1. Surviving Your First (and any!) Year Teaching by Philippa Parks

2. Introduction “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.” Gail Godwin About me About you Experienced Teachers - PLEASE ADD YOUR THOUGHTS & IDEAS!

3. Overview Tips & Tricks 1. PLAN 2. READ 3. END POSITIVELY 4. GAMES 5. ROUTINE 6. FLEXIBILITY 7. OFFER CHOICES 8. EMPATHY 9. STAY STRONG 10. ADAPT BEFORE CREATING ABOVE ALL: Give yourself a break!

4. 1.PLAN: Have a plan - be flexible! Know your long-term goals Break them down by terms, then lessons Keep a skeleton plan - don’t be too elaborate as it will all change! Example

5. 2.READ: Start with reading Sets the tone of the class (energy level) Switches the “English” button on Gives you time for admin... Use books / magazines / newspapers Build on what they read (or not...)

6. 3. End positively Last ten minutes: review homework / what they learned End with jokes / game / quiz Removing the “fun” factor can be consequence if the group is not listening (taking too long)

7. 4.GAMES: Turn “boring” activities into games Grammar / spelling / vocabulary drills etc. into team games with points (not for marks) Challenge students to create crosswords etc. for each other

8. 5.ROUTINE: Maintain a general routine Helps students feel secure Write daily plan on the board so they know what to expect Start and end your class on a quiet note (energy: low --> high --> low)

9. 6.FLEXIBILITY: Keep a bag of tricks on hand Have role-play, writing, reading & quiz activities on hand for when your lesson plan goes to pieces (it happens to all of us!) Example: Einstein’s riddle, jokes mix & match

10. 7. Offer Choices Choices help students feel empowered & invested in their learning Give choices in final project format, or even how they want to be tested on their learning. Give choices as a form of behaviour management

11. 8.EMPATHY: Be empathetic when you can When lesson planning, ask yourself: Would I enjoy this if I were my student? When doing behaviour management - understand you are not usually the problem, just an easy target! Take the student aside quietly when possible and explain that you really like them, just not their behaviour

12. 9.STAY STRONG: Follow through! Know what kind of actions you can use when engaging in classroom and behaviour management (detentions? phone calls? principal?) How will your school back you up? When you say something BE PREPARED TO FOLLOW THROUGH - otherwise you will lose credibility Keep negative consequence annoying rather than painful (e.g. “Meeping”)

13. 10.CREATING: Don’t reinvent the wheel... yet! Why make or adapt your own? I am usually inspired by a TEXT (something that sparks my interest and that I am sure will interest my students.) Find more materials, do research, if necessary Picture the activity in your mind Ask yourself “Would I like to do this activity if I were my student?”

14. Overview Tips & Tricks 1. PLAN: Have a plan - be flexible! 2. READ: Start with reading 3. END POSITIVELY -End with something fun 4. GAMES: Turn “boring” activities into games 5. ROUTINE: Maintain a general routine 6. FLEXIBILITY: Keep a bag of tricks on hand 7. OFFER CHOICES: empower students 8. EMPATHY: Be empathetic when you can 9. STAY STRONG: Follow through! 10. CREATING: Don’t reinvent the wheel... yet! ABOVE ALL: Give yourself a break!