First Year of Teaching
How to Pick the Right Grades to Teach and Get a Great Teaching Load
What grades should you try to teach during your first year of teaching? Here are some suggestions to help you start thinking.
Your first year of teaching will keep you on your toes from beginning to end. Not only do you need to learn the ropes of classroom management, you also need to present the information to your students in a motivating way. One way to help with easing the transition from a pre-service student to a full-time teacher is to choose the right classes. In order to assist you, here are some tips and recommendations for choosing the right classes.
Choose Grades that are Fun to Teach
You'd be amazed at the difference in your attitude when you step into a classroom with 25 learners who you know you enjoy because of their age and interest. These are two factors that can seriously influence your teaching abilities and classroom management skills.
Teach a Schedule You Can Handle
You know yourself best of all when it comes down to how many hours you can handle in your first year. Remember, each class involves a ton of teacher-related duties so think this decision out carefully.
Check with your school district to see what the average hours for teaching are. Anything beyond that is probably not a good idea for the very beginning. Remember, the most important thing about the first year of teaching is to learn from the teaching experience. Teaching too many classes in one year leaves you overwhelmed, stressed and demotivated.
Remember, an extra class also means more lesson plan preparation and dealing with classroom management issues.
Here's one possible solution: Take advantage of the summer time to teach a class you like and teach a similar class during your second year of teaching.
Teach with the Resources You Have
Unless you have a ton of your own current resources, try to teach those classes where there is some set-up of materials, facilities and even a budget for supplementary materials. Avoid paying too much out of pocket for resources in your first year.
Here's a possible solution: choose classes that have a learning room or a resource room. Ask your potential school if they have a budget for purchasing supplementary reading materials such as read-alouds and phonic worksheets.
Teach Lesson Plans You Enjoy Preparing
Lastly, prepare lesson plans that you enjoy. You'll be using the Internet for supplementary lesson plans, and then you'll be writing up your own lessons. Difficult classes take out the real joy of teaching mainly because of discipline problems and other issues. All that headache isn't worth it in your first year of teaching, is it?
Good luck! For more tips on how to make the most of your first year of teaching, read writing lesson plans.
