Thoughts for a First Year Teacher

My baby cousin is going to be starting kindergarten this year. Teaching kindergarten that is. While I am working hard on getting over the fact that she is old enough to be a teacher, I am also getting very excited for her first year.

From what I hear her first year will be a lot like mine. Most of her students will not come from English speaking homes and most are considered disadvantaged. She will be a part of welcoming children into their school careers and setting the stage for their future.

There is so much I want to tell her.

There is no doubt in my mind that my first year teaching was the absolute hardest year of my life. The learning curve as a new teacher is more like a vertical line, where you are desperately trying to learn everything at once  so that your students get the best possible experience. The pressure you put on yourself for this is what overwhelms you with your desire to give the kids you have fallen in love with everything you have, and then even more. The first year was filled with long hours, tears, frustration and exhaustion, yet also with so much excitement and happiness. Your first class will always be special. No matter how many years I have taught nothing has changed the way I've thought about my first students who learned right along with me as we tried to figure out first grade together. Twelve years later I want to give my cousin as much advice and support as I can, despite the fact that she will be far across the country from me.

What do I wish I'd know starting my first year?

Don't assume anything. Don't assume your students know how to walk in the hallways, sit on the carpet, listen to a story, put crayons away, push in their chairs, raise their hands, or stop talking when the teacher is talking. Don't think that they will automatically know how to behave in school, or that because you are the teacher they should listen to you. Anything you want them to do, teach them to do. Then have them practice it. It takes time now but it will save you time later in the year.
Take the time in the beginning to teach everything. Teach them how you want them to hang up their book bags, how to sit on the carpet, how to raise their hands. Teach them how to walk across the room, how you want them to hold the scissors, and how to talk with each other. One year my co-teacher and I realized that our kinders did not even know how to listen to a read aloud. We had to start at the beginning and teach them how to engage with a book.
It sounds like an overwhelming list that does not even touch academics but these are the easiest lessons, and once they are in place you are free as the teacher to dive into academics without having to constantly deal with behaviors from your students.
Read The First Six Weeks of School. 


Don't take their misbehavior personally. So much of what we consider misbehavior comes from the students not knowing the expectations. If your students are like mine, this may be their first experience away from their family. It may be their first experience hearing English, their first time in an organized setting, their first time with more than three other children, their first time experiencing with the expectation that when an adult speaks (even in an language you don't understand) you are supposed to stop talking and listen. Don't let them get away with behaviors you don't want, but turn everything into a teachable moment. From the minute they enter your room start teaching them these lessons on how to be in school. They may need to be taught that they cannot stand up on the carpet during a lesson. Teach this before they have a chance to test it. Teach how to raise their hand to go to the bathroom, how to wash hands, and how to ask for help. There have been multiple years where I have needed to explicitly teach that we don't spit on the floor. In some cultures and in some houses this isn't a rule. When they don't follow your routines be firm, specific, and clear. Set the consequence. Then later reteach the expectation. Show that you believe they can follow the rules. Believe they can follow the rules. They can. And often, they want to, they just need you to show you how.

Build a class community. Teach them to care about one another. Show them that the class is not just where they come to learn as an individual, but that they are a part of a classroom family. When they feel connected with their classroom they are more likely to take risks, relax, and be open to learning. When they believe that you love them they will open their hearts to you. Teach them to listen to one another. Listen to them. Take time at recess to listen to their rambling stories about the park, the pool, or the trip to Kmart. Let them know that you think what they are saying is so important (then remember it when they tell you they have nothing to write about).

Read aloud. All the time. You cannot do too many read alouds. In my teaching career I have seen the number of read alouds go down drastically as we become more and more hyper aware of our students test scores. Yet there is always time for a read aloud. If we want children to read they need to know why we want them to read. Many of them will not be read to at home. This is their first opportunity to fall in love with literacy. Make them. Choose silly, goofy read alouds. Do the funny voices. Fall out of your chair with surprise at those silly characters. Read more thoughtful read alouds. Read in a hushed voice as the students lean in to hear you. Throughout the book stop reading and put the book on your lap. Think aloud about what you are reading. Make connections. Teach your students to make connections. Read the same books over and over again until your students can "read" them to each other. Read books before math, science, and social studies. Read books before recess. Keep a stack of great read alouds on your desk so that when you have absolutely nothing to do with them because your lessons did not go as planned you can grab a quick book. Keep a basket on the floor of books you have read aloud. Whenever you finish a book put it in the basket. Watch- the children will go to that basket before any other basket. They love to "read" the books you read to them.

Have fun. Find time to laugh with your class. Sing songs no matter how tone deaf you are. Embrace Dr. Jean. Do the Tooty-Tah. Show them that we learn in school but we also have fun. Dance. Teach them how to settle down and take deep breaths after silly games. Practice settling down. Celebrate your hard work. Teach them to kiss their brain after they have thought long and hard about something. Google Dr. Jean celebrations/cheers. Print them out and do them frequently with your class. Do them in the hallway when your class has walked silently for the first time. Do them even when the principal is watching and you are scared of looking like an idiot.

Consider your teacher language. Google Paula Denton, The Power of Our Words.
Instead of saying, "Don't run!" say, "In school we walk".
Instead of, "How many times do I have to tell you...?" try, "Remind me how to sit on your chair."

Write these phrases on an index card and tape it to your desk:  "Show me..."  "Remind me..." "In school we..." so they will become engrained in your mind. These phrases set the expectation of rules without shaming the student. They show the student you believe they can follow the rules.

Love them. Keep a journal of all the silly and wonderful things they do so that you can look at it when you've had a bad day. Remember when they are driving you crazy that they are five and six and wonderful little humans. 

My first year the best advice anyone gave me was, "Don't worry. They will learn despite you." And it's true. Although I would look at my class and cry because I thought I wasn't giving them the year they deserved, they learned anyway. I wasn't a master teacher or even an experienced teacher. I made mistakes. So many. But they made progress. Awesome progress. They learned to read, write, and love school.

It's going to be a great year!