Here are five of the best books for first year teachers. I have personally read each of these books cover to cover. Some of them I’ve given away to other teachers to help them with their teaching practice and others were given to me highly recommended. You can watch the video or read the article below. Enjoy!
The First Days of School
By Wong and Wong
This book is a classic in the education space. I had to read it for my alternative teaching certificate, and since then I have seen it recommended over and over and over again. It’s a classic for a reason.
The first days of class are critical for getting your students on board. Without having a good structure in place, you will loose your students potentially for the whole year.
How do I know? I had to change my classroom structure early in the school year in my second year of teaching due to a misunderstanding about the program requirements I was teaching. That year was not good. While my kids still managed to achieve, it was stressful for both me and them. I do think it would have been a much smoother year had my procedures not needed to change.
Before you work on lesson plans and make your classroom cute do yourself a favor and make sure you have procedures and classroom management in order. Here is a checklist of what procedures you need to be sure to have. Did I leave something out? Let me know in the comments so I can add it. Let’s collaborate.
Checklist
- Reward/Behavior Management System
- Pencil Sharpening Procedure
- Line Up Procedure
- Bathroom Pass Procedure
- Attendance Procedure
- Lunch Choices Procedure
- Classroom Jobs Procedure
- Turn In Assignments Procedure
- Turn In Homework Procedure
- Center Time Procedure
- Morning Meeting/Circle Time Procedure
- Small Groups Procedure
- Data Collection Procedure
The Secret of Happy Children
By Steve Diddulph
I had to read this book for a marriage and family sociology class, not for an education class. That class was one of my favorite classes ever because of how it prepared me not for school or teaching, but life in general.
This book in particular is a valuable book for educators to read. It gives insight into student homelife and how that may be impacting how students are performing in your classroom. It talks about how to prevent tantrums (yes, first years, kids have tantrums in class), helping with shyness, and active listening. Do yourself a favor and check out this book.
The Time Bind: When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes Work
By Arlie Russell Hochschild
This book is important for anybody working in today’s world. It’s all about work-life balance. As a teacher, work-life balance is especially difficult to maintain. This book will help you make considerations of how much time you should be spending outside of school on your classroom.
Everybody is given the same 24 hours in a day. It’s the great equalizer. Be very deliberate with how you spend your time. Being a first-year teacher will take a lot of time, and it will be stressful, but do make sure to take care of yourself. Your sanity will thank you in the end.
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
By Ramit Sethi
My dad gave me this book when I was just getting into learning more about personal finance.
Why a personal finance book? Because teachers are so notoriously underpaid, while at the same time they often graduate with a great deal of student debt. Read this book to help you pay down your debts quickly so you can achieve financial freedom earlier.
Keep in mind that teachers can participate in a 403B program, which is similar but not exactly the same as a 401K program. Start saving even in your very first year for your retirement. It’s the best thing you can possibly to do to set yourself up for a stable future. You may think you can’t afford to save on a teacher’s salary, but you simply can’t afford not to. Teacher pensions are getting cut, and social security will almost certainly pay out less for our younger teachers than retirees get today. Protect yourself by investing in your future.
F In Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers
By Richard Benson
This book is just plain fun. It is a compilation of fantastically bad and funny incorrect test answers. As a new teacher, you need to keep your sense of humor. Keep this book by your bed to have handy at the end of a bad day. Going to bed smiling will make facing your classroom the next day that much easier.
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