Tips for New Teachers

1. Get Organized

Having a personal organization plan and implementing it with fidelity is one of the most important things for having a successful school year. Think about your work style and the time of day when you're most productive and make a plan for getting work done. For me personally, I am most productive after school and I really enjoy working alone with the 'Today's R&B and Hip Hop Hits' Pandora station on. I also prefer to work at school (as much as I try to convince myself that I can get work done at home it just doesn't happen). Also think about how you like to organize your duties. Do you prefer an electronic org system by using a calendar on your laptop (TEAM MAC) or are you more successful when you write things down? I am a 'write it down or it won't get done' type of teacher. To keep all of my duties and planning organized in one place I use a teacher planner which I created myself to fit my needs (getting organized feels better when your planner is cute). Check it out at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Once you put careful thought into how and when you want to complete your teacher duties, hold yourself accountable and just do them.

Pink and Teal Planner

Pink White and Grey Planner

 2. Map out your Classroom Culture Vision

Effective classroom management is a crucial part of promoting successful student academic outcomes. You can have perfect lesson plans but if your class is chaotic, the learning won't happen. Think about your ideal classroom environment. What do you see? What does is sound like? What is the teacher doing? What are the student doing? Now think about how you will respond when that vision isn't happening. Create behavior plan that considers the different nuances of responding to minor misbehaviors vs. major misbehaviors. I learned the hard way in my beginning years of teaching that responding the same way for all behavior infractions plays a big part in student disinvestment of your behavior policy. Be on the look out for a detailed post about how I use Class Dojo to enforce my behavior policy.

 3. Avoid the "One Man Island" Syndrome

YOU CAN NOT DO THIS WORK ALONE! The best teachers can attest collaboration is one of the biggest contributions that helped them on their path to being a successful educator. Don't be afraid to ask for help and definitely don't be afraid to steal ideas from someone who is doing it right and make them your own. If you haven't already heard of Teachers Pay Teachers by now, it will be your best friend if you are not at a network that provides lesson plans and curriculum resources. There are tons of materials that you can filter through for free and for purchase. Browse through the website and I guarantee you'll find what you need.

 4. Plan in Advance

As a teacher, it is your moral duty to make sure that you are intellectually prepared to teach your students the skills that they need to know. Knowing where they are and where they need to go is a major part of this preparation. Planning in advance is a way to ensure that you fully understand what students are expected to learn and can teach it effectively. This topic is a bit difficult to talk about in a concise way so I will just share some best practices that I learned throughout the years when it comes to making sure that I am intellectually prepared for my students.

Beginning of the Year

• Read or create a yearly overview of what students are expected to learn that year.
• Chunk the learning into units and allocate a specific number of instructional days for each unit 

Throughout the Year

• Create a logical progression of teaching points for each unit (try to do this before you actually begin teaching the unit)
• Have a meeting with yourself every week and map out what you will be teaching the following week 
• Read or create your daily lessons a week in advance so that you can adjust or prepare for those lessons mentally and physically (there is nothing worse than realizing the day before that you don't have the materials you need to teach a lesson)

Help yourself stay on top of your planning with this teacher planner and make sure that you have a good cup of coffee while you work!

 5. Get to Know your Students with Disabilities

Providing a rigorous education for ALL students is the role of an educator. Some people may try to advise you not to focus on students with IEPs when you first begin teaching but I believe this type of thinking to be immoral. These students' lives are in your hands for an entire year and being a new educator is no excuse to not do all that you can help them learn (if this sounds like I am getting a little preachy, that is not my intent. Supporting students with disabilities is something that I am very passionate about and my goal is simply to help shift mindsets that sometimes prohibit students from getting the education that they deserve).

When you receive your students' IEPs, take the time to read through the specific diagnosis, the academic and/or behavior goals, the mandated accommodations and descriptions of strengths and areas for growth. You may even want to create an IEP  At a Glance sheet to reference as you plan to support these students throughout the year.

Providing support for students with disabilities is not as hard as people would believe. Sometimes this support can be a simple as giving frequent feedback during and after work time. In the beginning of the year, start small by knowing who your students with disabilities are and check their understanding of directions frequently. Be on the lookout for future blog posts about supporting students with disabilities.

I hope that this was helpful! If you have any other tips that will help new teachers have a successful start to their school year, please comment below!

Bonus Tip: Become a Coffee Lover