You just graduated college. You are a licensed teacher. You have finally landed your first teaching job! Now what?
I remember when I got the call that I was chosen to be the new fourth grade teacher. I was so excited, yet slightly overwhelmed. There was so much I needed to do. Where should I start, what should I do?
In this post, I have compiled 15 tips to be a step ahead and have a great first year of teaching. Now, you definitely won’t be perfect, but I hope these tips will help you out during the year.
I also highly recommend reading the “First Days of School” by Harry Wong before you start teaching. It is definitely worth the read and will help you so much during the school year. I remember thinking how am I supposed to start a school year? I never did that in college. Well this book literally saved me that first year! Please check out this book by clicking the link below, you will not regret it.
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So here are 15 tips when you become a brand new teacher!
1. Read the standards for what you are teaching.
Whatever grade or subjects you are teaching, print out the state standards. Read them through a couple times. Maybe even read the grade above and below to really understand what you are teaching. Keep these standards in your teaching binder so you can always refer back to them. Knowing your standards will help you throughout the school year. This will help you feel better prepared and you will know what’s coming.
2. Curriculum map and long term plan.
Once you read your teaching standards, start to plan for the year. Now, you probably won’t be able to make super detailed plans but just map out some ideas. For example, what standards will you teach each semester or 9 weeks? This will help you out a ton during the year. Maybe jot down some ideas (projects or lesson ideas) for each standard while you are reading them, so you are better prepared when you actually go to the teach the standard during the year. Also, think about those big projects you may want to do during the end of the year, click here to read about an end of the year project I did in my classroom.
While you are thinking about the standards and teaching them, this is a great time to look at the curriculum you will be teaching. Look through the teacher’s manual so you know what to expect. Also, evaluate whether you will think you will need extra resources so you allow time to do so during weekly lesson planning. If you want to know some thoughts I have on curriculum problems and how to fix them click here. This will help you out while you are going through the curriculum options you have available to you.
3. Create a schedule.
You may have a specific set schedule you have to follow for your school or grade level. For example, lunch times, morning times, or when to teach each subject may not be an option for you to change. My advice is to talk to your grade level team or your principal to understand the schedule. If it is a set schedule, request a copy of it. If not, start to plan what you want your day to look like. Even if you do have a set schedule, you will probably need to decide what your math teaching block will look like.
My advice for elementary teachers is to give an hour to an hour and half to each main subject like Math and ELA. Within that time, give time for direct instruction and small groups. Also decide if you will teach social studies, science, or art every day or every other day or even every other week.
If you teach periods, decide how the period will go. For example, you can start with a bell ringer, then move to direct instruction, and end with a review activity. You could also plan certain days of the week to do small groups instead of whole class instruction.
Having a schedule will help you to start planning what to teach. This will also keep you on track throughout the whole year.
4. Plan for the First Days of School.
The First Days of School are the most important days of your classroom for the entire school year. You need to start out right from the very first second students walk into your classroom. I HIGHLY recommend reading “The First Days of School” by Harry Wong. This book literally saved my first year of teaching. The summer before I started my first year of teaching, I read this book. It completely changed my mindset of classroom management. It was an easy read that helped me so much!
With that being said, you need to plan for those first couple days. I do a First Days of School PowerPoint as a “script” for every procedure I do in my classroom, along with my classroom rules and consequences. If you want a more complete guide on my First Days of School, click here.
5. Consider basic classroom management.
In your classroom, you need rules and consequences. You may not think it is that important now, but it will save you a lot of trouble with students acting out. Have a few classroom rules for your classroom. Make sure students know that if they break the rules, there will be consequences and make those consequences CLEAR. Also, be consistent with this.
Your first year of teaching will be the most challenging with student behavior and if you have rules and consequences in place, it will make dealing with these behaviors so much easier. You definitely won’t be perfect, but this will make you much more prepared. If you want more details on my classroom rules and procedures, click here.
6. Consider basic classroom procedures.
Classroom procedures are so important to make your classroom run much more smoothly. You want students to know exactly how to behave in your classroom, so you need to specifically teach them what you expect. I wrote a list of 16 classroom procedures that I have in my classroom, check that out here to help you start planning your own classroom procedures.
Also, remember to teach these procedures slowly at the beginning of the year. My first couple days of school are used to teach these procedures. I model the procedure and I have the students practice what I expect of them so there is no confusion. Take as much time as you need to teach these procedures at the beginning of the year. It will save you so much time in the long run. Also, being a first year teacher you won’t be perfect, so review the classroom procedures throughout the year if you need to. I like to completely review my procedures after winter break, so we can start strong after the holidays.
7. Minimal classroom decorations.
When you get your first classroom, you may be tempted to redecorate everything. I would advise you to only minimally decorate to start the year. You may decide on a better “theme” throughout the year when you discover more about your teaching style and your students. At the beginning of the year, only concentrate on making your classroom functional for you and your classroom procedures.
