Liz Uebelhoer
This may be an odd question, but I'm wondering for new teachers how do you know where to begin at the beginning of the year? Since I'm currently not teaching I have fears of walking into the classroom the first day and having no idea where to begin. Did your mentor help you create a lesson the first week or do you follow what was done the previous year? I guess a better way to ask would be, who taught you how to teach? Yes, we're all going through the masters classes and learning the fundamentals but putting that into real life is a different scenario. Any comments would be welcome. Thanks!
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9 comments:
I ususually look at the curriculum maps. If you go to the Spotsy. web site, go to one of the pull down menus and go to the curriculum maps. Often times they give you sample ideas, along with the standards that the student should be learning.
I found that every year, whether I was teaching art or spec. ed, the first week we covered a lot of classroom expectations and introduced the classroom rules. This was regardless of age. We also explained how we wanted them to organize their desks, belongings and work. When the kids are younger we also work on traffic flow within the classroom.
When the kids are older I have them come up with a list of ten rules for the class, then we discuss them.. they have ownership of them then. I have never had a disagreement with my students on rules when I have used this method.
I think that you are viewed as "fair" when the students know what is expected. They cannot succeed if they don't know what the expectations are.
Hope I didn't confuse you more!
Cat
Thanks Cat! That's good info! Liz
I think about the teacher(s) that I liked when I was in school & try to analyze why I liked them. There is usually at least one identifiable characteristic that I can emulate.
I 'Google' lesson plans all the time! I plug in the topic I want & search the results. Sometimes I don't find exactly what I want, but the ideas often help me break through the block in my brain and I can tweek an idea or activity to suit what I need.
~Evelyn
Melinda Griffith
When I started last year making a curriculum for my students was the part that I struggled with at first. My students do not follow the curriculum map due to their disabilities. I could look at it, and take what I needed out of it, but I couldn't follow it. I met with the former teacher of that class and she left me her books and lesson plans. Still I didn't understand her plans because they were mostly one word. So I started going through the IEPs of my students, and the resources that I had available, and I created my own format. (I reinvented the wheel) It was a lot of work, but I look back on what my students and I accomplished and realize that it was worth it. I think they key though is to relax and do your best. I know that you have experience that you can fall back on. You are also given a mentor who will help you along the way. I know that I wouldn't have gotten through without the encouragement and support that mine gave me.
Gae Noble
Liz, you know more than you realize. You've had experience working with adults with disabilities and you're getting a great education. Yes, you will have a mentor who will be a great asset. Your mentor will help you with finding the curriculum maps and lesson plans as well as writing your first IEPs. We all start out knowing just the basics and figure out the rest as we go. Teachers really are great at helping each other. As for the first week, everyone in our department does pretty much the same thing; rules, procedures and classroom expectations. Though the workdays were filled with meetings, we still found some time to meet together and do some common planning. We shared materials and by the time school started I had so many materials I cold just choose the ones that were best for my students. Each week I plan with the general education teachers and adapt their lesson plans for my students.
I often wondered that same thing before I working for the school system. Your mentor and team members will be a great help in getting through the first few weeks and then you settle down into more of a routine. The curriculum maps do help if you are teaching students who they apply to, but if not they still give you a place to start at. And Gae is right you know more than you realize.
Diana Thorpe
I too have fears about walking into a classroom the first day and not knowing where to begin, even though I subbed and I have been in the school system as a para for four years!!! I am hoping these classes prepare me and will give me the confidence needed. I am also able to presume I will have more knowledge than the students I am to teach. Reading all the posts of encouragement and guidance from the rest of the class shows there is help along the way.
Unfortunately, my mentor teacher was not very helpful. I made some good contacts early and asked a lot of questions. I had no idea how to write a lesson plan. For awhile I felt like I was giving assignments but not really "teaching". The curriculum maps are an excellent starting point as the others mentioned. I deal with so many behaviors that kill a lot of time in the BSP classroom, that I have to really pick through the maps to focus on what the students really have to know for the SOL's. I study the released tests to determine the important info. I have found some great websites online that I use to steal lessons from. Another resource that seems to work well for me in the BSP room is to follow the lesson plans of the self-contained teachers teaching the same subject. I stay about a week behind them, and use as much of their lessons and handouts as possible. When my students transition out of BSP they go to self-contained classes anyway, so this strategy really helps.
~Terri Clements
Thank you all for your comments! I feel relief now that I'm going through the cohort and have connected with all of you for future reference :)
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