 Tips
for Before the School Year Starts
1. Get into the school building EARLY (several weeks
before the school year starts) to work in your classroom. You will need the time to organize, plan, and
prepare your room. It’s also a great time to get to know the other building staff. Before
you start to arrange furniture and put up displays, check with the principal to make sure the custodial staff is finished
cleaning the room.
2. If possible, visit some
of the students’ homes before the school year starts. Compose and take with you a short letter for
the parents, introducing yourself, explaining the school year, and welcoming them into your classroom. Don’t
stay very long. If you’re hesitant to make home visits, send home a letter inviting them to visit
you in the classroom during specified times the week before the school year begins.
3. Arrange your classroom with thought towards making it both attractive
and functional. Place furniture so that it facilitates instruction and doesn’t interfere with normal
traffic flow. Put up bulletin boards and visual displays. Check your inventory of supplies
and make certain that all the equipment works. Organize your materials and teaching supplies so they are
handy when you need them.
4. Review
the grade level standards for your school/state, as well as the materials and programs used in your grade level.
Read the students’ IEPs and information in the cum folders. If possible, talk to the guidance
counselor and the students’ former teachers.
5.
Decide what formal and informal assessments you will use to ascertain current levels of functioning for each student.
6. Plan
your daily schedule. If you have a self-contained classroom, make a block schedule with all the fixed time
periods (lunch, special programs, speech, etc.) before you begin to organize your own schedule. If you
support inclusion students, get copies of the general education teachers’ schedules and make a plan on how you will
provide the assistance the students will need to be successful in the general education classrooms.
7. Prepare your lesson plans for the first few days. Make
sure that you have more than enough activities planned, but take care to allow time to teach procedures and routines.
Run off all the copies of reproducible materials that you will need and organize them so they are ready to distribute.
8. Gather and organize student supplies so they are ready
to distribute. Make a few extra sets for the students who arrive unexpectedly throughout the first day
or in the next few days of the school year.
9.
Do some long range planning. How will you help your students reach the goals delineated in their
IEPs?
10. Decide
how you will monitor student progress towards their IEP goals. How will you record their daily/weekly progress?
11. Review the school’s handbook and take a personal
tour of the building. Learn the location of equipment (paper cutter, copier, die cutter, audio-visual equipment,
etc.) and procedures for getting general and art supplies. Find the restrooms, faculty lounge, computer
labs, mailboxes, nurse’s office, cafeteria, etc. Become familiar with the school’s rules, so
that you can consistently reinforce the same expectations for student behavior.
12. Take time to talk to the other teachers at your grade level, the other special education
teachers in your building, and the teachers on your “team.” They are a valuable resource and
should be able to answer many of your questions. Look for the one you would like as an “unofficial
mentor” and make it a point to foster a relationship with that person.
13. Spend some time with your classroom assistant to make certain that he/she understands
your educational philosophy, classroom procedures and student expectations. Start to foster a working relationship
with him/her.
14. Think about your behavior
management plan and have clear expectations for student behavior. How will you convey these expectations
to the students? Make sure that part of your plan is to review them on the first day of school.
Post the classroom rules somewhere in your classroom. Teach daily classroom routines and procedures;
discuss classroom rules.
15. Develop
an interest inventory that you can use during the first week to gain insight into your students.
16.
Prepare a “survival kit” with personal “necessities” that will help you get through the year.
Include such things as breath mints, a small sewing kit, hand cream, comb and brush, mirror, change for the vending
machine, a manicure set, band-aids, snacks, candy bars, an apron or large work shirt, safety pins, slippers or comfortable
shoes, aspirin, a toothbrush and toothpaste, etc.
Tips for the First Few Weeks
1. Learn the names of your students quickly and
correctly. Find something “special” about each student and use it to begin to build a positive
rapport.
2. Send home a letter to the parents on the first day of school. Explain your
teaching philosophy, the school day, your expectations, and any special activities you have planned. Let
the parents know that you are always available to answer their questions and provide contact information. Let
them know what times are available for private conferences and how they should schedule an appointment.
3.
Have a clear mental picture of what you want the students to do when they enter the classroom on the first day.
Think about where each student should sit, what they should do with their personal belongings (jacket, school supplies,
lunch money, packed lunches, etc.), what you want them to do when they sit down, etc. Stand at the doorway,
so that you can welcome them and easily give them directions when they come into the room.
4. Be as prepared
as you possibly can on your first day. Think about everything you will do. Try to think
of things that can go wrong and prepare for them as well.
5. Plan a “get to know you activity”
for the first day to help the students learn about you and you about them.
6. Introduce and practice important
signals – “quiet,” “look at me,” “return to your seats,” etc. Explain
and practice classroom routines and procedures.
7. If you teach younger students, take them on a tour of
the building the first day of school.
8. Practice emergency procedures – fire drill, hurricane/tornado drill,
lock-down procedures, etc.
