SEMESTER BREAK IS ALMOST HERE!I know we are all excited for this semester to be ending and to have at least 10 days off. If you are anything like me, you are excited but also thinking about everything that you need to do to prepare for next semester. 

One thing that I am trying to work on is balance between my teaching responsibilities and my family responsibilities. To this end I am really trying to work on ways to recharge over the break so I am ready to go when it is time to come back to school!

Here are the ways I am going to work on recharging and we would love to hear from all you on how you recharge over the semester break. 
​MAKE TIME FOR FAMILY/FRIENDS ONLYBasically I have a ban on work once the semester ends through the 26th of December. Those days are for family and friends. I spend my time baking, hanging out with my family, wrapping presents, and all of that stuff. My family always appreciates this, because they have my full attention and turn off my teacher brain for a little while which I think is really important. It helps clear my mind and allows me to come back to my work with a fresh start. 
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SPEND SOME TIME/ENERGY ON MYSELFThis is just as important as spending time with family and friends. I need some time for myself, so I don't feel like I am going to go crazy and snap at people. This can be as simple as reading a book for an hour at night or my favorite is a day at the spa. To me, if we don't do this we are really hurting ourselves, family, and students. We can't take of others if we don't take care of ourselves. We just need to find a little bit of time for ourselves, so we can give the best version of ourselves for everyone else. 
​TAKE SOME TIME FOR GROWTHI have lately really become aware or rediscovered how important it is for teachers to keep learning. When we do this, it keeps us growing which is important considering that is what we want from our students. I have also found that it just gets my creative process going and helps me think of new ways to do things and new ways to solve problems I have been having. 

So during my break I am going to finish reading a book on differentiated instruction which is a huge focus for me right now. I have already started it and the ideas are already flowing! 
​TIME CHUNK YOUR WORKThis is strategy that we use with kids all of the time, but I found that it works for me as well. When I am on break, I find that I like to schedule time for work or a specific task and then I make myself take a break and do something completely not related. I will take time and play a game with my kids, watch a movie with my husband, or have lunch with a friend. This allows my mind to take a break and process anything that I was working on and then I can come back to it or start a new task. This also helps me keep some perspective and not get overwhelmed by all of the things that I want/have to get done. 

Also this process helps me keep my work goals realistic for the break. It is a break after all and if schedule chunks of work then I am forced to prioritize my work and really see what needs to be done before I go back to school in January. 
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FOR THE OVER-ACHIEVERS OUT THERE...Get some work done BEFORE your break. For those intense planners who won't be able to really check out of work, try to get the first 2 weeks of the 2nd semester planned and materials ready BEFORE you leave work for break. If you know that the first two weeks are all set to go, you may be able to unplug better and really enjoy your break!
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YOUR TURN! HOW DO YOU RECHARGE OVER BREAK?

BUILDING FUNDAMENTALS: BEING A GREAT MENTOR8/28/2017
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Teaching is a hard profession to enter. No one can deny that. Teachers tend to have a burn out rate of 5 years. One of the best ways to help get past this is having a support system in your school. This usually starts with a mentor in the building. Most districts have a new teacher program that pairs new teachers with a mentor in their building. This mentor is the first line of defense and support for a new teacher and is an incredibility important relationship. 

The quality of the mentors used in a school seem to have a direct relationship to new teachers staying in the profession and staying in that specific district. 

What makes a good mentor? What qualities do mentors need to have to be what they need to be for new teachers?

1. Positive - Being positive can really help a new teacher feel welcome and help them get past the rough spots that can happen during a school year. Negativity is a killer in our profession. When a teacher gets to that negative point, they can be poison to a new teacher. This doesn’t mean that a mentor shouldn’t address and recognize problems, but work on a way to solve them in a constructive way without negativity.
   
   
2. Open - It is also good for the mentor to be a person that is very open. They share with their new teacher all of the parts of the job. Everything they need to know whether it is good or bad, new teachers need to know it so they can prepare a plan to deal with it. A mentor should have an open door policy in their classroom for the new teacher. Observing other teachers is a great way to learn and the mentor needs to open to discussing what they are doing. Being able to share what is working well and what is not working, can be a good learning tool for new teachers. 
   
   
3. Inclusive - Isolation is hard to deal with and even though a teacher is in their own room most of the time, doesn’t mean they want to feel isolated in their building. Having a mentor that invites them to school functions and functions outside of the building will help that new teacher feel connected to the school and community. That can go a long way in retaining teachers. 
   
   
4. A Coach - The mentor has to be able to acknowledge when a new teacher has a classroom challenge and being willing and able to address that challenge with the new teacher. This takes many observations, discussions, and strategies with the new teacher. A new teacher is never going to get better if they don’t work on their skills. 
   
   
5. A Listener/Sounding Board - New teachers need someone who will really listen to them and not judge them. Someone they can talk to about ideas, celebrations, challenges, and life in general without judgement but support and guidance. It is important for you to ask questions to get new teachers to be reflective about their practice. New teachers will also need you to keep them informed on school policies and practices. They will not know the ins and outs of the building. They might not even know what to ask, so they will need their mentor to give them a heads up. 
   
   
6. Long-term - Being a mentor is a multi-year job. New teachers are not going to be suddenly a master after one year and will need guidance for the first few years. You could say that a teacher always needs a mentor no matter how many years they have teaching. 

