Here we go again! No longer do teachers have those lovely three months in the summer...we're down to two. What is with such early start dates?! My high schoolers will begin in two weeks! Two weeks. It seems like yesterday I was saying SAYONARA PEEPS, only to see the cheerleaders out practicing on the playground today.
This being my 6th year of teaching, I like to think I'm getting better with time. At this point, I feel like I've got a really good grasp on the teacher I want to be. I've learned that my job is about my students. End of story. If I go into work every single day with their best interest in mind, I cannot fail.
At each new beginning in August I walk into my classroom and immediately feel overwhelmed - the blank walls, the musty smell, the fabric covering the electronics. Where should I begin? My first year it was easy: the teacher store. I loaded up on borders and cut-outs and name tags and welcome signs, spending over two weeks perfecting my classrooms aesthetics. In the end I was never really happy with the way it turned out. This year I haven't even touched the physical portion of my classroom (well, besides hanging my Hunger Games poster). But I have been busy - very busy - perfecting some of the most important aspects of teaching.
Before decorating one bulletin board...
1. Create an overlying theme.
My theme this year is for my students to be more challenged. There is a reason parents pay thousands of dollars to send their children to my private school, and one of those reasons is to ready their kids for the real world, and we all know how challenging the real world is. So I want them to be pushed hard to work at their best, to fall a few times, and to stand up on their own because they know their full potential. (Building self-esteem is always in the back of my head.)
2. Look up standards, get them organized.
I print off a new set of standards each year just because I end up writing all over them and checking things off, circling, etc. Now that Ohio has the new common core standards, I will be piloting the science set and I'm kind of excited - I absolutely love the way they set them up. I put them all in a binder and label each grade.
3. Buy a planner and fill it in for the year.
This sounds fun, until you get to December and you're sick of it. Some people use pencil because a lot of those dates end up changing, but I like my colored pens so I go for it. I find that I have a much broader vision, "the big picture," for the school year once I'm done.
4. Do the dirty work (paperwork).
Maybe this isn't as important in the lower grades (or maybe it is?) but getting your class descriptions down on paper is so important. For example, all high school teachers at my school are required to give out a course syllabus for their class. I take it very seriously and spent nearly two hours putting mine together. I also made a condensed version for my 7th graders. As for my 5th and 6th graders, I wrote out parent letters introducing myself (5th grade) and explaining my excitement for the year, the curriculum we'll be covering, and a portion for them to fill out and return to me. Parent communication is huge in the success of a child. HUGE.
++
Now that the base of my school year is completed, I feel confident of my vision and can now move on to creating a fantastic learning environment and maybe even find a few cool labs (and worthwhile homework assignments) for the first week. They're going to be challenged, remember?
++
Here are the links to my class syllabi & parent letters. Maybe they can help someone!
Honors Biology Syllabus
7th Grade Science Syllabus
5th Grade Parent Letter
6th Grade Parent Letter
No comments:
Post a Comment