More Praise for First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit
“I found Julia Thompson’s First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit to provide it all. She has written a remarkable guide that any teacher will enjoy having. The ideas and suggestions she has gathered provide a ‘compass’ of usable and practical information...”
Dr. David E. Hutt, Superintendent
Buellton Union School District (CA)
“...This book is like having a personal mentor to guide new teachers through the demanding process of becoming educators. Experienced teachers will also find fresh insights that can transform effective instruction from instinctive to intentional.”
Elisabeth H. Fuller, Coordinator of Grants, Budget, and Resources
Isle of Wight County Schools (VA)
“Julia Thompson earns an A+ for her practical and comprehensive First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit...This valuable resource provides a wealth of useful information that will help the teacher remain upbeat, confident, and motivated. First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit should be required reading for all new teachers!”
Jack Umstatter, English Teacher
Cold Spring Harbor High School (NY)
“...As a university supervisor with student teachers for over 12 years, I would make Julia Thompson’s book mandatory reading for beginning teachers. Her approach to planning and classroom management is very relevant to today’s students...”
Pamela J. Edwards, Supervisor, Teacher Education Services
Old Dominion University (VA)
“...The First-Year Teacher’s Survival Kit can help new teachers not only survive but flourish, setting the stage for a successful and rewarding career. It should be required reading for all new teachers.”
Gary R. Muschla, former Sixth-Grade Teacher
Appleby School (NJ)
“I wish I had this Kit when I was starting out as a first-year teacher. It offers new teachers as well as experienced teachers a wealth of numerous tips and strategies, from managing time to creating a user-friendly classroom...”
Cynthia Stowe, Consulting School Psychologist
Eagle Mountain School (MA)
“This survival kit is one of the best that I’ve seen for new teachers. This experienced teacher knows firsthand what new teachers will encounter that important first year in the classroom... Thank you for writing this book!”
Darlene Mannix, Special Education Teacher
Crichfield Elementary School (IN)
“What an extraordinary book! With this one resource, Julia Thompson addresses the needs of all beginning teachers. Elementary, middle, and high school teachers—both new and experienced—can find beneficial information on every page... Beginning teachers need this valuable resource. Certainly, in my early years of teaching, I could have benefited immensely from having this book on my desk.”
Pam Leigh, English Teacher
Spotswood High School (VA)
Excerpts
From Section 5...
10 Ways to Create a Student-Centered Classroom
1. "Decorate your classroom with student work. Students feel a sense of ownership and pride in a class where their work is displayed. Be sure to display everyone’s work. If you hang only the best work, you can be accused of favoritism, which will only cause harm.
2. Keep a supply of recycled paper, construction paper, crayons, markers, and other supplies on hand to help your students create work for display. Some of the items that would make interesting displays include projects, group-generated lists, homework assignments, cartoons, sponge activities, posters…anything that your students would be proud to display.
3. Have a sense of humor, particularly about yourself. If you make a mistake, admit it graciously. Don’t be one of those teachers who never laugh with their students and never admit when they are wrong.
4. Give your students a voice in how some of the procedures of the class should be managed. They need to assume responsibility for running some of the class routines if they are to feel that what they do matters to you and to their classmates.
5. Teach your students how to work together well. This will take time and patience, but it is worth the trouble. Students who have the support of their classmates are not afraid to speak up or try new activities
6. Your students crave success and approval. Create opportunities for this to happen by designing lessons that are challenging, but achievable. When students succeed, reward them. Keep lots of small, tangible rewards such as stickers on hand.
7. Make sure that your students are in touch with school events. Maintain a bulletin board with items about schedules, lunch menus, upcoming events, and other important information.
8. Promote courtesy and respect for school and classroom rules. Make sure that you model the behavior that you want from your students.
9. Encourage students to share their opinions and ideas. Teach them to value each other’s creativity by encouraging and accepting their ideas.
10. Survey your students periodically so that you can make sure that the student-friendly classroom you think you’ve created really is. Surveying your students is a terrific way to find out what they think and to improve the way you manage your class."
From Section 11...
Twenty-five Common Time Wasters
"One of the best ways to make sure that you are using the time in your class to the best advantage is to be aware of how easy it is to waste time. The following ways are some of the most obvious ways many teachers misuse class time:
1. Teaching lessons that are not relevant or interesting to students
2. Not using the first few minutes of class effectively
3. Allowing students to goof off for the last few minutes of class
4. Not intervening quickly enough to keep problems manageable
5. Confusing teachable moments with straying from the topic
6. Not establishing routines for daily classroom procedures
7. Allowing students to sleep as long as they don’t cause trouble
8. Not starting a new unit because a weekend or holiday is near
9. Calling roll instead of checking attendance by a seating chart
10. Not enforcing a reasonable policy for leaving the classroom
11. Misjudging how long it takes to teach a lesson
12. Not returning papers promptly
13. Interrogating tardy students in front of other students
14. Not providing assistance for those students without materials
15. Allowing students to decide when class is over
16. Not determining students’ prior knowledge of new material
17. Giving an inappropriate amount of work
18. Not giving feedback designed to help students learn
19. Giving confusing directions
20. Not teaching students how to work collaboratively in groups
21. Having poor transitions between activities
22. Not teaching students study skills
23. Spending too much time sitting behind a desk instead of monitoring
24. Not teaching students to be self-disciplined
25. Giving homework that is only busy work"
From Section 9...
Intrinsic Motivation
"Intrinsic motivation is the incentive to work that is built into an assignment as an essential part of the lesson itself. Although praise and tangible rewards can be effective in boosting students’ self-confidence and their desire to do well, intrinsic motivation is the most effective way to promote a fundamental change in student effort and achievement, because its effects last much longer.
There are many ways to include intrinsic motivation in every assignment. Many effective teachers do this automatically when they offer a variety of activities, arouse curiosity, and play games with their students. You can increase the intrinsic motivation in each lesson that you teach by including one or more of these ten techniques into each lesson:
1. Help students make a personal connection to the material that they are studying. There are many ways to show students how the material is relevant to their concerns. Try one of these:
• Use their names in examples and questions.
• Ask students to write a response before giving them the opportunity to engage in a discussion. This will automatically involve all students in thinking about a response instead of just listening to their classmates.
• Ask students to draw comparisons between what they are studying and their own lives.
• Have students explain material in their own words.
2. Incorporate your students’ interests, backgrounds, and concerns into lessons as often as you can.
3. Challenge your students to beat their personal best on a test or other assignment. Or tell them that you are going to time them and then start watching the clock.
4. Open class with an anticipatory set that will help students recall their previous knowledge about a subject. This will add interest to the new information that you are about to present.
5. Show students how to work to achieve their goals by accomplishing a series of smaller goals.
6. Make an assignment dependent on the successful completion of an earlier one. Make sure students recognize that in order to understand the next topic you are going to study they have to know the current material.
7. Involve parents and guardians in class activities. Keep them informed of due dates and other information that will help them encourage students to stay on task.
8. Combat students’ piecemeal approach to their education by using a course outline or a syllabus. Too often students are not aware of the “big picture” and don’t understand how one assignment will lead to another one.
9. Include opportunities for discussion in your class. Encourage students to debate topics of interest and share their mastery of a lesson. In a math class, for example, you can have teams of students solve the same problem and then explain to the class how they derived their answer.
10. Encourage your students to be open-minded and tolerant of ambiguities so they won’t be afraid to take intellectual risks. Often students are not motivated to attempt their work because they are afraid of failure."
