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First-Year
Teaching / Part Two: A MiddleWeb Listserv conversation -- We asked
veteran teachers on the MiddleWeb List to share three or four pieces of
"top advice" to beginners. Don't miss this collection of distilled
wisdom!
New
Teacher SOS -- We turned the tables and asked new middle grades
teachers to describe their biggest problems after a few weeks on the job.
Veteran teachers at our MiddleWeb Listserv offered suggestions.
First-Year
Teaching / Part One: A MiddleWeb Listserv conversation -- If
anyone doubts the power of listserv conversation to support teachers and
good teaching practice, they only need to read this string. This chat began
when Phyllis wrote about her struggles as a first-year teacher. As the conversation
progressed, the discussion turned to talk of self-videotaping as a method
of improving one's practice. And a spinoff conversation took up the topic
of teacher induction and mentoring programs. New teachers are always welcome
at the listserv to ask for advice and share experiences.
More
advice from our MiddleWeb Listserv discussions -- On this page you'll
find links to several recent discussions, most of them instigated by new
teachers. For example, in "Classroom
Routines and Procedures," veterans share their ideas about moving
students about the classroom, walking in the hallway, and passing out papers
and books. There's also an emphasis on the practical in our discussion about
"Getting the Attention of Students."
And you'll find much more by browsing our entries.
Advice
for New Teachers from the "Sophomores" -- Education World
asked the "sophomores" who faced -- and survived -- that dreaded
first year to reflect on their successes and failures. First-year teachers,
here is their best advice for getting through it.
Principals
Offer Advice to New Job Seekers -- This article from Education
World's "Principal Files" shares expert tips with soon-to-be college
grads looking for their first teaching positions.
Keep
up your spirits! -- If you're a new teacher and find yourself,
as Shaundalyn Elliott once did, regretting "spending four years of
college majoring in education," read this final entry in Shaundalyn's
diary of her first year as a middle grades teacher. At the end of her first
year, she wrote: "Now I understand how men and women all over the world
remain in this profession for decades! Teaching is one of the few jobs that
can provide such a tremendous sense of accomplishment and completion."
Read all her weekly
diary entries at Education World.
A
Middle School Teacher Reflects on Her First Five Years -- When
MiddleWeb diarist Ellen Berg signed her first permanent teaching contract,
ending five years as a probationary teacher, she reflected on her first
half-decade as a professional teacher and shared five lessons she learned.
"There have been good, bad, and downright ugly times during my brief
career, but every event has contributed to my abilities as a teacher."
On-Line
Help for New Teachers -- New Teachers Online explores the experience
of being a teacher. Lots of resources, both practical and inspirational.
And check out the mentoring helpline!
AdPrima
: A Webpage for New Teachers -- A rich source of information
for new and experienced teachers. Practical information on curriculum, instruction,
learning, thinking skills, lesson plans, teaching and other education topics.
The name means "the best" in Latin. Visit the site's main
page for many other resources.
"What
to Expect Your First Year of Teaching" -- This 35-page
report is based on research among winners of the "First Class Teacher
Award," a program honoring the nation's outstanding elementary and
secondary first-year teachers. What challenges do teachers face during that
first year in the classroom? What could school administrators & colleges
do to prepare teachers for those challenges? Complete text on-line at the
USED website.
What
Can New Teachers Do for Themselves? -- "When I read articles
about new teachers, I am confronted with such issues as, 'How can we better
support new teachers?' That's nice. But why don't I ever read about 'The
top 10 ways new teachers can help themselves,' or 'How to make your first
years the best years'? The focus of our efforts to help new teachers seems
to weigh too heavily on the schools, forgetting to encourage new teachers
with practical steps to help themselves." (from "Classroom Leadership,"
ASCD, May 1999.)
Homepage
for New Math Teachers -- An experienced middle grades teacher
shares what she's learned. "My first advice to anyone starting in teaching
is to be careful of those who claim they know the perfect method of teaching.
Teaching is an on-going learning experience."
More Advice for
New Teachers -- Don't miss this rich advice from experienced
middle grades teachers!
Advice for Soon-to-Be
Student Teachers -- This advice for prospective student teachers
comes from a Canadian teacher who just completed student teaching. As he
notes, many of his thoughts "could probably apply to first-year teachers
as well." Excellent tips from the New Teacher listserve.
