10 Things to Do Before Your First Year Teaching
By Teacher and Guest Blogger Samantha Gari
First, congratulations on your new job as a teacher! For the next few months, you will probably be stuck between the joyous feeling of landing the job and the nauseous feeling thinking about the year ahead of you. The good thing about being a teacher is, you have the whole summer to prepare yourself and your classroom. Of course, there is the obvious list of things to do before you start the year, gather supplies, design bulletin boards, knowing your daily schedule, etc. But what I have compiled here is a list of 10 things (in no particular order) you probably wouldn’t think to do before your first year teaching…
1. Communicate with Parents
You are a new teacher to the district, therefore you are a stranger. Do not remain a stranger to your students’ parents! You will spend most of the day with these students, so parents are interested in knowing who you are. First, decide how and at what times you are able to communicate with parents- and stick to those times! You want to show them that you are a reliable teacher and you value their input as much as they value yours. Find a way to be in constant communication with parents via email, blog, newsletter, etc. and update it as much as you can. Parents will really appreciate knowing what their child is doing throughout the year. This will help create great relationships with parents who will support you through your journey as well.
2. Read the curriculum and standards
As soon as you get the keys to your classroom, make sure to pick up the teacher manuals (or student textbooks) that are available to you. Even if you do not have the stomach to read through the curriculum and standards for the year, at least skim and scan through them so you have a heads up on what is not only expected of you as a teacher, but of your students. I would do this to see the progression and pace of the school year (especially for English/Language Arts).
3. Get to know as many teachers as you can
If your school did not assign you a mentor, find one! Reach out to a valued veteran teacher and grab some coffee with them. Meeting and talking to your mentor will give you a good preview of the upcoming school year. Ask questions besides the obvious ones. Ask about their favorite memories, best lessons to plan, most time-consuming lessons, how they manage time, all that good stuff. Besides this, get to know your mentor past the school grounds. Try to do the same with your colleagues as well.
You will work with these people for a while, so make those connections! In doing so, you will build supportive and open relationships with the people you spend most of your day with. My teammates and mentor have become great friends of mine and I look to them for advice past the school doors. Building these relationships from the very start will help you find the colleagues that will have your back and help you throughout the year. They will help with curriculum, school events, advice on troubled students, and more. Remember to return the favor! You were hired for a reason, you can bring fresh and new ideas to the table.
4. Emergency desk drawer
This, unfortunately, came to my attention based on personal experiences throughout the school year. You can use your imagination on what happened to cause me to have the following in my desk drawer:
- Excedrin Migraine. No, not because of the students, because of the school lights.
- Chapstick. You will talk a lot, creating dry and chapped lips. Chapstick is definitely something to have ready to go in your desk.
- Bandaids: Get a variety box of bandaids (large, small, waterproof, blister, etc.) for your use. Your students will go through the ones provided by the nurse, so it is always a good idea to have a backup box for emergencies as well.
- Snacks: There will be days when you work through your lunch, so keep some snacks on deck to save the day! Some great ones are trail mix, popcorn, pistachios, protein bars, and dried fruit.
- A dollar (or two) for when you need to go to the vending machine for a caffeine fix!
- Sewing kit for wardrobe malfunctions (make sure it comes equipped with safety pins!)
- A light jacket or cardigan for the random cold days.
5. Sync your school email to your phone
You will receive dozens of emails a day. This does not start the first day of school, it starts in the summer. Make sure you do this as soon as possible, so you don’t miss any news from your principal, colleagues, or parents. While you do this, change your signature from “Sent from my iPhone” to whatever you would sign from on your computer.
6. Label and Hang up everything
As soon as you get the keys to your classroom, spend the summer labeling everything! You will want to do this before the first day of school, you will not have time later. Get your students’ demographics and label the following:
- Name cards. Have extra ones in case the student has a nickname or does not go by their first name.
- Birthday Chart. Students will love seeing their name with their birthday the first day of school!
- Student roster
- Locker Decals
- Textbooks
- Assignment Notebooks
Also take this time to hang up your classroom decorations, class expectations, emergency evacuation plan, grading policy, and your information (Name, room number, email, and phone number)
7. Maintain a healthy balance of work and personal life
This will probably be the hardest year of your life, but don’t over-do it. Your students will want to come to school to see a healthy, smiling teacher, not a crabby, sleepy one. Make sure you make time to sleep, relax, and do something to relieve your stress. This doesn’t necessarily mean do yoga everyday, but read a magazine, scroll through social media, or spend quality time with family. Just like your students deserve your best, so does your family. I know it’s next to impossible to not bring your work home, but try to leave the frustrations and stress of school at school.
8. Mark your calendars
Whenever you do your dollar store run, make sure you grab three calendars. The first one will be for the district and school events. I would get a big monthly, desk calendar that you can hang up in your classroom so students are aware of the events coming up for the month. The daily schedule will be your bible for the year, so get a sturdy one and update it weekly, sometimes moving ahead will overwhelm you. The last one I would use for personal events only. This was good for me because I made sure I established a life outside of school. Trust me, it is hard not to put 100% of your time and effort into teaching your first year, but you need to.
9. Stay in the know of current topics in education
Because you are new to the school and the education world- you have a reputation of being the fresh, shiny, new teacher. Live up to that expectation and stay in the know of current topics in education. Sign up for newsletters from education sites, follow Twitter chats, join Facebook groups! Pick a new topic in education and make it your goal to study and implement it into your classroom. Now is the time to take some risks, fail forward, and grow.
10. First day of school activities
Students are just as nervous, if not more nervous than you are on the first day of school. Of course you want to spend the day getting to know them, but this day is also about showing the students that they can trust and depend on you as a role model and teacher. Ask them what kind of teacher they want, and show them that you are that person for them and will continue to be. I did an activity the first day of school that proved to be a huge success in helping me understand my students on a deeper level. I gave my students each a notecard and told them to write one thing I should know about them. I let them know that only I would read this card and they should write something that is really important for me, as their teacher, to know about them. The responses I received were so open and honest, I felt connected to each of them from the very start. Do your research on some get-to-know-you activities and line them up for the first day. These activities should be fun, but also informative, and a nice break from the “rules and expectations” talk.
Samantha Gari is a 5th grade teacher at Prairieview Elementary in Downers Grove, IL. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Elementary Education and endorsements in Social Science and Language Arts. She has a huge passion for teaching and creating a fun, warm environment for my life-long learners. Some of her other passions include dancing, long walks with her dogs, and spending time with loved ones.
To be reminded why your work is so very important and for more stories and advice, visit our collection of teacher perspectives at The Art of Teaching.
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