9. Call each parent sometime during the first few weeks of school to tell them
something positive about their child. This will really help to get you started off on the right foot with
each parent. Later if you do call about a problem they will be more willing to work with you to find a
solution and support the action you take in school.
10.
Analyze each day so that you can make the necessary adjustments. Think about your lessons, seating
arrangements, discipline problems, the clarity of your directions, transitions, pacing, etc.
General Tips for the First Year
1. Make friends with everyone in
the building – the secretary, custodial staff, building assistants, cafeteria staff, etc., as well as the teachers.
Don’t get caught up in building gossip or “take sides” in petty disputes.
2. Make it a point
to cultivate relationships with the general education teachers. Collaborate to develop plans to support
students and follow through on plans you’ve made with them. Demonstrate specific modifications and
assist the general education teachers whenever possible.
3. Observe the other teachers for ideas
that you can incorporate into your own classroom. Keep an open mind about what will work in your classroom.
Don’t assume that all that is “old” is bad and all that is “new” is good.
Realize that what works for another teacher might not work for you.
4.
Invest your time in a weekly newsletter or written note to each parent. Parents want to know what
is going on and appreciate such information. They will be more willing to help out with special projects
and trips.
5. Involve parents in classroom activities and special events. They can read
a story, talk about their careers, supervise small groups, help with learning stations, chaperone on field trips, escort students
to the bathroom and specialists’ rooms, etc.
6. Wear comfortable shoes and clothing.
You will be tired enough at the end of each day without having to worry about sore feet.
7. Stand at the
doorway each morning to welcome your students into the classroom.
8. Find a method of organization that fits you.
Unfortunately, teaching involves a lot of paper shuffling. In addition to the paperwork you also
have to manage your time in/out of the classroom. You must be both efficient and effective to survive.
9.
Plan more than you think you will need and keep a mental list of “sponge activities” that you can use to
fill short periods of time. Always have a backup plan in case a lesson doesn’t go as well as you
would like or an unexpected schedule change occurs.
10. Stay calm. You will have
to handle many unexpected situations (discipline, emergencies, classroom interruptions, etc.) throughout the school year.
If you are calm, you will be able to think through the problems and act appropriately, rather than use a visceral reaction.
If you are calm, you have the advantage and the control.
11. Treat the children with respect if you expect
respect from them. Be firm and fair in your interactions with the students. Remember
that you are not there to be their friend, but to guide them and help them achieve their fullest potential. The
students will look to you for guidance and leadership.
12. Hold high expectations for behavior and academic
performance for all students. They will surprise you!
13. Be ready to think on your feet.
Things don’t always go as planned, so there will be times when you have to switch “gears” at the
last minute. Flexibility is essential in a special education classroom.
14. Don’t
let teaching consume your whole life. Devote some time each week to the personal things you enjoy.
You will feel more energized and ready for the pressures of the classroom if you take some time for yourself and your
family. Make sure that you have a life outside of the classroom or teaching will consume you.
15.
Prioritize what needs to be done because there is always something that needs your attention. You
could work 24/7 on your teaching responsibilities and still not get everything finished.
16.
Find a system of organization that works for you, so that you can efficiently and effectively manage your time and
paperwork. Unfortunately, the professional responsibilities of a teacher involve more than just working
with students. In order to spend more time with the students it is essential that a teacher be organized.
Good systems and procedures will save you time and energy.
17. Don’t feel like you must reinvent the
wheel. Use prepared resources, making modifications to suit your needs. The Internet
is a wonderful resource for lesson plans and teaching tools. There are many books and resources available
to help teachers perform their duties – use them whenever you can.
18. Make a “Substitute Teacher
File” for those days when you’re too sick to go to school. Include everything that you can
think of to make the day go more smoothly – your schedules, a map of the school, emergency procedures, a description
of daily routines and procedures, auxiliary activities/plans to supplement those in your plan book, etc.
19.
Document everything – parent contacts, telephone calls, discipline incidents, office referrals, etc.
Those notes will probably come in handy when you need to support or verify a situation.
20. Don’t
expect feedback on everything you do. During your college years you always had someone evaluating your
work, offering suggestions and praising your performance. Now you must do this yourself in order to continue
to grow professionally.
21. Make a "warm fuzzy" file or box. Every time you get
something that makes you feel good about teaching (e.g. a note or picture from a student) drop it into the file. On
those days when things seem to go wrong and you wonder why you ever went into teaching, take out your "warm fuzzy"
file and go through the contents. It will cheer you up!
22.
Keep a diary of your first year of teaching. Take a few minutes at the end of each day to reflect
on the day. This will assist you in refining your skills, help you clarify your teaching philosophy, and
serve as a memento in the years to come.
23.
Continue to be a “student,” as well as a “teacher.” Read journal articles
in your field, attend workshops, take classes, join professional organizations, attend conferences, collaborate with colleagues,
use technology, etc. Learn everything you can to help you improve your teaching skills.
 |
