by stating specific items they will be selling. If you see any of the items on the above list in the advertisement, hop in your car and head over. Also, if you see an ad that says it is a teacher hosting the garage sale, ask your parents for your birthday money early because that is a sale you don’t want to miss!

For a list of the teacher books we recommend you try to find at yard sales this summer, sign up for our guide entitled 25 Great Books About Teachers that Every Teacher Should Read.

Happy Bargain Hunting,

How to Impress your Principal During your First Year of Teaching

July 10, 2017 by Inspired Together Teachers Leave a Comment

by Matt Wenthe, Middle School Principal, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District

Believe it or not, your new boss was once in your shoes as a new teacher when he or she began in education. And principals can still relate to feeling overwhelmed – trust me. Like a good coach, principals really want their rookies to do well and will hopefully give them the resources and advice to develop their talents.

But what are the best ways to make a great impression during the first year? As a principal, I have seen some common elements from new teachers that go on to become master teachers.

Kindness Counts

If you are on a blind date, and your date showers you with compliments but is rude to the waiter, there should be plenty of red flags. Likewise, kindness counts as a teacher and principals often know more than just how you may treat them. Everyone on staff is part of a team and should be treated as equal colleagues – the custodian, the secretary, the teacher assistants, everyone.

Show your appreciation. A note, a quick email, or a thank you go a long way. Let your colleagues know that you value their contribution to your students’ success.

Be visible in the halls and greet students by name as they enter your room. Maintain discipline, but always make sure your students know that you care about them. Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Other people’s perceptions often filter their way back to the principal.

Attend Functions

It was once expected that teachers were at the majority of extra-curricular events, however, this has become less and less the norm. So when new teachers are at events, principals take note. Sometimes you can also make a little extra money working the game clock or chaperoning an event. Regardless, the kids and parents (and principals) notice that you care.

Display Great Work

When principals walk through the halls or pass through classrooms, they will note what is displayed. This is not only a great way to help promote students taking pride in their work, but also an easy way to do some great PR for your class.

Take pictures and share them with your principal for the school newsletter or web site. Frequently in education, we are too humble or modest and don’t do enough to showcase the great things taking place. Principals are always looking for good material to share with the school board and community. When you give examples, people take note.

Call Parents

There are times when email is fine, especially when you want to convey information. But when it involves emotion, a phone call is often a more effective tool for communication. This way you can have back and forth dialogue and can better communicate without emotional misperceptions.

Don’t just make the bad calls either. Parents love to hear they have raised a kid who does good things sometimes too.

And don’t be afraid to ask the parents’ advice on how a discipline problem can be addressed. Generally, parents will want to work with you and may have some insights that you may not have thought of.

Ask Questions

You are new – it’s no secret. No reasonable person expects flawlessness during your first year. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something or would like to talk through a problem. As a principal, I am more concerned about the rookie teachers who act like they know it all and put up a façade of perfection.

With that said . . .

Remember that if it is important today, it will be important tomorrow.

Not every problem needs to be dealt with immediately. Take some time to process before you act.

For example, don’t respond to an upsetting email or a rude colleague’s comment when you are emotional. You can write when you are passionate, but don’t hit “send” until you have had time to process and be introspective about the big picture. And then remember the earlier advice about email being a good tool for information, but not so much for emotion.

Visit Other Rooms

You’re always going to feel busy, but giving up a prep period once or twice to become a better teacher will save you a ton of work in the long run. Ask principals what fellow teachers they would recommend to watch for ideas on some aspect you would like to improve upon (e.g. question and discussion techniques, pacing, managing classroom procedures). This shows a commitment to achieving excellence.

Know that You are Now a Professional

This isn’t just an hourly J-O-B like you may have had in the past. This isn’t an unpaid internship (a.k.a. student teaching). You are now in a career that is one of the most influential in the lives of others. And exceptional professionals in any career know that their work is not an 8:00-4:00 commitment. If you want to be more than average, if you want to impress, you need to know that there is no substitute for hard work. Principals know who puts in the time to make their classes great.

Matt Wenthe is the Middle School Principal at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District in Wisconsin. He also serves as District Assessment Coordinator, Gifted and Talented Education Coordinator and
Summer School Director.

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