New Teachers: Resources and Tips

Teaching Channel wants to help teachers as they begin their career in education. In this series, you’ll find the videos, blogs, and other resources that will walk you through the steps you’ll need to take before the first day of school.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

 7 Minutes, 7 Attention-Getting Moves: These seven videos give you a range of ways to quickly and effectively get the attention of your students. Check them out!

 3 Things New Teachers Need to Know About Classroom Management: After ten years in the classroom and five years coaching teachers, Ryan McCarty shares three things he wishes he’d known.

 Is It Okay to Let Go of Classroom Management?: Trying to balance managing a crazy class while still getting through all of the content you’ve planned to teach? Use these three tips.

PLANNING

 Countdown to Your First Year: What Are Students Supposed to Learn?: So, what exactly are my students supposed to learn next year? Here are 5 tips to get started.

 Make Planning Manageable: Choosing an area of focus for your first year can help make planning manageable. Here are some tips to help choose where to focus your planning time.

 Six Differentiation Strategies: We reached out to our community and asked them to share their favorite differentiation strategies. Meet the needs of all the learners in your classroom with these strategies.

 Differentiate Your Direct Instruction: Make Content Accessible to All Students: Discover additional, quick tips to ensure that you’re meeting the needs of all learners.

CLASSROOM CULTURE

Building Strong Class Culture All Year Long: What are your goals for your classroom environment? How do you plan to get there? Read Lily’s goals and share yours.

25 Alternatives to Using the Word “Great”: Do you find yourself using the same affirmations over and over? Sarah has compiled a list of great (amazing, wonderful, insightful) words to help you mix it up.

ADVICE

The Truth About the Teacher Mindset: You hear it over and over, the job of a teacher is never done. If you’re coming to terms with the never-ending nature of your job, start with the advice in this blog.

 Countdown to Your First Year: You Got a Job. Now What?: You’ve secured a teaching job, you’re excited and probably a little nervous. As you get ready, take these three steps to get prepared.

Lessons in Perseverance: Sometimes you will need different approaches for different students. Learn the importance of perseverance as a teacher.

 8 Essential Skills to Learn: Follow new teachers as they navigate their first year of teaching. These videos focus on eight essential skills you will need as a new teacher.

Advice for a New Teacher: Having a difficult first year? You’re not alone. Here are four ideas to help you create a positive environment in your school and classroom.

10 Teaching Tweaks for New Teachers: To say that the first year of teaching is challenging would be an understatement. It can be difficult to know where to start. Keep it simple these small teaching tweaks.

5 Tips for Changing Grade Levels: After teaching in middle school for almost a decade, teacher Autumn Bell decided she wanted to teach 2nd grade. Read about what she learned from this change.

Building Relationships with Students: Your relationships with your students can be so rewarding…and so exhausting. Find out how Lily Jones strikes a balance.

RESOURCES

Rounding Up Supplies: As you begin preparing for your first year, think about the supplies you’ll need for your classroom. Then check out these (mostly free or cheap) resources for securing those supplies.

 My Ideal Teacher Bookshelf: Sarah Brown Wessling has “built” an ideal professional bookshelf for teachers, including a list of must read books for new teachers.

Q&A

Questions for New Teachers: Join our community of teachers, new and veteran, as they learn from each other in our Q&A forum.