Your First Year As an Elementary School Teacher : Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional [Paperback]

Lynne Marie Rominger (Author), Karen Heisinger (Author), Natalie Elkin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Your First Year Series | Publication Date: March 29, 2001

Real Solutions and Advice from the Teaching Trenches
Many begin teaching because of a desire to make a difference. But faced with everyday challenges of the classroom, this idealism is often lost. The fact is, teaching is not easy. While there are many personal rewards, teachers must satisfy many constituencies, including students, parents, and administrators. But by being prepared and organized, you can ensure that your first year is fulfilling and productive for both you and your students.
Your First Year as an Elementary School Teacher provides practical solutions to the most common and difficult issues of teaching. Inside is everything you need to know to create an atmosphere of cooperation, learning, and respect within your classroom. Use this helpful book as your mentor and enjoy your first year as a teacher.
Have a successful first year by knowing how to:
·Reach, teach, and have fun with your students
·Create an interesting and interactive classroom environment
·Manage and find new ways to help difficult students
·Develop positive relationships with parents and administrators
·Organize your day to stay on top of the curriculum and grading
·Develop effective and engaging lesson plans
"This complete book is the first thing principals should hand to their new teachers. It has it all!— Angela Kleinberg, reading specialist, Washington School

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kids are smarter than we sometimes give them credit for!"
— Roxanne P., Buffalo, New York
"The most fun part of teaching is simply listening to the things kids say. On the first day of school I was introducing the subject matter we'd be covering in American history. I asked the kids to think of how a knowledge of history could help people to get along better in life. One of the tough kids in class wasn't volunteering any answers, so I called on him to respond. As he sat up straight in his seat, some of his buddies began guffawing behind him. I ignored them and repeated the question: 'How do you use history to get along?' He turned around to his friends and said, without missing a beat, 'Knock off the laughing, or you're history.'"
—Becka R., Mesa, Arizona
"Sometimes the day's curriculum goes in unexpected directions, no matter how well you plan. Jeff, a chemistry teacher in Minnesota, sat down after a class to plan his next unit. "Suddenly, this loud crack scared me half to death," Jeff says. "I must have jumped three feet. Let's just say one of my students had mixed something combustible! You can tell them over and over again to clean up their messes, but sometimes they don't!"
"What did I learn my first year of school? Get organized!…Even two minutes of disorganization results in complete chaos for the rest of the hour. Get organized."
— Robert T., Galveston, Texas
"Some lessons you only learn through experience."
— Joan M., Kent, Washington
"I really benefited from our state's mandated mentor system my first year teaching, especially in the area of discipline. I overcame several really difficult discipline issues with the sage advice of my mentor. I can't recommend mentoring highly enough. It gave me the foundation I needed to continue teaching through the rough spots."
— Tamara B., Michigan
"I have discovered over the years that there is no technique that always works. What was magic last week is boring this week. To that end, I frequently change the environment by rearranging furniture, updating the materials I place on my walls, and completely changing the look and feel of my classroom….Ever since I gave up the 'nailed-to-the-floor' mind-set, teaching¾and learning—have been exciting for all of us."
— Genna R., Phoenix, Arizona

From the Inside Flap

Real Solutions and Advice from the Teaching Trenches
Many begin teaching because of a desire to make a difference. But faced with everyday challenges of the classroom, this idealism is often lost. The fact is, teaching is not easy. While there are many personal rewards, teachers must satisfy many constituencies, including students, parents, and administrators. But by being prepared and organized, you can ensure that your first year is fulfilling and productive for both you and your students.
Your First Year as an Elementary School Teacher provides practical solutions to the most common and difficult issues of teaching. Inside is everything you need to know to create an atmosphere of cooperation, learning, and respect within your classroom. Use this helpful book as your mentor and enjoy your first year as a teacher.
Have a successful first year by knowing how to:
·Reach, teach, and have fun with your students
·Create an interesting and interactive classroom environment
·Manage and find new ways to help difficult students
·Develop positive relationships with parents and administrators
·Organize your day to stay on top of the curriculum and grading
·Develop effective and engaging lesson plans
"This complete book is the first thing principals should hand to their new teachers. It has it all!? Angela Kleinberg, reading specialist, Washington School

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (March 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761529683
• ISBN-13: 978-0761529682
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.9 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #233,727 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars how-to vs. reference book, June 7, 2001

By 

Benjamin K. Potter "loyal reader/writer" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your First Year As an Elementary School Teacher : Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional (Paperback)

This is very similar to "Your First Year as a High School Teacher." I think that the authors were trying too hard to make this a how-to book, when it should be regarded instead as a reference book.

What I mean is, the book spells out everything a new teacher has to think about, from discipline, to lesson plans, to staff relations, to supplies, etc. etc. etc. I don't think it really succeeds as a how-to book, though. If you want something like that, start with Harry Wong's "First Days of School" instead. This book might be handy next to your dictionary and thesaurus as a reference guide, though.

The numerous sidebars are what set apart this book from some others. "From the desk of..." provides nice anecdotes and stories. Sometimes it's nice to know that other teachers have also laughed and cried their way through their first years. "Making the grade" points to numerous excellent online resources. Let me stress how good their resources are - this is truly where you could the best use from this book. The "Teaching terms" are a bit condescending (What first-year teacher doesn't know what a 'school assembly' or a 'grade book' is? If there are a lot, we are all in big trouble!).

On the whole, I think first-year teachers will be able to use snippets of this book. But unless you are a subsitute looking for a "crash course" approach to the profession, I think you will be a bit disappointed if you read this book cover to cover.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your First Year As an Elementary School Teacher : Making the, July 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Your First Year As an Elementary School Teacher : Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional (Paperback)

This is a fantastic book! I am a business professional looking to switching careers and go into elementary education, and this book was exactly what I needed to give me a heads up on what my first year as an elementary school teacher would be like. It's well-written, easy to read, and contains lots of tid bits of information that I never would have thought of! If you're considering elementary school teaching as a career, you have to read this book! I'm reading it now before I start my teaching licensure classes, and I'll read it again right before I start my first year of teaching. This book helped me to realize that I really do want to become a teacher.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your First Year as an Elementary Teacher, May 6, 2001

By 

Ronald Harder "rvharder" (Los Gatos, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your First Year As an Elementary School Teacher : Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional (Paperback)

This book is truly a fine addition to the limited resources available to first year teachers. It not only gives excellent information on what to expect in your first year, but how to be successful in meeting these challenges. The practical solutions to the everyday issues of teaching are explained with humor as well as authority. The authors bring their experience as educators to the pages making this helpful book a sure winner that will greatly enhance the first year experience for teachers. I will use it and recommend it in my work as a student teacher supervisor.