eBook on New Teacher Support

8/8/2019 eBook on New Teacher Support

1/25

Taking Charge in the Classroom: New TeacherResources and Tips

Dorit Sasson, The New Teacher Resource Center

http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com

A handbook of resources and tips on classroom

management and lesson planning

1


2/25

The New Teacher Resource Center 2008 Dorit Sasson

Greetings!

Iman ESL teacher, teacher trainer and mentor who writes on ESL issues

and for the non-fiction educational market. Im the creator of The New

Teacher Resource Center where I regularly search for new links,

teaching resources and bring you interviews with educational experts.

How to use this handbook to create an effective classroommanagement plan

For many years I was a full-time ESL (English as a second language) and

EFL (English as a foreign language) teacher. As I was slowly developing

my own classroom management style, I wanted to create an effective

classroom management plan that would allow me to make better use ofclassroom time. Discipline problems are the main reason why many

potentially good teachers leave after their first year or few years of

teaching. Many become frustrated and quickly burnt out.


2


3/25


So, while I COULD plan for my students success, I could NOT

guarantee that every lesson would be successful as the previous one.

Rather than simply write down a few lesson plans, then hope that I would

survive, I took a more proactive approach that consisted of reflecting

and writing about those classroom tested strategies over some time that

ensured the recipe for a successful classroom management plan.

Now Id like to share with you the guide that I developed along the way

to creating an effective classroom management plan. I know it will give

you the confidence to begin your own classroom management plan or

strengthen classroom management and lesson planning areas.

Ive included articles that touch on the essentials of classroom

management and lesson planning. The main thing is keep focused and

use this guide to help you develop your own plan. Each article will give

you more insight on what you can do to become a better lesson planner

and classroom manager.

Im always interested in receiving feedback on how these articles helped

you.

You can email me at: [email protected]


3
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


4/25


Article #1

New teacher tip: build positive relationships with students

before discipline problems begin

An effective classroom management plan should take into account the

personal connection with students. Many potentially good new teachers

become absorbed in managing the class and reporting bad behavior. They

tend to focus on the negative consequences of their students' misbehavior.

As a result, they lose focus of what their students can do, instead of what

they can't.

Effective classroom management is dependent on the degree the teacher

helps students believe they can be successful using the personal touch.

Here are a few tips to help you build a more personal connection with

your students. The key is to do it consistently way before discipline

problems begin.

Give the student a sense of belonging

Consider the changing the way you relate to your disruptive student who

often creates havoc in your lessons as a perfect opportunity to neutralize

negative behavior. Whether they are upset about a friend or a test,

teachers need to act as "emotional guardians" and not only as

disciplinarians. Often the students' very own fear of failure causes them

to misbehave. Here are some ways to give students a sense of belonging:


4


5/25


Say something positive in a calm and reassuring way

Smile at the student; it will deflect some of the negative tension.

Your classroom will be calmer too.

Say something that also creates a positive relationship with the rest

of the class. Example: "Adam looks a little tired, doesn't he class?"

Set the expectation on the very first day that every student

will succeed.

From the first day, approach your class with a positive affirmation. I

always write on the board on the first day of school: "We are all working

together I am here to see you succeed" This gives the class the messagethat I am not just their teacher and I am also looking out for their well-

being. Students feel when you want them to succeed and they will try and

live up to that expectation.

Turn individual problems into a cooperative classroom

relationship

When a student begins to misbehave, look for the cues and use some of

the tips to build the personal touch. Instead of just dealing one-on-one

with the student, involve the entire class in the scenario. Start



5


6/25

by asking how his or her day went, or say something like: "I saw you on

the basketball court and you were excellent." Then you can turn to the

class and say: wasn't he great?" or "You did so well yesterday in English

class, let's see if s/he can do that again." Over time, you will raise that

student's self-esteem and strengthen your relationship with the entire

class.

New teachers often feel a sense of urgency to quickly report discipline

problems in order to fulfill their roles as classroom managers. Effective

classroom management means doing something that also makes you

appear more human and approachable to the students. Initially, this is

hard for new teachers to balance, but it is a necessary first step.



6


7/25

Article #2

New teacher tip: How to Plan Successful Lessons without

having them take control of you

Once the school year gets started, many teachers are already absorbed by

interactive decisions. Many new teachers dont realize that lesson

planning includes a variety of decisions not just quick on the spot

decisions.

So, what kinds of decisions should be taken into consideration? Here's a

checklist of short and long term lesson planning decisions that should

help you become a better lesson planner.

