Getting ready to return for the new school year? Or maybe you’ve already settled into a few days or weeks? Whatever the case may be some of our ELA MATTERS contributors have some tried-and-true advice to share to help you. Take a read through for some simple helpful advice whether you are a new or a returning teacher this year
Movement on the First Day!
Meagan cannot stress enough how important it is to have an active classroom. Movement is natural, yet is often not considered appropriate classroom behavior. Many teachers expect students to remain seated for lengthy lectures, but this ultimately leads to a lack of student engagement.
The need for movement is even more necessary at the beginning of the school year. Students have been out of the classroom for just over two months and are suddenly thrust back into the “rules and rigors” of school. One way to maintain expectations of classroom behavior while still allowing students to move is to have a “First Day Stations” activity. This allows students to work together in small groups (allowing them to get to know a few people in their class) while learning important things about class (from ‘how to ask to use the bathroom’ to ‘where’s the Kleenex’ to ‘what’s the homework policy’ and so on) and incorporating movement while rotating from station to station.
Using Systems from Day One!
Melissa, from Straight Outta Class, encourages teachers to implement classroom systems and routines that promote student success. When students know exactly what behaviors are expected and what their individual role is in your classroom and the learning environment, there is less chance for disorganization, confusion, distraction or misbehavior.
Four Ways Systems Benefit You and Your Students:
1. Prevent confusion about expected behavior in learning situations.
2. Increase time on task and maximize instructional time.
3. Organize the learning environment, materials, and classroom instruction.
4. Eliminate distractions that disrupt the learning process.
Entry to class is one of the most important routines because it sets the tone for the rest of the day. You’ll want to teach and practice your expectations during the first few weeks of school. Here are some questions to help you get started:
- How do students enter your classroom? What type of greetings and handshakes or gestures will you allow? Do students line up and wait to enter at your signal? How do they line up or wait to enter? What voice level is appropriate?
- What is the first thing students do when entering your classroom? Where do they put their belongings? What supplies should they pick up or have out for use? What activity do they complete? Where is the morning work or focus located?
Classroom systems help you create productive learning opportunities for all students.
Relationships matter.
Jen Marchione from @booksbabblesbows can’t stress enough the importance of getting to know your students. Curriculum will come with time, but it is important to know who the students are in front of you. Strong relationships build a solid foundation which help students feel like they belong and are loved, enhance engagement as well as support learning. When students trust their teacher, they are more likely to really engage and learn.
Teachers can begin the year by sharing a bit about themselves and then create opportunities for students to share with each other.
Three of her favorite get to know you activities are:
- 2 Truths & A Lie: Students write down two truths and one lie. Add these into Kahoot or another digital game and students learn about each other.
- Get to know you Jenga: Create questions and put them on task cards. Have students play Jenga in small groups. In order to pull a block, they must answer a question. This is always a huge hit.
- Reading Interest Survey: It is important to get to know our students as readers as well. It is valuable to find out how they view reading, what genre and books they like, dislike etc.
Always Be Prepared!
Katie, from Mochas and Markbooks knows the importance of being well-prepared! Having a solid plan for the semester will make you feel confident and knowledgeable, so you can spend less time feeling frazzled and more time enjoying your class!
Here are 5 practices to consider:
- Know your curriculum front to back. Read your curriculum document and make notes about how you could use each expectation. Highlight which units each expectation could work in. Let the curriculum be your guide, and refer to it throughout your course to ensure you are covering it appropriately.
- Create a long range plan that consists of a breakdown of how long each unit will take, along with a lesson breakdown by writing the name of each lesson on the day you plan to teach it. Creating a digital calendar in Google Sheets is efficient and it will allow for easier editing than a paper copy when lessons inevitably move days or take longer than expected.
- Lesson plan for at least a week ahead. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of teaching a course day by day. If you don’t have a good idea of where the unit is going or how the lessons connect and build on each other, it will be evident in your teaching. The farther ahead you can lesson plan, the better!
