Tips and Advice for First Year Elementary Teachers

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So you're done with college and ready to return to school...as a teacher. It's your first year of teaching and you're full of excitement, nervousness, and every other emotion you can think of. On top of it all...you're teaching elementary school. The transition years! These are the years students are still in baby mode and you have to teach them independence. Don't stress, you'll be fine. It's been done before. Every great teacher had a first year! Below you'll find some tools and tips on getting through your first year of teaching without a scratch...(well, without too many scratches).

How will your classroom be set up? What are your rules and procedures? What are your consequences?

As you learned in school, one of the biggest contributions to a successful year is your classroom management. You want to be sure to establish clear rules, consequences, and procedures for your classroom.

You want a positive classroom...so your rules should be positive. There are a few ways of establishing rules for a classroom. My two favorites are 1) you make the rules and students follow or 2) the class (teacher and students) make the rules together for the classroom. The best path for a first-year teacher is option1. However, you do not want your rules to sound like a bunch of drills when you're going over them with your new class. Instead of listing several "Do not, You will not, You should not, or We will not" Try to keep it positive: Here's an example of a positive rule "Remember to be prepared for school or " We will show care to ourselves and others.

What does that word "respect" mean? Often you'll see the word respect listed many times on a classroom rule list. What does that word mean? Do your students know what you mean by "We will respect ourselves and others?" Be sure to review the meaning of the word respect as it relates to your students and class.

Establish a classroom procedure (for every part of the day) from day 1. Yes, it does seem simple and probably something you already know. However, its surprising how new teachers forget to establish procedures for the "simple" parts of the day. Here are some things to think about when designing your classroom routine and procedures.

• How will students enter the classroom every morning. You want to create a work ethic first thing in the morning. Have something for students to do when they enter the classroom. My favorite is Kid Chat writing. I would use a Kid Chat question and post it on the board. I like Kid Chat books because the questions are fun and creative. Students really enjoyed answering them and sharing their thoughts later with the class. When students came in there was paper on their desk and an assignment on the board. They were to get to work or their writing. Another suggestion is brain teasers or daily math question. Students enjoyed trying to figure out brain teasers. It challenged them and open their minds. It was their morning brain workout.
• How will students sharpen their pencils or go to the bathroom? This can become a real problem if not handled immediately. Be sure to establish clear ground rules for movement around the classroom. This can be done by designating a pencil sharpner helper (a student to sharpen pencils at particular times throughout the day) or set bathroom break times (breaks where the whole class goes to the bathroom at once)...but don't forget about those emergency bathroom breaks. How are you going to handle emergency breaks?
• Where will backpacks be stored? How often or when will students be allowed to go to their cubbies or storage space? This too is something to keep a close eye on because it can easily get out of hand. Remember, when you ask for homework, you don't want 15 students running to their backpacks to get homework out. It can become very annoying for you really quick. Students should handle getting out materials for school in the morning when they come in and unpack.
• How will transitions be handled? Transitions can include anything from changing locations (classroom to computer lab), changing subjects (math time to science time), handing in and passing out materials/papers, and packing and unpacking. Your day will be filled with transitions. Create procedures that make them go smoothly and decrease chaos. You'll want to have line expectations (how students line up), hallway expectations, assembly expectations, and the like. Be sure that students are fully aware of your expectations!
• How will students pack up to go home? How will you dismiss your class? If you're at a school where this is handled (students are called by bus riders, car riders, or walkers) then dismissal is not a big issue for you; if your school leaves that responsibility to you then its an issure you need to address. However, getting students packed and ready to go is an issue for every teacher. Don't let the end of the day be the beginning of your headache. Allow enough time at the end of the day for students to get packed up and prepared to leave school. Here's a personal example: for me school let out at 2:25. My students started packing up at 2:00. During that time homework was copied down, passed out, explained, and put away. I wiped down desks and chairs were put up so that the floor could be swept later. Backpacks were packed and folders were passed out. By 2:20, students were sitting on the carpet ready to leave the building. When you are creating your end of the day procedures, take into consideration all that you have to do or want students to accomplish before they leave for home.