Lesson Planning Decisions for Lessons

Long term - plan in the summer for a whole course, year, semester

Short term - for a particular lesson.

Long Term Lesson Planning Decisions: Lesson Plans and

Textbooks

What supplementary material should you add?

If there is no book, what material should you teach? (4th grade,

special education)

How should you divide material between semesters?

How should you deal with specific areas such as extensive

reading?


7


8/25


More Teacher Tips: Short Term Decisions in Lesson Planning

Focus on the main teaching point of this lesson. Types of aims for

the reading lesson typically include: a particular reading skill, a

function, a grammatical structure.

Include a strong engaging opening

Select and order activities in a varied way. This prevents teacher

dominated discourse.

Balance length of activities - short vs. long(er) activities, based on

book, word cards, work pages, etc.

Consider the level of difficulty and the balance of each activity. It

is a good idea to have an active activity in-between between two

activities. Incorporate topics of different ideas and in-between

heavy and light activities.

Consider your own teaching presence in terms of voice and acting

ability.

Include an engaging closing to your lesson: Leave enough (but not

too much) time. Try to avoid having to end a lesson after the bell

rings!

Include a summing up. For example: what did we do today? What

can we call this lesson?

Consider the issue of homework.

Link lessons with previous and following lessons. Where are the

students in the framework of things?


8


9/25


Another teaching tip:

Planning successful lessons around various circumstances that are out of

your control is a reality for any teacher. Knowing the factors in advance

can help you with these unexpected scenarios:

Time of lesson (time of day, and day of week)

Age and level of pupils

Potential discipline problems

Presentation - practice - testing sequence

Homework given previously

For difficult lessons, use lessons that are cost effective and can be

adapted for a number of lessons. Good decision planning obviously

involves a variety of teacher smarts and skills. Too much planning is

natural in the beginning, but with time, youll be able to predict your

students and learning outcomes and become a great lesson planner and

teacher.


9


10/25


Article #3

Have a Positive Support Plan

Tips on Using Spontaneous Ways to Motivate Your Students

It is easier to respond to misbehavior than to relate to what your students

have done well. Students need to see the positive, more human side to

teaching. Positive reinforcement rewards your students in return for their

hard work or accomplishments, effort or some other appropriate behavior.

Teaching your rules and procedures are just as important on emphasizing

and reinforcing appropriate behavior. Positive reinforcement is one way

to give an obvious payoff for those behaviors that you have been teaching

and reinforcing all along.

Positive reinforcers come in all shapes and sizes. Loosen up in the

classroom and put a smile on your students face. Decide which ones

work best for your style and students based .

Loosen up in the classroom and put a smile on a child's face right on the

spot. Here is list of positive reinforcements. New teacher tip: Find out if

your school offers other positive reinforcement which you would be

willing to try.


10


11/25


Social reinforcers for elementary students

Laugh/smile

A song

Social reinforces for secondary students

Laugh/smile

A small chat

A phone call

Privileges for elementary students

Helping the teacher write on the board

Erasing the board

Acting as class monitor

Privileges for secondary students

Telling a joke to the class

Playing a game

Watching a movie

Artificial reinforcers (tangibles) for elementary students

Erasers/pencils

Stickers

Stars

Candies

Certificates

And for secondary school students

Popcorn/soda/candies

Stamps

Letter/certificate


11


12/25


Article #4

How and What to Plan

Advice and Ideas to Help You With Lesson Planning

It is difficult to give advice about teaching, because it is so individual, so

dependent on your particular school, students, personality and experience.Lesson preparation on the other hand, is the first obvious place to start

investing all your hard work as a teacher in order for it to have best effect.

You cant prepare a lesson very much in advance but you can lay a

general scheme of what material you want to get through in a term or

year. Each individual lesson has to be prepared the day before it is given,

not very much previously, because it depends so much on what happened

the lesson before.

Think. A lot of my preparation time goes by while gazing at my son or

musing over the dishes. Dont think that if you arent physically active,

you arent working.

Write. The minute you make time to write it down, it will quickly fall

into place because you have given it much thought. But write it down

even if you dont actually look at the lesson plan during the course of the

lesson. The mere fact of writing it down makes you plan more carefully.


12


13/25


Plan extra activities. Plan at least three or more different items for any

lesson (with the younger classes, at least) and make sure they are varied

in nature. Prepare one extra item in case you find you have extra time.