After you complete your first year of teaching, take time to organize and declutter your classroom. When it is decluttered, then start thinking about decorating more if you want to.
If teaching in a completely decorated classroom makes you happy and you have time before your first year, then go for it. Just know that you don’t have to. Especially if you run out of time before the year starts (like I did my first year).
Students don’t remember decorations, they remember what you taught them.
8. Stay organized throughout the day.
A way that helped me stay on top of things in my classroom was organizing all the papers on my desk. I created a great system on my teacher desk to help me stay organized throughout the day. This helped me feel less overwhelmed and saved me time that you definitely need during that first year. I organized papers I needed to grade, copy, file, and even all the copies I made ahead of time. Read more about how I stay organized throughout my day here.
9. Be flexible!
This is one of the most important tips I could give a first year teacher. Be flexible! Things will never go as planned that first year. You may realize it will take longer or even shorter to teach that standard: that’s okay! You may get interrupted throughout the day and have to move your lessons plans to the next day: that’s okay! Whatever happens during the school day, just be flexible. You can always start over the next day! Planning is very important and essential, but so is the ability to be flexible with whatever comes your way.
10. Review content.
As teachers, we get into the habit of teach and move on, teach and move on. Sometimes, as first year teachers, we forget that we need to review content. Students will easily forget what you taught them, even from week to week. I noticed this my first year of teaching. I would teach a unit on fractions, and by the next week or two, the students would forget. I started to review content any chance I got in small groups, on computer programs, through testing, and bell ringers. Anytime I taught something new, I tried to tie it back to what I previously taught. When you are a first year teacher, you have a lot going on but hopefully this will remind you to review content every so often.
11. Have a list of 5 good engagement strategies.
Another tip is to have about five really good engagement strategies that are go to’s for you. These are strategies that you can easily use to engage students while you are teaching. With everything else going on, it’s easy to forget these strategies while you are teaching. That’s why, I like to have a list of my go to’s to easily incorporate into my lessons. I love using cooperative learning structures in my classroom. I have a list of my top 10 favorite structures that you can check out here. I also like to use Plickers and Kahoot as ways to engage students and get some formative assessment feedback. Just think back to some strategies you used in college to create a list of your own go to strategies so you can always have something to engage students.
12. Balance your life.
When you are a first year teacher, it is easy to become obsessed with your job. You are always trying to make your teaching better, always trying to find great lessons, always trying to keep up with the meetings, grading, and all other daily teacher tasks. If you let it, your teaching job will take over your life. Don’t get consumed. You cannot control everything in your classroom. Let it go. Maybe only devote one day of the weekend to your job and enjoy your time off. Make sure you balance your life. I know your job is really important and you have a lot to do, but don’t forget about your family and loved ones.
13. Relax and de-stress.
On that same note of balancing your life, make sure you are also taking time to relax and de-stress from your job. I know how draining teaching can be. We put so much into it, but sometimes you need to take a break. Don’t be afraid to take a day off from teaching. You may need that day to relax and de-stress, so do not feel bad about it!
Try to make it a goal to finish everything up on Friday evening, so you can enjoy the rest of your weekend. You need to find some time to relax so you don’t get burnt out. Teacher burn out, especially during the first year, is a real thing. You want to enjoy your career, not be burned out and give up after a year.
We all have an emotional bank account. Teachers have a tendency to give and give until the emotional bank account runs dry. Teachers need to make emotional deposits every once in a while, so they can give some more. Don’t be afraid to take a break to recharge.
14. Experiment and change it up.
Each teacher is unique and different. You need to figure out what works for you. This first year of teaching is a time for you to explore what works for you. Experiment with different management techniques. If it doesn’t work for you that’s fine, just change it. If something isn’t working the way you want it to, try something else. Teaching is a lot of trial and error.
Find what you like in your classroom. Whether it is management techniques, teaching strategies, testing options: try it out! You will only become better. And you never know, you might find something that really works for you so you can be an even better teacher! Don’t be afraid to change something in your classroom.
I changed up my classroom multiple times throughout my first year until I finally found what worked for me. The students can adapt to change quickly; you just need to make sure you explain to them what is expected of them.
15. Remember why you became a teacher.
You will feel overwhelmed during your first year of teaching. It is hard. It is challenging. Sometimes you may feel like giving up. But remember that it is rewarding!
Remember the reason you became a teacher. It was your dream. You wanted to help others. You wanted to give back to your community.
Teaching is the only profession that makes all other professions possible. Your job is extremely important. We need good teachers to help these students become anything they want to be. Always remember your reason for being in the classroom when things get hard. You make a difference in the lives of children every single day. Don’t forget that!
The first year of teaching is challenging. You can make it through though and the following year will be easier! Hopefully these tips will help you be better prepared for your first school year. Good luck, you will be an awesome teacher!
Click here to read about the 10 Things I Wish I Had Done My First Year of Teaching.
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Thank you for Continually Learning with us!
Kyle and Sarah
