[nobe-l] First year teaching questions

[vparadiso92 at gmail.com]

Hi Tara,

Sounds like you're off to a great start. I think the points you have outlined are important. Just a few more ideas.
It may be a good idea to talk to some of your colleagues regarding things such as the school culture, clubs, activities, and ideas or strategies they may utilized throughout the school year. This is especially the case for teachers who also teach the third grade. Since teachers often follow a curriculum, many materials may already be available to you. I would ask your colleague/administrators about things such as pacing calendar/scope and sequence is. These are specific to each subject, and they are very important for the younger grades. I would try to get a hold of them right away if you can, since they will impact how you plan and break out your lessons.

In addition, I'm sure you have already thought about this but since you are working with younger children, make sure you establish your routines for fire drill/playground session/field trips immediately. Children need structure. And you're going to want to have the systems in place as soon as you can. Your school may have a specific protocol, so I would find out what that is  first.

Lastly, I would ask about any specific procedures regarding discipline. There may be a school wide policy regarding discipline plans for the staff. If you already know what that is, then you won't need to ask questions regarding what to do if specific situations arise later on during the school year. At my school for example, there are very specific outreach strategies that we are supposed to implement when students exhibit certain behaviors.

I hope this helps! Keep us posted and congratulations on your first job! The first year teaching is always exciting.

Warmly,


--
Valeria

> On Jul 8, 2017, at 8:39 PM, Tara Abella via NOBE-L <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> This year, I will begin my first year teaching third grade at the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. I had a couple questions about things you did in order to prepare for your first year teaching to make sure everything went smoothly.
> 
> 1: what questions would you ask the principal in order to best prepare for the beginning of the school year? I have already seen my classroom, collected copies of the text books, and received my class list.
> 2: what supplies did you find useful that you purchased before school started? I have already gotten several math manipulatives from consignment sales and have gotten several books in print and braille donated. I also have gotten some organizational supplies such as trays, tubs, and bins.
> 3: what sorts of displays did you create for bulletin boards and items to hang on the wall? I was planning to have the classroom rules, class schedule, classroom management system, and an area for student work.
> 4: what preparation did you do during the summer to get ready for the first day? I've been going through the third grade standards and making a list of possible activities. I've also been looking for projects that could fit the standards and looking through the textbook. I've written my classroom rules and I am in the process of deciding my management system.
> 
> Thanks so much,
> 
> Tara Abella
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
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