Survival Kit for New Teachers

Lesson 1

Welcome to Your Classroom

Do you ever stop to think about what inspired you to teach? Whether you're a brand new teacher looking for your first job, or a teacher with a year or two behind you, you'll take a look at the inspiration behind teachers of excellence. In the first lesson, you'll learn to draw on your inspiration as you face the academic (and not so academic) challenges ahead.

Plan Your Dream Classroom

Preparing your first classroom can be daunting if you don't have an action plan. From color theory to desk arrangement and bulletin boards, do you know how you want to stimulate your students visually? In this lesson, you'll find out the best ways to bring that touch of home and warmth to your classroom.

Make Your Lesson Plans

If you've ever wondered exactly how to fill those six hours you'll spend teaching, look no further than creative, engaging lesson plans. In this lesson, you'll discover the differences between full and condensed sets of lesson plans and learn how to build student excitement with a strong anticipatory set.

Differentiate Instruction

You may not know it yet, but differentiated instruction is probably second nature to you. It's all about modifying your curricular objectives to meet diverse student needs. In this lesson, you'll find out how to use interest centers, cubing, and tiering as easy methods of differentiating instruction in your class.

Reach Special Needs Students

Not so long ago, special needs students were relegated to different classrooms with their own teachers. These days, it's becoming more and more popular to include them in the regular classroom. This brings a host of new learning challenges and opportunities. In this lesson, you'll explore common special needs, IEPs, and smart ways to incorporate diverse learning objectives into your teaching routine.

Get Organized

Did you know that you shouldn't have more than five classroom rules? Are you prepared in the event of a fire drill? If you've been searching for the right rules, routines, and organization tips to make your classroom flow smoothly, look no further. This lesson will show you a bunch of time-saving tips that will help you add order to your classroom.

Build Lasting Relationships at School

The key to teaching is building strong relationships between school and home. This starts with your students and ideally extends across the campus, into the home, and out to the community. In this lesson, you'll learn tactics to win students, engage parents, and impress the school as you set an example as a strong communicator.

Negotiate Discipline and Rewards

One of the biggest classroom dilemmas is how to handle discipline and rewards—striking that balance between overreaction and fair play can be tricky. Luckily, you can use your communication skills to bridge conflict and turn classroom problems into teaching opportunities. In this lesson, you'll learn how to do just that.

Write Effective Assignments and Tests

Writing assignments and tests is never a thrill, even when you know exactly what learning you want to measure and how you want to do it. In this lesson, you'll discover the power of rubrics, tests that account for a wide range of student diversity, and creative assignments that bring out the best in all your learners.

Plan Exciting Classroom Events

Does the thought of public speaking make you cringe? It's natural for new teachers to be nervous about milestone events like Back to School Night, parent-teacher conferences, and field trips into the community. However, with planning, organization, and a little bit of homework on your part, you'll be able to pull off smooth events that look like they were planned by a pro.

Manage Stress

It's common for teachers to reach a burn-out point some time in those first few years. In this lesson, you'll learn to build balance in your life so that the job will never overwhelm you too much. From classroom strategies to make your life less hectic to after-hours relaxation tips that help veteran teachers let loose, you'll learn the best ways to keep stress at bay.

Nail Interviews to Advance Your Career

When you're ready to advance your career to the next level, you'll need to showcase not just what you've done, but what you're ready to do in a new classroom. It has to do with how you package your skills. In the final lesson, you'll discover what administrators are looking for and how to wow them with your creativity.