Melissa Kelly - 180 Tips and Tricks for New Teachers

new
Teachers

Establish a good relationship with students and their families

Get the most out of limited resources

Learn the ins and outs of administration and build rapport with other teachers

Melissa Kelly

Copyright 2008 by F+W Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are
made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by
Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN-10: 1-59869-656-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59869-656-1
978-1-5986-9656-1
eISBN: 978-1-44051-542-2

Printed in Canada.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their product are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

Contains material adopted and abridged from The EverythingNew Teacher Book by Melissa Kelly, Copyright 2004 by F+W Publications, Inc.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

Contents

Part One
Growing the Teacher Within

Part Two
Classroom Management 101

Part Three
Organizational Know-How

Part Four
Make the Most of Your Teaching Time

Part Five
Dealing with the Unexpected

Part Six
Assessments, Grading, and Testing, Oh My!

Part Seven
Technology and Online Learning Today

Part Eight
Stress, Illness, and Substitutes

Part Nine
Be a Team Player Without Being Exploited

Part Ten
Recipes for Success: First Days and Beyond

Introduction
Your Personal Mentor

Teaching is a fascinating and at the same time extremely complicated profession. As a teacher, you will have the opportunity to affect the lives of thousands of young people. Think back to your elementary, middle, and high school days. Are there teachers that you still fondly remember? Did one or more profoundly change the way you look at life? Are there some who had a negative impact on you? Just answering these questions will help you see the impact you will have on those you teach.

The prospect of teaching students and having such an effect on their future can seem scary. The goal of this book is to give you practical tips and sources of inspiration to guide you on your rewarding career in education. Look at it as your mentor that you can turn to while you work through some of the major issues you will be facing as you teach. While no book can replace actual teaching experience, the strategies and guides presented here will alleviate some of the concerns you have while making your life easier and your time teaching more productive.

You will hear a lot of discussion about the troubles facing the state of education in the United States today. While there are a lot of improvements that can be made in the realm of education, there is also a lot of good that is occurring each day in classrooms across the nation. Trite though it might sound, the solution can really begin with you, one class and one student at a time.

Part One
Growing the Teacher Within

Teaching is a unique profession in that there is not one right way to teach a class of students. In fact, if you compared two effective teachers you would probably find that they differed from each other in many ways. Yet, at their core these effective teachers share certain key skills that they use to help their students learn and grow. Recognizing and cultivating these skills will help you grow as an educator while increasing your connection with your students.

Face Your New Reality

Effective teachers are truly dedicated professionals. A teachers day typically starts early and ends late. Your day will probably begin with some planning time that allows you to make last-minute preparations for the students. Once the students arrive in the classroom, you cannot expect another moment of quiet until your next planning period or the end of the day.

Each class is a new challenge. You will find some students who love learning and some who despise it. You will present your lesson and hopefully not have more than one or two unexpected disruptions such as fire drills, announcements, unexpected visitors, and the dreaded student disruptions. Hopefully, you will also experience one or more moments that will help you remember why you became a teacher. When the day ends, you will probably have meetings to attend before you can settle down to some grading and planning for the next day. Many teachers take home grading each evening. Through all of this, its important to remember throughout each day to keep a sense of humor and remember that you are truly affecting future generations.

Anticipate Your Students Expectations

All people want to succeed, even if they fear success. Many students realize that they could have done a better job in their last school year. Maybe they didnt spend enough time doing homework, or perhaps they never found time to read their texts. The new school year is the perfect time to turn over a new leaf and start fresh.

Students Are as Nervous as You

Remember the last time you were in a new classroom with a teacher you had never met? Even if you had a friend or two in the class, there was most probably an element of nervousness in the air. Many of your students will feel the same.

Students will show their nervousness in a variety of ways. Most of them will probably be very quiet. Even if you try to make a joke, you might not get a lot of response. It will take some coaxing to get students out of their shells. Learning students names quickly can help them feel more welcome and relaxed.

A few students will come into your class on the first day with a chip on their shoulders. This too is a sign of nervousness. These students dont feel comfortable, so they become defensive. Just knowing this can help you make better decisions on how to react to a students misbehavior realizing that this is not necessarily an indication of future behavioral problems. At this point, humor is the biggest tool you have in your teaching arsenal.