- Photocopy or create digital copies of resources a whole unit at a time. If you’ve managed to lesson plan an entire unit ahead, having all of the copies of resources ready will eliminate the stressful race to use the photocopier before class starts. This is also helpful if you take an unexpected sick day, you won’t have to worry about sending files or links to printouts for your sub.
- Use daily agenda slides to help keep you and your students organized and on track. These slides will create a classroom routine that will help your students use class time more effectively and they also can be saved to a running file for students and parents to refer to if they miss class.
Have a Strategy for Evaluating Work
Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12 suggests two things related to grading student work – the thing lowest on the love list as an ELA teacher!
- Don’t grade everything!
Consider the star and wish approach to evaluating student work. Be clear with the expectations for the assignment – what are you looking to evaluate? And then add a STAR – something the student has done well related to the communicated expectations, and a WISH – an area for improvement with a clear directive on how to improve (review lesson X, check out these mentor texts, practice this skill in an online program, etc.).
- Be strategic about assigning work that you will evaluate.
Lesa usually teaches 3-4 different English courses during the school year and knows that being strategic about when work will be handed in is key to balancing the loads of marking ELA teachers do with maintaining good health and a life outside of school. She suggests looking at your calendar for when report cards are due and then check across your planning calendars for each course and the units of study. Where can you space things out? If assignment X is coming in on Monday then don’t have anything else due that same day. Then implement the star and a wish system and hopefully power through the assignment asap before the next one comes in!
Teaching is a Team Sport!
Carolyn from Middle School Café wants to remind you that educating students is a team activity! We often hear reminders about building relationships with students, and YES that is important, but building relationships with parents is also important.
It is important to build a positive working relationship with parents to avoid the us vs them struggle that can come if your first parent contact is to address a behavior issue or academic difficulties.
A few quick tips for building parent relationships:
1. Be present for Meet the Teacher/Back to School Night – Just like anything we do for class, we can easily get bogged down in all the things that need to get done. But take a deep breath and just be present for those quick introductions. Parents are not going to remember all the information presented in a formal presentation so use this time to introduce yourself and get to know a few parents.
2. Contact every parent early – Carolyn makes a point of contacting every parent within the first two weeks of school. A quick email to introduce yourself and open a conversation with parents in the first few weeks of school can go along way in setting the tone for more difficult conversations later.
3. Be intentional – All parents want to know how their student is doing in class. If you are not intentional about communicating with all parents, you’ll likely focus on the few with behavior issues or academic difficulties. Sending positive notes home (email or phone call) are a great way to keep the conversation going with parents. It helps parents see you as a partner in their child’s education. It can even boost your own mood on those difficult days!
Teaching is a Marathon, Not a Sprint!
Samantha from Samantha in Secondary, first and foremost, likes to remind herself and others that teaching is a marathon, not a sprint. It can be easy to get bogged down in trying to learn and do everything you can to be the best teacher you can be, but burnout is real and there is always more to learn. Pace yourself by choosing one to two big goals for the year and doing what you can to focus on those things.
If you’re brand new to the profession, focus on cultivating relationships with students, getting to know the curriculum, or organizing teaching materials. These are tangible goals that will pay dividends by the end of the year.
As a seasoned educator, focus on a select area of growth such as scaffolding for English Language Learners, increasing rigor in writing conferences, or implementing choice reading in all of your classes.
Choosing and sticking to targeted goals will ease the overwhelm and allow you to focus on growth without getting wrapped up in all of the noise.
If you’re looking for more helpful information as a new teacher, check out Samantha’s blog post, 10 Tips for New Teachers.
Looking for more helpful tips for back to school? Check out some of our recent posts, including Increase Student Engagement with Routines and Procedures and Five Ways to Incorporate Writing into Your Daily Classroom Routine.
Feeling ready to return?! What advice do you have for new or returning teachers? Come on over to the ELA MATTERS FACEBOOK GROUP and share your best advice!