Beginning
Teachers' Tool Box -- This commercial site offers the box "Survival
Kit for New Teachers, 2nd Edition" which can be purchased on-line.
Also includes useful links and free resources. New teachers will especially
appreciate the
tips page.
The
First Six Weeks of School -- This excerpt from a book of the
same title will be particularly useful to sixth grade teachers and all new
teachers. Download Chapter 1 at this page.
For
the New Teacher -- 
Series of articles
from the Teachers Network, including "Taming
the Paper Tiger," "Parent-Teacher Conferences," and "Do
You Have a Plan?"
Bad
Teaching Practices -- Two math teachers' thoughts about practices
that all teachers should avoid. Many of the bad practices are not limited
to math!
Keys
to Success for New Teachers offers advice from the iloveteaching.com
website. And here are some encouraging
comments from veteran teachers.
The
Seven Habits of Good Teachers Today -- Writer-educator Dorothy
Rich thinks back to her experience as a new teacher in the 1950s and describes
how today's new teacher must approach the classroom in a much different
way.
Time
Management -- Thought we'd get your attention. Tips for teachers
from TeachNet.com. Also see "The
Two-Minute Rule." If you need *less* time, check out Five-Minute
Activities (two dozen useful ways to fill up five minutes in class).
Grading
-- We've assembled some useful information about grading, including teacher
discussions, some sample grading formats, and several articles that will
help new and experienced teachers explore grading and classroom assessment
in more depth.
Helping
Your Students With Homework: A Guide for Teachers -- Homework
is a source of frustration for many teachers. That's why Nancy Paulu of
the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research &
Improvement (OERI) produced this site. Filled with ideas from teachers for
helping make homework effective, the site is organized around 18 tips for
getting homework done.
Creating
a Teacher Interview Portfolio -- Ideas from the TeachNet.com
website.
A
Bill of Rights for Beginning Secondary Teachers - This tough
policy paper by a working teacher with experience in elementary, middle
and high school proposes that all beginning middle and high school teachers
should have, among other rights, "a one-on-one, competent, caring,
and qualified mentor" and "a single preparation or reduced load
teaching assignment." Includes supporting quotes from beginning teachers.
Young
Adolescents' Developmental Needs -- The National Middle School
Association created this document to help explain the specialized needs
of young adolescents ages 10- 15. Other NMSA resource
papers are also available at their site.
How to Motivate Students
to Learn -- Students who are engaged in their work are energized
by four goals - success, curiosity, originality, and satisfying relationships.
How do teachers cultivate these drives in the classroom? These reseachers
spent 10 years finding out. Also see the additional resources at the bottom
of this article.
Great
Expectations: Helpful Hints for Beginning Teachers -- Teaching
consultant Jane Bluestein shares her ideas about what every new teacher
should want and do.
Discipline and Classroom Management
Big
List of Classroom Management Resources -- This "really big
list" of classroom management resources was originally developed by
graduate students at Monmouth University graduate students. There are classroom
management techniques tailored to elementary and secondary education, discipline
ideas for new and experienced teachers, tips for handling special education,
suggestions for getting organized, strategies for preventing behavior problems,
sample classroom rules, ways of creating a caring community, and more.
Classroom
Management: Looking for Answers -- MiddleWeb diarist Ellen
Berg offers her reflections on classroom management -- drawn from a summer
workshop she led. "At the core of what works for me," she writes,
"is not some magic set of tricks or one particular discipline system.
If discipline systems worked all on their own, all teachers would adopt
one and classroom management and discipline would cease to be the most requested
topic for professional development from our district's teachers. No, what
works for me is my belief system behind the practices I employ." See
the overheads from Ellen's presentation.
Preventing
Your Rules from Falling Apart -- Excerpt from Preventing Classroom
Discipline Problems by Howard Seeman.
A
Primer on Classroom Discipline -- Tom McDaniel offers eleven techniques
that you can use in your classroom that will help you achieve effective
group management and control. Also see the related article, Discipline
Techniques That Backfire.
MiddleWeb
Listserv Discussion of Classroom Management -- Veteran teachers
and principals share advice and experiences with new teachers looking for
help. We talk about this topic regularly! Here's
our second conversation.
Classroom
Management Tips from Education World -- 12 quick tips to help
make managing your classroom a breeze! Included are tips for getting to
know your students, communicating with parents, getting your day of to a
good start, and more.
