| Sunday, July 19, 2009 | |
 | gtcteacher
Forum Rookie | 6th Grade Teacher
Location: Northern Mariana Islands
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1 |
| Would anyone please help me out??? I will begin my first year of teaching this fall and was wondering if you all could provide me with tips on how to be an effective teacher...anything will help..Thanks in advance |
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| Wednesday, July 22, 2009 | |
| merryworker
Forum Rookie | Special Education Teacher
Location:
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 4 |
Have a set of about 5 rules and consequences and follow through. These can be to raise their hand if they have something to say.
Build a substitute folder before school starts. It should have your schedule, lunch times, problem students, who they can go for if they need help and location of supplies.
Have a parents letter ready to send out the first week of school. No one helped me and I felt lost. You should have a mentor teacher but not all teachers are helpful. Good luck and remember that there will be days when you do not want to come back the next and when you will be in tears. Your mentor teacher should be there for you but mine was not. I had another teacher who went out of his way to keep me going. I owe a great deal to him. |
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| Friday, July 24, 2009 | |
| rvaughn2
Forum Rookie | 6th Grade Teacher
Location: VA
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1 |
| Great advice Merryworker . I too will be a first time teacher this in the 6th grade. |
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| Saturday, July 25, 2009 | |
| janetmzach
Forum Rookie | High School Teacher
Location: midwest
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 3 |
| Congrats! You have a job! Now, plan a lot, and have a well organized classroom where expectations are clear, then (the hard part!)be consistent in enforcing rules. Don't listen to negative talk, in the teachers' lounge or anywhere else. Make friends with the office staff and the librarian; they can be incredibly helpful. Don't panic -- you don't have to know it all tomorrow! If someone asks you to take on anything extra, such as club sponsor, etc., try saying, "That might be a great idea on down the road, but this first year I think I really need to focus on my teaching." Believe me, that will be more than enough to keep you busy. Enjoy it! Teaching is the best difficult job in the world, so if you like a challenge and you like making a difference, you will have a great year. Oh, yeah -- take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, take up yoga. |
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| Sunday, August 09, 2009 | |
| hotpepper
Forum Rookie | Middle School Teacher
Location: Ohio
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 4 |
Always overplan - if the students have more than 3 minutes of down time things will start to go off track.
The sub folder is a must. I ALSO keep a plastic container by my desk marked 'Substitutes - Alternative Lessons'. Most subs will not put the energy into a lesson you will. And there are subs who may not feel comfortable teaching some lessons on the sixth grade level. (Seriously) Those subs will either throw any assignment at the kids with no instruction, blow it off entirely, or teach it poorly.
Reply to any parents' phone calls, e-mails, or notes asap. And if the parent is angry, remember that in most cases the child has left out a few important details when relating an incident or problem. Try not to get immediately defensive. Ask what they have been told about the situation, then calmly give (sometimes hard to do) the missing info.
Always do what you say you are going to do. Some teachers think threats deter behavior, it doesn't with everyone. And when you state a specific consequence will occur, know you will probably have to do it.
I've taught 30 years, 4-8th grades, and 18 years were in 6th grade. I loved it. Good luck!
hotpepper
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