Collect extra materials. Over the years, I have collected board games,

flashcards, worksheets, posters and other language learning items. I

laminated them and still use them till this day. Keep your materials in

good working order and they will serve you. Plus, you will save money as

well.

The Lesson - Your Activity in Class.

This is where you work the hardest. You have to give 100% of yourself

the whole time. The lesson is where most of the learning goes on. Use

every moment to teach every moment is of value.

I tend to move around the class a lot physically and keep the activity

going the whole time. The more energy you put into a lesson, the more

they will stimulated to work. Make sure the students know what is

coming next. Write the lesson plan and the order of the activities on the

board. Tick off what you have already finished.


13


14/25


Discipline Problems and Tips for Preventing Them

Watch out for slow/apathetic/potentially disruptive students. Have a

reaction plan at the first sign of inattention. Call on them personally to

participate, make sure they understand, add a few extra words of

explanation, or another repetition aimed specifically at them. Since they

are the ones who need the extra teaching, let them get it.

After the Lesson

Its worthwhile reviewing your lesson. What went well? What didn't? I

keep a notebook and I jot down what went well and what didnt. A

teachers learning is meaningful only if she or he can apply it.


14


15/25


Article #5

Classroom Management Styles

What Kind of a Classroom Manager Are You?

Different personalities and ideologies reflect varied classroom

management styles. Concerns about the ability to manage a classroom are

common among preservice and practicing teachers alike. The first time

entering a classroom can be a pretty scary experience, but once you have

built an effective classroom management system that works for you, you

can begin to feel a bit more comfortable with your own classroom

management style.

While imitating other teachers' classroom management styles is a good

starting point for any new teacher, there comes a point when you as a new

teacher, need to start feeling safe and comfortable with your own

classroom management style.

This process will not happen overnight of course, nor will it happen in a

year or two. It takes a long time experimenting with different classroom

situations as they will pop up.


15


16/25


In order to start thinking about your role as a classroom manager, it is

worthwhile to identify the initial concerns about classroom management

and discipline. Think about your values and your personality. Which

aspects of your personality and which values do you think will help you

become a good classroom manager? Which ones might interfere?

Another good way to analyze your concerns about managing a classroomis to build your own classroom management profile. Taking an individual

quiz (see links below) will give you a more well rounded and accurate

picture of your classroom management style. Once you have answered

the questions, you can start to apply your classroom management profile

to various classroom situations.

Misconceptions however, do lie in each of these styles. For example,

teacher dominated talk which is descriptive of the authoritative style, is

usually equated by new teachers with effective classroom management.

Depending however on how you rank your personal characteristics and

values as a classroom manager, you might be pleasantly surprised at your

obvious need to perhaps connect to the students, which isn't

communicated by the authoritative approach. (I do, you say)


16


17/25


For the inexperienced teacher, the most important lesson to be learned is

that of flexibility. There will always be classroom situations where you

cannot depend on an authoritative style of running a classroom and you

might need to rethink your approach. This does not necessarily mean you

need to change your personality, but rather to reconsider additional

classroom management techniques for dealing with various classroom

situations.

Links on classroom management styles:

http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/what.html

(a self-test on classroom management styles)

http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/authoritarian.html

(authoritative classroom management styles)


17
http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/what.htmlhttp://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/authoritarian.htmlhttp://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/what.htmlhttp://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v1i2/authoritarian.html


18/25


Article #6

Regaining Class Control

Classroom Management Strategies, Tips and Techniques

As a new teacher, you might find some of your hard prepared lessons do

not go as smoothly as planned. Classroom management or loose class

control is usually one of the main reasons for why this happens. It is easy

for a new teacher to enter a panic mode when thirty or so students aren't

exactly listening to you. What happens when your lesson doesn't

succeed? Here are a few classroom management techniques and strategies

to help you regain class control.

Consider the classroom seating arrangements

It may just be that your classroom seating arrangements need rethinking.

Social dynamics is a big factor for rowdy behavior. Look at your seating

chart. Disruptive students who have been sitting next to each other may

now need to be separated. The minute you neutralize the social dynamics

of a classroom seating arrangement, you might find it easier to teach.


18


19/25


Stop the Lesson!

New teachers think that stopping the lesson is a sign of poor classroom

management. They think talking over the students helps them gain class

control. The good news is that your lesson plan is not grounded in stone.

While trying to cope with a difficult classroom situation, stop and take a

few seconds of time out. Those few seconds can buy you more time as

you quickly ponder other more viable solutions. Here are some quick tips

to help you consider your next steps:

Observe the class. What is going on? What needed to be changed?