Discipline Tips
from a Teacher-Survivor -- This message from a veteran teacher
to the MiddleWeb listserv describes the discipline and classroom management
system that saved her career.
Preventing
Classroom Discipline Problems -- A book and video package by
an experienced educator. Find several questionnaires at this webpage, plus
a table of contents, some excerpts, and reviews of the book.
Know
When to Discipline! -- An Education World e-Interview with
classroom management expert Howard Seeman, Ph.D. When is a discipline problem
really a discipline problem?
"You
Can Handle Them All" - This site shares a step-by-step
approach to handling misbehavior at school and at home. An overview examines
the causes of misbehavior, the core needs that motivate humans, and a four-step
discipline model. A behavior index applies the model to over 100 specific
misbehaviors.
Taking
the Bully by the Horns -- Kathy Noll and Dr. Jay Carter have
written a book and developed a website to help young people deal with bullies,
child violence, and self-esteem issues. The website includes an article
about how adults can help "prevent children from becoming a statistic
on school grounds," and offers "Bully Advice" for kids &
young teens.
Classroom
Management -- For a treasure trove of tips, visit Scott Mandel's
Teachers Helping Teachers site. Includes a beginner's skinny on grading,
including thoughts about what to write on papers. Be sure to scroll down
the page. You'll find a varied selection of brief articles, including "Guidelines
for Good Classroom Management Practice."
How
Has Classroom Management Evolved? -- This article from the
McREL education research lab traces the history of classroom management,
examines recent changes in the field and provides concrete examples of new
approaches.
Discipline Advice
from Veteran Teachers -- A collection of e-mail advice collecting
from the Middle-L listserve.
Dealing
with Tardy Students -- Receiving consistent attendance and
punctuality from all your students may prove to be even more of a daunting
task than it sounds. Also read these teacher ideas about improving
attendance. And these classroom
management tips from teachers. Finally, here are some ideas about managing
bathroom
breaks.
A
Great Tool to Connect with Parents at the Beginning of School --
"This is the most valuable thing I've ever done with my students,"
one middle school teacher wrote about the "Million Words" assignment.
"I've built an instant bond with parents," said another. Find
out how it works from teachers who are using this terrific strategy!
"The
First Days of School" -- It's a rare college student-teaching
syllabus that doesn't include Harry and Rosemary Wong's "The First
Days of School: How to Be an Effective Teacher." See the contents
of the book here. You can order the book from any on-line bookstore,
including amazon.com.
($20). This teacher has summarized some of Wong's
key points on her site.
In this column at Teachers.Net, "Your
First Day," the Wongs summarize their most important ideas. They
emphasize the point in this article, "There
Is Only One First Day of School." Also see "The
First Five Minutes Are Critical," an article by Wong. And another
article, "How
to Start a Class Effectively." The Wongs write a column at Teachers.Net
-- search there to find tips
on many different classroom management topics.
Here's a review
of the book by a middle school teacher, who says "The First Days
of School is the best book I have found for new teachers." More
recently, the Wongs wrote a column that includes a "script"
for the first day of school.
Here's an interesting list from the Wongs' book:
The seven things students want to know on the first day of
school:
1.Am I in the right room?
2.Where am I supposed to sit?
3.What will I be doing this year?
4.How will I be graded? (here are some grading resources)
5.What are the rules in this classroom?
6.Will the teacher treat me as a human being?
7.Who is the teacher as a person? (here's an idea)
To go right to the source, visit the
Wongs' website. Lots of additional resources.
Icebreakers
for the First Days of School -- Each fall Education World offers
icebreakers that can help teachers get to know their new students -- and
help students get to know one another. On this page, you'll not only find
the current icebreakers list, but links to seven previous volumes. Also
see EW's collection of class management tips from teacher listservs
and bulletin boards, which they've titled: "Teachers, Start Your Engines."
Planning
for Your First Day at School -- Another useful article from Education
World. Includes a checklist and online resources for a variety of back-to-school
planning needs, including welcome letters, bulletin board ideas, and back-to-school
activities.
Ten
Ideas for Establishing Classroom Rules -- Many teachers involve
students in establishing classroom rules, says Education World editor Gary
Hopkins in this useful article. "Surprisingly, student-created rules
are often much the same as - or even tougher than - rules a teacher might
create." He summarizes 10 activities teachers are using to involve
students in creating a positive classroom environment. See
all of EW's classroom management resources.
