First, make sure you reach out to a fellow teacher at the school you were hired at for guidance and someone who can help you get on track. Ideally this would be someone from your department, age level, or someone teaching the same subject as you to get on track with pacing, content order, and expectations. This can be very helpful so you can make sure you are planning and doing the right things now while not wasting any time. I made this mistake my first year of teaching when I just started planning things out of a textbook to try and get ahead, only to find that I had been planning the wrong things and had to start all over. On top of that, this also allows you to discuss any materials and resources that you will have access to through the school, as well as what fellow teachers may or may not be willing to share. This also allows you to properly plan ahead and know what to expect when day one with students rolls around.
Next, make sure you plan as much as you can (or at least are willing to) during the summer. This allows you to be more prepared and not overwhelmed once the school year starts so you are not scrambling to get things together. While ultimately things will shift and change as you start to figure out who you are as a teacher and what does and does not work for you, it is still beneficial to have a base planned in order to help alleviate the amount of work that comes with being a first year teacher. I recommend having a minimum of the first month to first nine weeks planned out as a minimum, or at least a pacing guide for how long you plan to spend on each topic.
Third, make sure you have your classroom set up and ready to go for students, before you in-service or teacher days start. This gives you one less thing to worry about in the last few days before students come into your classroom and frees up that time for you to focus on other important things.
Lastly, have a plan for your classroom management, structure, and organizational systems that you want to have in place in your classroom before day one with students. This allows you to communicate your expectations more clearly, as well as allowing students to know what to expect more clearly as they begin the year in your classroom instead of figuring out what they can get away with
Hope that helps and that you guys can take something with you and apply it to your classroom. As always, we are here to help, so don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments. You can also sign up for one of our one on one programs for a more personal and in depth assistance into putting your best foot forward as a first year teacher, or visit https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Mr-Browns-Classroom to view some of our resources for project based and problem based learning. Talk to you guys soon!
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