Listen to your teacher intuition. It is often precise and telling you

what to do. The minute you know that too much explanation might

overwhelm your students, then stop. Use a picture to teach new

vocabulary or, shift gears and share a memorable anecdote.

After you shifted gears, go back to your original plans and see what

happens.

Don't Forget Discipline

Good teaching is a mix of classroom management strategies and

motivating teaching approaches. If you find the class is not attentive for

learning new material, stop and wait. One option is to remind and perhaps

even reteach classroom rules and procedures. Illustrate what happens

when they don't abide to the classroom rules. They should understand that

the responsibility rests on their shoulders.


19


20/25


Another option is to use body language effectively. Eye contact is a great

nonverbal way to regain class control. When you eye that one disruptive

student, the rest of the class gets a clear and important message that you

cannot teach because that particular students behavior is interfering.

Final Words

Deep down inside, kids want to learn and succeed; they just have a very

hard way of showing it! By using a variety of classroom management

techniques and strategies, you will gradually know what works for your

particular class.

How to use a seating chart

http://classroom-organization.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_use_a_seating_chart

Lesson planning

lesson-plan-help.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_lesson_plans

Motivating students

newteachersupport.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_motivate_students

Teaching rules and procedures

preservice-teacher-

training.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_teach_rules_and_procedures


20


21/25


Article #7

How a Teacher Mentor Can Help You in Your First Year of

Teaching

How can teacher mentors help a new teacher? New teachers in their first

year need a teacher mentor to help guide and support him or her in this

overwhelming year.

Teachers starting out can become easily lost in a big educational system

with thirty or so students to teach. But for every new teacher, there is a

seasoned teacher who has been there, done that and can share a few tips

of the trade in order to prevent you from sinking too deep.

This illusion of not having enough teacher control typically results from a

lack of classroom experience. Lesson plans can look good on paper, but

successful lessons depend largely on maintaining an effective classroom

management system.

So how can a teacher mentor help with classroom management?

A mentor offers the best gift to a new teacher: objectivity. Mostly likely,

you will be telling him/her classroom situation s/he has experienced

before. It is a good idea to sit with your lesson plan and reassess your

objectives. What went well? What didn't? Use the following checklist to

help you deal with classroom management and classroom organization

issues.


21


22/25


A Teacher-Mentor Checklist: Troubleshooting Issues.

Teacher mentors can start by looking at the lesson plan itself. How is it

structured?

Was there sufficient time for practicing the new skills?

Did pupils cooperate in the learning tasks? (try and isolate the main

contingents for discipline problems)

Was there a balance between learning and teaching?

Was there a diversity of learning tasks and teaching methods?

How could you tighten lesson openings and beginnings?

How could activities be shorter? Longer? Was there enough transition or 'glue' between each part of the

lesson plan?

Was the subject motivating enough? How could you motivate them

differently?

Did the students have enough familiarization with the subject

content?

How could you engage the students? What classroom techniques

can you try to improve your classroom management?


22


23/25


Together, evaluate the classroom outcomes together with your written

version of your lesson plans. You might be pleasantly surprised to find

that your class didn't go as badly as you thought.

Writing lesson plans

http://lesson-plan-help.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_lesson_plans


23
http://lesson-plan-help.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_lesson_planshttp://lesson-plan-help.suite101.com/article.cfm/writing_lesson_plans


24/25


Article #8

How To Teach Rules and Procedures

Tips on Teacher Support and Classroom Organization

Teaching rules and procedures is a big part of classroom organization.Deciding on effective rules and procedures is important in establishing

teacher credibility.

An effective classroom management plan consists of curbing the types of

disruptive behavior and promoting positive behavior. Students challenge

teacher authority when they are simply told the rules. Rules need to be

thoughtfully planned so that a teacher can easily and practically enforce

them and they will be taken seriously.

Rule teaching and enforcement goes hand in hand with positive

reinforcement and feedback. There are cases however when these two

elements do not effectively operate together and will not generate a

positive classroom environment for learning.



24


25/25

A Few Tips to Work By:

The teacher should respect the students

The teacher should understand them and treat them maturely

And then there is that something extra that strengthens a great bridge of

trust and cooperation between student and teacher. In practical terms, it is

a worthwhile investment to build a code of conduct or rules together with

the students.

Over time, I have shifted from telling the students the rules to sharing my

expectations with the students as we build the rules together.


Documents

eBook on New Teacher Support