First-Year Teacher's Checklist

Julia G. Thompson has been a public school teacher for more than 25 years. An active speaker, consultant, and teacher trainer, she publishes a website (juliagthompson.com) offering tips for teachers on a wide variety of topics. Thompson is the bestselling author of The First-Year Teacher's Survival Guide and Discipline Survival Kit for the Secondary Teacher.

"Thompson's work helps beginning teachers?even those with no prior teaching experience?to understand the basics of effective teaching. The First Year Teacher's Checklist makes it easy for educators who are just starting out to understand what it will take to become a successful teacher. I will definitely make this book required reading for my teacher interns."?Bill Snead, director of Alternative Certification Programs, Harris County Department of Education, Houston, Texas "A must-have resource for new teachers and interns. Easy to read, discuss, and implement, it will improve your instruction along with helping you manage your to-do lists, your classrooms, and all of the new tasks and items involved with your first year of teaching. Keep it handy!"?Mike Rogers, president, EverythingAboutLearning.com, a PEAK Learning Systems Company"New teachers and those who support their success will thrive on Julia's succinct delineation of the daily business of teaching."?Layne Ferguson, teacher development specialist, Department of Teacher Leadership and Professional Development, Prince George's County Public Schools, Maryland

• About This Book xviiAbout the Author xviiiAcknowledgments xixIntroduction 1SECTION ONE BECOME A PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR 5Chapter 1 Professional Development Begins with You 7List 1-1: Be Guided by the Principles of Professionalism 8List 1-2: What Is Expected of You 9List 1-3: How to Take Charge of Your Career 10List 1-4: Set Professional Goals with These Easy Steps 11List 1-5: Develop a Professional Demeanor 12List 1-6: Master These Important Workplace Skills 13List 1-7: Manage Your Time Wisely with These Strategies 14List 1-8: How to Use Best Practices in Your Classroom 15List 1-9: Strategies to Help You Prepare for Evaluations 16List 1-10: Learn to Weather Career Ups and Downs 17List 1-11: How to Build Your Confidence 18List 1-12: Reflection: The Key to Becoming a Successful Educator 19Chapter 2 Learn to Work with Other Educators 21List 2-1: Schools Require Teamwork 22List 2-2: Tips on Cultivating Professional Relationships 23List 2-3: How to Fit In at School 24List 2-4: Successful On-the-Job Communication Skills 25List 2-5: Professional Courtesy 26List 2-6: Suggestions for Working Well with Your Supervisors 27List 2-7: Guidelines to Help You Develop Productive Relationships with Mentors  28List 2-8: Work in Partnership with Substitute Teachers 29List 2-9: How to Deal with the Demands of Your Colleagues 30List 2-10: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues 31List 2-11: Join Other Educators in Online Learning Communities 32Chapter 3 Create a Link Between Home and School 33List 3-1: Benefits of a Positive Relationship with Parents or Guardians 34List 3-2: Questions You Should Ask Your Students’ Parents 35List 3-3: What Parents Expect of  Their Child’s Teacher 36List 3-4: Tips on Establishing Productive School-Home Relationships 37List 3-5: How to Make Constructive Home Contacts 38List 3-6: Strategies for Managing Formal Parent Conferences Successfully 39List 3-7: How to Handle Conf licts with Parents or Guardians 40List 3-8: Courteous Interactions with Non-Nuclear Families 41List 3-9: How to Manage Student Information 42SECTION TWO CREATE A POSITIVE CLASS CULTURE 43Chapter 4 Make Your Classroom a Productive Learning Environment 45List 4-1: The Essentials of a Productive Learning Environment 46List 4-2: The First Step: Evaluate the Room 47List 4-3: Create a Safe Classroom 48List 4-4: Arrange Your Classroom for Learning 49List 4-5: Create Effective Seating Arrangements 50List 4-6: How to Organize Your Own Work Area 51List 4-7: Make Your Classroom Greener by Using Paper Wisely 52List 4-8: Basic Teaching Supplies and Professional Documents You’ll Need 53List 4-9: Create a Student-Centered Environment 54List 4-10: Inexpensive Bulletin Board Materials 55List 4-11: Don’t Just Decorate, Instruct! 56List 4-12: Display Student Work 57Chapter 5 Forge Positive Relationships with Students 59List 5-1: Characteristics of an Appropriate Teacher-Student Relationship 60List 5-2: What Students Expect of You 61List 5-3: The Greatest Gift: High Expectations 62List 5-4: Tips to Help You Gather Information About Your Students 63List 5-5: Respect Your Students’ Dignity 64List 5-6: Strategies to Help Students Who Are Reluctant Learners 65List 5-7: Strategies to Help Students with Special Needs 66List 5-8: Strategies to Help Students with Attention Disorders 67List 5-9: Teach Good Citizenship 68List 5-10: Strategies to Make Every Child Feel Valuable 69Chapter 6 Create Opportunities for Student Success 71List 6-1: The Principles of Motivation 72List 6-2: Positive Teacher Attitudes That Create Student Success 73List 6-3: Questions to Help You Provide Opportunities for Success 74List 6-4: Questions to Help You Provide Opportunities for Enjoyment 75List 6-5: Questions to Help You Provide Opportunities for Students to Feel a Sense of Belonging 76List 6-6: Quick and Easy Motivation Strategies 77List 6-7: Suggestions on Using Rewards and Praise Effectively 78List 6-8: Appealing Tangible Rewards 79List 6-9: How to Encourage Your Students 80List 6-10: Suggestions