Top 10 Tips for New Teachers

It can be hard to jump into the world of teaching in your first year. It can feel like you are jumping into the deep end of a pool and having to tread water to stay afloat. I wanted to put together a list of tips for you to reflect on as you begin this journey so you can start swimming! These tips are in no particular order; they are just a collection of my thoughts for you to reflect on! 

Let's be Franco

- Be yourself! You are in your position for a reason. You were hired, have done the schooling, done the paperwork, now it is time to show how awesome you really are! 

- Relationships first. Get to know your students and let them get to you know you! This was really hard for me. I was very "by the book" when I first started teaching. I didn't want to smile for the first week etc. I have since had a great team to help me learn that the relationships you have with the students make more of a difference than the decimal addition you are teaching!

- Get to know all the staff. Be friends with the secretaries and the custodians. You will need them more than you realize! 

- Ask questions! I can't tell you how many questions I asked my mentor my first year! I asked questions about curriculum, about how a lesson should look, what to wear, what the culture of the school was like, what faculty meetings look like, how to email parents... and the list goes on! I asked everything I could think of while I had the opportunity! I still ask a ton of questions to my team and it helps me be a better teacher every day. 

- Include parents. Let them know about the good things that are happening in your classroom! The more you communicate about the good things, the easier harder conversations will be. 

- Smile. Smile your way through. If you're having fun, they're having fun. 

- Chocolate is key! Have a stash of chocolate in your desk... you're going to need it. 

- Keep growing. No one expects you to be an expert your first year. Have grace and be patient with yourself. Use the end of the day or week as a time of reflection on what you taught. How did you do? What can you do better? I still do this in my 10th year of teaching! 

- Keep work at work. Try not to take work home with you everyday. Some days, it is inevitable that you will have to take work home but make sure you are also taking a break and taking care of yourself! 

- Have a thick skin. Students are not always nice, parents are not always nice, co-workers are not always nice, that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you! You are learning! Take what they say and reflect on whether what they are saying has any merit, if it does, think about how you can improve in the future. You got this! 

- Have a back up plan. Especially the first week of school, have something you can pull out quickly if there is down time! I use my Would you Rather Task Cards as my quick activity to pull out! I can quickly ask 1 question or 5 if an activity took less time than I thought it would. 

BONUS: If you have the opportunity or have the support from your administration, observe other teachers! I was able to take a whole day to go around the school and watch other teachers teach. That was the most meaningful professional development I could have asked for that year! 

If you want more of my tips, click here to check me out on Instagram .

Or check out some of my Back to School resources here. 

5 Ways to Get to Know Your Students in the First Week

I can't believe it is almost time to go back to school! The most important thing about the first day of school is the first impression you make and how you show you are going to care about each student through the rest of the year. Here are some of the ways that I take time to get to know the students on the first week of school. 

1. Student Name Tags

One of the first ways that I get to know my students is through their names. I know, this sounds pretty self explanatory but it takes time to learn each student's name. I start the year by letting the students create their own name tag with things that they are passionate about. 

First, students write a list of all the things that they love: sports, art, music, video games, etc.

Then, they use their passions to create the letters in their names. I usually have them practice drawing in pencil before the final name tag. The students can ask each other for help so it turns in to a little bit of a collaborative activity too! I also use the time that they are working to circulate, practice their names, and share ideas with them!

2. My Number Story Math Get to Know You Activity

This activity helps me get to know more about each student while teaching rotation procedures (I love when I can get two things done at once!). I use this as my first math lesson of the year. 

I place 8 task cards around the room with directions on how to fill in each box of the "My Number Story" activity. I then review how to rotate and transition from one space in the classroom to another. The students fill in the bunting banner and I have a nice bulletin board to start the year!

My Number Story - Let's be Franco

My Number Story - Let's be Franco

3. Hand Self Portrait 

I use this activity to review adjectives and nouns as well as collect ideas for future writing assignments! Here is how it works:

First, students trace their hands. 

Then, I give the a list of adjectives (included in the product). They write adjectives that describe them on the trace of their hand.

Next, they write all the nouns around or inside their hand that they love or are passionate about. I have the students draw little emojis to show pictures of all the things they love. This also makes a great bulletin board! Click here for the student packet!

Unique Hand Self Portrait - Let's be Franco

4. Find Someone Who: "Back to School"

This a simple but effective way for students to get to know each other and get all the excitement of summer out! Click here for this one or you can easily make one that works for your classroom! 

Find Someone Who - Let's be Franco

5. Would you Rather Card Task Cards

I use these cards anytime there is down time in the first week. I use the cards as a whole class activity. I will have the students go to the back of the room if they like the first option and head to the front if they prefer the second option. It helps get the students up and moving as a transition between activities or as a filler of time before lunch or special time. There are 200 Would you Rather questions included here. 

Would you Rather - Let's be Franco

Would you Rather - Let's be Franco

These are some of my favorite ways to get to know my students, what are yours? Let me know in the comments! 

ABC End of the Year Bulletin Board

The end of the year is near! It may not feel like it but the end of the school year is closer than it seems. As one of my closure activities for the year, I like to make an ABCs of 5th Grade Bulletin board (but it can be adapted for any grade). Let me show you how it works... 

ABC Bulletin Board

Each student gets a letter and they design and color their letter based on something specific that happens in our classroom. I am lucky and in my classroom this year I have less than 26 students. With the leftover letters, I hand them out to whoever finishes first or a student that wants to make more than one letter. 

ABC Bulletin Board

With each of the letters, I make a bulletin board for this year's class to enjoy and reflect on all the events and fun of 5th grade! The best part is, I leave it up all summer and have a nice welcoming bulletin board for the new 5th graders! The new students love to see what is in store for them this year and the parents love it on Back to School Night! 

ABC Bulletin Board

My favorite part of this bulletin board is that it is so different every year and it really shows the class' personality and creativity. Also, that it saves me time during classroom setup time in the summer - one less bulletin board to set up! 

I included numbers 1-10 for those classes that might have more than 26 students! (1 is for) There is also a bunting banner for every grade! You could make your own or CLICK HERE to check out the one that I have created! 

Happy end of the year! 

What is something unique to your classroom that would be included on your alphabet?