Getting Started
Help! I'm new to teaching!
Teaching is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Just because you went to school, it does not mean you know everything about teaching. I say that not to discourage you, but to warn you, without a growth mindset, you will not survive in this profession. Becoming a teacher is often a funny thing; most people who choose to become teachers do so because they are good at school...but NO ONE is good at teaching the first time they do it! So we end up with a bunch of accelerated, bright, possibly perfectionist individuals that are used to moving through school excelling at every subject, who find themselves teaching and wonder why they can't get it right!
DO NOT GET DISCOURAGED! Everyone stinks at the beginning. If you go into teaching expecting a steep learning curve, you will not get as frustrated as quickly.
FIND A BUDDY! You do not want to be an island, especially as a first year teacher. Make friends with content and grade-level alike teachers and share lessons. If a veteran teacher seems unwilling to share with you, be willing to meet with them in person so that they can explain their lessons to you and you can take notes. Often they will share if you show them respect for the time they have taken to create their lessons.
PICK YOUR BATTLES! You will not be Wonder Woman or Superman your first year teaching. That's okay. Remember, first you need to start with classroom management. If you cannot keep the classroom under control, you will not be able to teach any content. TEACHING STUDENTS COMES FIRST, CONTENT COMES SECOND!
START WITH THE MANAGEMENT GUIDE and sample first week lesson plan and work your way down through the documents to see how you can get your classroom started for the first week of school!
Vern's Favorite books for new teachers
Classroom Management
The best read before school starts for your first year of teaching! Even if you can't read the whole thing before the start of the school year, make sure you read the chapter on teaching procedures!
Reading and Literacy
Reading Reasons by Kelly Gallagher, a fellow ELA teacher in Anaheim. A great way to incorporate literacy and critical thinking in your ELA or history classroom!
Writing Strategies
Working with Traumatized Students
Helping English Learners Learn to Write: Meeting Common Core Standards, Grades 6-12 by Carol Booth Olson. Great planning guide for teaching the three main categories of writing: Narrative, Informative and Argumentative Writing.
Working with Traumatized Students
Working with Problem Behaviors in Students
Working with Traumatized Students
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog by Bruce D. Perry. A great introduction to working with students who have been victims of trauma.
Working with Problem Behaviors in Students
Working with Problem Behaviors in Students
Working with Problem Behaviors in Students
The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross D. Greene. It helps gives you strategies to deal with those students that seem to absorb all of your time in a class period.
Basic Scaffolding
Working with Problem Behaviors in Students
Working with Problem Behaviors in Students
If you work in a lower SES school district or teach intervention or students with IEPs, most students are struggling because they can't read well. If students can't read, they can't access the curriculum. This book contains basic scaffolding strategies to use to help your students access their curriculum! UDL!