101
Things You Can Do the First Three Weeks -- This list, developed
by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Teaching and Learning Center, comes
with a recommendation from one of our favorite teachers. That may seem odd,
since the list is directed at college teachers and their 18+-year-old students.
But our teacher friend says middle grades teachers can cull many good ideas
from the list. See what you think.
Have
your students write brief biographies of one another -- Here's
a great beginning-of-school activity from the excellent language arts site
"Outta Ray's Head." Small
groups create a list of six questions that will elicit the maximum amount
of information from a person being interviewed. Then they pair off, conduct
an interview, and use the information they gather to write a biography (or
short story, or newspaper/magazine piece, etc.).
Good
books for the first days of school -- Middle school teachers
suggest several fun books to read to kids during the first days of school,
including "The Teacher from the Black Lagoon," and Dr. Seuss'
"Oh, the Places You'll Go." (from Education World)
A Middle
School Teacher Gears Up for the School Year -- No matter how
much or how little experience a teacher has in the classroom, getting ready
for a new school year takes a lot of work, says this article in Education
Update ("Get Ready, Get Set," August 2000). Middle school teacher
Dorleen Kauffman starts early. "In June, instead of just wrapping up,
I'm thinking of the next year based on the needs I had this year,"
she says. "I'm continually reassessing my teaching strategies and motivational
techniques."
"Making
Your Classroom a Home Away from Home" -- Savvy tips from
a veteran middle grades teacher. It begins with a sign over the door: "Kids
Are People Too." (from Classroom Leadership On-Line, August
1999)
Make
It Great: Tips for a Successful, Fulfilling School Year --
ASCD editor Karen Rasmussen writes: "As you think about your goals
for the next 10 months, consider this advice for a successful school year,
which we have compiled from teachers representing a variety of backgrounds
and experiences," including a middle school teacher in San Antonio,
who has tips for organizing a teacher's busy life.
"Parents
Have Homework, Too" -- This back-to-school handout written
by a South Carolina middle school teacher was a big hit on the Middle-L
listserve and may be something you want to share with parents as school
begins.
First-Day
Strategies -- These first-day activities of Laura Versaci,
an English teacher at Decatur Middle School in Indianapolis, are included
in an issue of the on-line magazine Teacher Talk, which also offers teachers
an activity that will help them determine their classroom
management profile. Also see these
tips on first-day and first-week activities at Kim's Korner for Teacher
Talk.
Open House
-- Some schools have an open house for parents the first week of school.
Here's a teacher discussion on the topic.
Take
Photos of Your Students -- Several good ideas for starter-uppers,
including this one: "I like to take snapshots of my students on the
first day of school. With today's disposable cameras, it's even easier;
plus you can have them developed directly after school at one of the one-hour
photoshops. The next morning I arrive at school a few minutes earlier than
usual to post the photos on my door. What a nice surprise for the students
when they arrive! I later use these same photos to place on the covers of
their Language Arts portfolios." This reminds us of another idea: creating
a billboard about yourself - "I was a kid,
too!"
Tips
for Getting the Year Off to a Great Start at TeachNet.com. Success
in dealing with those first days of school depends on planning and organizing
now, and a number of Teachnet readers have shared ideas for doing so.
Icebreakers
-- A half-dozen ideas from Teacher Talk, an on-line magazine. Here here's
another batch of "icebreakers
and energizers" from Kim Steele's similarly named Kim's
Korner for Teacher Talk site. And here's a fresh article "Beat
the Summer Heat: Plan Ice Breakers for Fall" from Teach.Net!
First
Day Chat -- At Teach.Net, where you can browse the middle grades
chatboards and find lots of new-teacher discussion -- including tips from
the veterans. You can also ask your own questions.
Getting
Parents Off to the Right Start -- The Parent Institute offers
a set of quick-tip brochures, the "Motivating Parents Pack (Middle
School)," that includes titles like: "Ways Busy Parents Can Help
Children Succeed in Middle School," "How to Work with Your Child's
Teacher," and "Teachers' Learning Secrets to Use at Home."
Schools that are serious about forming stronger partnerships with parents
may find these brochures a worthwhile investment. Ordered in quantity, a
set of six brochures would cost about $1.80. Available separately and in
Spanish.
Assigning
Classroom Chores -- Short on time? Get your kids involved.
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