Online Resources for New Teachers

Behind every student’s accomplishments is a teacher. However, before getting a teaching license, one must pass all his subjects especially the student teaching practicum. In this practicum, it is the first time teachers get to apply all the methods learned in the classroom. It is not an easy feat as apart from working with the students, one must also get along with their cooperating teacher.

After graduation and finding a job, a new teacher has another dilemma: adjusting to a new environment. Being alone in the classroom without a mentor can be very hard for a first year teacher. Aside from difficult students, there may also be difficult colleagues so it is essential that one must prepare themselves. Below are some links to help one become a super first year teacher!

Classroom Management

• Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Strategies: A comprehensive PDF guide by the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education. It aims to provide information on the approach of running classrooms in a culturally responsive way that uses students’ backgrounds and social experiences.
• Developing Your Classroom Management Plan: Includes a self-evaluation tool and information about the three types of classroom discipline: preventive, supportive and corrective. It also has recommendations for each type of discipline.
• Classroom Management Suggestions: This site from Yale has six preventive classroom management strategies and tips when things start to deteriorate.
• Sample Classroom Management Plan: A helpful classroom management plan that can serve as a guide for new teachers.
• ABCS of Successful Classroom Management: Simple tips that a first year teacher can easily memorize by heart.
• Conducting Effective Closing Class Meetings: Offers simple tips on effective closing class meetings.

Behavior Management

• What to do in Challenging Disciplinary Situations: This site offers tips to teachers on how to act in challenging situations.
• Kindergarten Teacher Techniques for Behavior Management: Teaching kindergarten students can be quite challenging as the children are going to school for the first time. The listed techniques are realistic expectations, nonverbal cues, lights out, calm voice and positive reinforcement.
• Behavior Management in ESL/EFL Teaching: This comprehensive PDF guide includes how to assess behavior and solutions to difficult behavior of ESL students.
• Effective Classroom Behavior Management Strategies: A PDF file which contains a table indicating a list of classroom behavior management strategies by effective teachers.
• Twelve Teacher Tested Tips for Behavior Management: Listed are twelve steps that teachers can do at the beginning of the school year in order to promote effective classroom management.

Tips for New Teachers/Student Teachers

• Principal Tips for New Teachers: Veteran teachers share their tips in order for a new teacher to be successful.
• Tips for the Beginning Teacher: The tips are divided into seven main categories: be professional, be prepared, be organized, be patient, be a real person, be sensible with discipline and be aware with your own needs.
• New Teacher Survival Kit: This comprehensive PDF guide has a wide range of topics divided into different stages.
• Top Ten Tips for Student Teachers: These simple tips can help a student teacher be successful in their practicum.
• What to Expect on Your First Year of Teaching: Includes different topics like a checklist of tips and advice from veteran teachers.

Bulletin Boards

• Bulletin Board Ideas: Contains images of different bulletin boards that a new teacher can take inspiration from.
• The Use of Bulletin Boards: In this article, the author states that bulletin boards can be used not only as a display but also as a tool for communicating and reinforcing instructional goals.
• Student Work Bulletin Board Ideas: Great ideas on how to use students’ artworks for the classroom bulletin board.
• Bulletin Board Rubric: A rubric that can be used by beginning teachers.

Good Books for New Teachers

• The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher by Harry Wong: This book is created by Harry Wong to help make new teachers effective starting with the first day of school.
• A First-Year Teacher’s Guidebook, 2nd Ed. by Bonnie Williamson: Includes preparations for the first day, month and year of teaching as well as the type of students. It is aimed mainly for the beginning elementary school teacher.
• Working with Parents: Building Relationships for Student Success by Ruby Payne: This book helps new teachers on how to communicate properly with parents and gives confidence in dealing with problematic parents.
• Teach to Reach: Over 300 Strategies, Tips, and Helpful Hints for Teachers of All Grades by Craig Mitchell: Includes useful tricks that will help sharpen teaching skills. It also offers hundreds of suggestions that are classroom-tested.
• 101 Ways to Put Pizazz into Your Teaching by Bonnie Williamson: This book has 26 chapters with hundreds of ideas and illustrations that will put smiles on the faces of your students.
• Learning to Teach…not just for beginners by Linda Shalaway: A book that will help one become a good teacher.

Teaching Philosophy

• How to Write a Teaching Philosophy: A step-by-step guide to help one create a teaching philosophy.
• Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement: A comprehensive PDF guide on writing a teaching philosophy which includes exercises.
• Sample Educational Philosophy Statements: Contains sample philosophy statements which can serve as a guide for beginning teachers.
• 4 Primary Questions in a Teaching Philosophy Statement: In every teaching philosophy, there are 4 main questions to be answered: to what end, by what means, to what degree and why.
• Background and Contexts for Teaching Philosophies: Includes an introduction and the purpose of teaching philosophies.
• Sample Teaching Philosophies: A PDF file containing sample teaching philosophies from teachers of different fields.