for Incorporating Intrinsic Motivation in Instruction 81Chapter 7 Take a Proactive Stance to Prevent Misbehavior 83List 7-1: Be Prepared: Know Why Students Misbehave 84List 7-2: Prevent Misbehavior with These Common sense Strategies 85List 7-3: Avoid These Discipline Mistakes 86List 7-4: Support Student Self-Management 87List 7-5: Make Things Run Smoothly with Classroom Procedures 88List 7-6: Enforce Your School’s Code of Conduct 90List 7-7: Create and Teach Classroom Rules 91List 7-8: Strategies to Help You Enforce Classroom Rules 92List 7-9: Strategies to Help You Monitor Student Behavior 93List 7-10: How to Redirect Students Who Are Off Task 94List 7-11: Strategies to Prevent Cheating 95List 7-12: Strategies for Creating Successful Seating Charts 96List 7-13: Help Students Make Successful Transitions 97List 7-14: How to Have Fun with Your Students 98Chapter 8 Minimize Disruptions Caused by Misbehavior 99List 8-1: Sound Discipline Principles 100List 8-2: Misbehaviors You Should Handle Yourself 101List 8-3: Don’t Punish; Solve the Problem Instead 102List 8-4: General Strategies to Minimize Disruptions 103List 8-5: Be Alert to the Potential for Violence 104List 8-6: How to Respond When Students Fight 105List 8-7: How to Refer Students to an Administrator 106List 8-8: Control Your Reactions When Students Misbehave 107List 8-9: Questions to Ask Yourself When Students Misbehave 108SECTION THREE BE A DYNAMIC TEACHER 109Chapter 9 Plan Effective Instruction 111List 9-1: Your Goal: An Active Learning Community 112List 9-2: Steps in Planning Instruction 113List 9-3: How to Create Unit Plans 114List 9-4: How to Create Daily Plans 115List 9-5: How to Assess Your Students’ Prior Knowledge 116List 9-6: Adapt Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners 117List 9-7: Create Enduring Understanding with Essential Questions 118List 9-8: Include Activities That Will Appeal to Your  Students 119List 9-9: Use Resources That Take Students Beyond the Text 121List 9-10: How to Plan for Nontraditional Schedules 122List 9-11: How to Create Backup Plans 123List 9-12: How to Adapt Lessons for Less- Proficient Learners 124Chapter 10 Deliver Effective Instruction 125List 10-1: Your Enthusiasm Creates Students’ Success 126List 10-2: Strategies to Help Make Instruction Relevant 127List 10-3: How to Build Background Knowledge 128List 10-4: Incorporate High-Level Thinking Skills 129List 10-5: Gear Your Instruction to Students’ Preferred Learning Styles 130List 10-6: Suggestions on How to Use Technology for Instruction 131List 10-7: Tips on Making Effective Electronic Presentations 132List 10-8: Tips on Making Interesting Presentations 133List 10-9: How to Make Your Handouts Appealing 134List 10-10: How to Prepare for Traditional Field Trips 135List 10-11: Virtual Field Trips 136List 10-12: Tips on Making Homework a Success 138List 10-13: Tips on Using Collaborative Activities in Class 139List 10-14: How to Help Groups Control Their Noise Levels 141List 10-15: Strategies for Using Games to Help Students Learn 142List 10-16: Ask Questions the Right Way 143List 10-17: Strategies to Focus Attention at the Start of Class 144List 10-18: Use the End of Class to Reinforce Learning 145List 10-19: Strategies for Increasing Students’ Retention Through Review 146List 10-20: Promote Academic Success by Teaching Study Skills 147List 10-21: Create Helpful Study Guides 148Chapter 11 Assess Your Students’ Progress 149List 11-1: Types and Purposes of Assessments 150List 11-2: Alternative Assessments 151List 11-3: How to Manage Portfolios 152List 11-4: How to Create Beneficial Tests 153List 11-5: Traditional Question Types 154List 11-6: The Versatile Multiple-Choice Question 155List 11-7: What to Do If Many Students Fail a Test 156List 11-8: Constant Informal Assessment 157List 11-9: How to Give Constructive Feedback 158List 11-10: Strategies for Student Success on Standardized Tests 159List 11-11: Attitudes That Will Help You Keep Testing in Perspective 160List 11-12: Keeping Up with Grading Paperwork 161SECTION FOUR LOOK TO THE FUTURE 163Chapter 12 Twenty-First Century Issues for All Teachers 165List 12-1: Education of Students Who Are Not Native Speakers of English 166List 12-2: Growing Concern over Literacy 167List 12-3: The No Child Left Behind Act 168List 12-4: Project-Based Learning 169List 12-5: Laptops for All 170List 12-6: The Internet as a Teaching Resource 171List 12-7: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences 173List 12-8: The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 174List 12-9: The Theory of Constructivism 175List 12-10: Proliferation of Gangs 176List 12-11: Response to Intervention: Early Identification and Assistance for Students with Learning Difficulties 177SECTION FIVE HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATORS 179Chapter 13 Resources to Help You Become a Better Teacher 181List 13-1: Professional Organizations for Teachers 182List 13-2: Resources on Classroom Management and Discipline 183List 13-3: Resources to Help with Teaching, Instruction, and Lesson Planning 184List 13-4: Resources on Assessment 187List 13-5: Resources to Help with Time Management, Organization, and Workplace Skills 188List 13-6: Resources to Help You Work Well with Others 189List 13-7: Resources for Classroom Arrangement and Decoration 190Chapter 14 Resources to Help You Work with Students 191List 14-1: Resources to Help You Connect with Your Students 192List 14-2: Resources on Helping Students with Special Needs 193List 14-3: Resources on Improving Student Literacy 195Index 197