Our profession is very important and we should do all we can to keep quality new teachers in the profession. Having a mentor with these qualities can go a long way to helping a new teacher grow and feel welcome in their school.  ​

   So you’re a new teacher! You may be brand new to the career or maybe you’re just new to the building. Either way, you will most likely be assigned a mentor to help you settle in and learn what you need to about the school and the culture. 
My advice to you in getting the most out of your mentor is to ask questions! Ask them all! They are there to help you adjust and answer questions. 

For brand new teachers specifically, you may have a million questions but these are the ones I suggest you ask early!

1. What do you do for classroom management?
2. What do I need to have prepared for open house or parent teacher conferences?
3. What is the first day of school like? Are there any changes to the schedule?
4. What kind of classroom procedures do you have?
5. How do you build relationships with students?

For all teachers new to a building, you’ll want the answer to these questions!

1. Where do I need to go to get copies?
2. Where do I go to pick up or send mail?
3. How often will I be evaluated and what does that look like?
4. What are the procedures for when I have to be absent?
5. Do I need to submit formal lesson plans to someone at any point?
6. What type of communication with parents is expected?
7. What technology and other resources do I have available for use?
8. Who do I go to if I have a question about technology?
9. What behavior constitutes a detention or trip to the office? (What are classroom behavior expectations as a building)
10. What is the dress code? (both for you and for students)
11. Who do I talk to about additional ways to get involved i.e. coaching, clubs?
12. Do you allow teachers to use public social media accounts?
13. What kind of professional development is offered in the building? What is focus for your building or district?
14. What are the rules on room decor? Can I paint my room?
15. What are the safety procedures? Tornado, fire, intruder, etc.

These questions are not all encompassing. You will continue to have questions. Keep asking them! Other than those specific questions we suggest you:

1. Meet with your mentor at least once a week, even if it’s just a walk past their room during a passing period or special and letting them know how your week is going. Reflection is key to improving yourself as a teacher and having a conversation with your mentor about what is going on in class will help you process!
2. Go see them after a particularly good or bad day. If they’ve been chosen as a mentor, they probably are experienced and generally positive about their jobs. Celebrate with them in the good and lean on them when it’s bad.
3. Observe your mentor often and have them observe you often. Observing other teachers and discussing what you see with them is a great way to learn.
4. If your mentor is not giving you what you need, seek out someone else who can. This can be hard when you don’t know anyone, but keep an eye out for positive teachers. They will most likely reach out to you, but don’t be afraid to approach people in your building to help you.
5. Seek out a community. Inside or outside of school, you need more people to bounce ideas, victories, and failures off of. Finding some more people will help you get the most out of your first year as well as your mentor. The more you can reflect and improve, the better your year will be!

   We hope you have a terrific first year teaching or first year at your new building! It can be a roller coaster but having a mentor and truly using them can make even the roughest of years a great experience in the end! Stay strong! Let us know how the years goes and any other advice you have about getting the most out of your mentor!

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WHETHER YOU'RE FEELING LIKE THIS......

OR THIS

THE BIG DAY IS APPROACHING QUICKLY!

​The first day of school! I don’t know about everyone else, but that day still makes me nervous every year. In the beginning it was straight up nerves but now has shifted to more nervous excitement. A new year! What will this year be like? What will the students be like? How will all of the changes I made to my curriculum work out? There is a lot of potential on that first day of school. 
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There is a lot of prep work that goes into the first day of school and the beginning of a new year. There is the room set-up, curriculum, school and department meetings, and so many other details that work up to this day. I know that the first day looks different at different grade levels and  I will admit that I really only familiar with the secondary set-up. Regardless some of it is the same and most classes are trying to get the same types of tasks done:

• Learning student names
• Introducing yourself as the teacher
• Presenting classroom procedures/rules
• Building classroom community
• Assessing prior knowledge/skills

For the new teacher, the first day of school can definitely be a day that is filled with excitement and nerves. 
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Here are some tips/things to know about the first day of school:

1. Breathe - The first day is both chaotic and exhilarating. You have put a lot of work into this day and school year, so take some time to breathe and enjoy it. There is a lot going on. Students are reuniting with friends and old teachers as well as a bunch of new people. The same can be said for teachers. Basically, there is a lot going on and that’s exactly how it is supposed to be so take a second, breath, and enjoy it. ​
2. Have extra activities ready as well as a plan to shorten your time with students to the essentials. Nothing will run on time. Students are late, nervous, and usually lost. I typically wait about 2 minutes after the bell to begin my class because it never fails that a student will walk in late because they got lost. Bells may not work that day and lunch will take forever. The best thing is to have backup plans for when things take forever or go way faster than you planned.
3. Have some activities that involve student interaction and movement - I don’t know anyone that really likes to just talk at students on the first day. Focusing on the student interaction and movement that day is a nice way to break the ice and get to know your students.
4. Stop, breathe, and make some mental notes. The day will go by really fast - It always seems to me that this day is one of the fastest days of the year. With all of the new things happening, it is just a blur. You will experience many first days of school and in order for them to improve each year, you need to be able to reflect and react to how it goes this year.
5. Wear comfortable shoes - The first day of school  and parent-teacher conferences are days when teachers tend to dress up more than usual. I am no different, but on this day when you know your feet won’t get a break, it is a good idea to wear comfortable shoes. This is a day where I don’t get a break from standing or walking. And I don’t have a day off to rest tomorrow! Wear comfortable shoes! Trust me, you’re feet will thank you!
6. Smile!- I have never really been one for the old advice to be super stern the first day/month to get students to take you seriously. I want students to trust me and work with me, not fear and resent me. This doesn’t mean they get to walk all over me. Being firm and consistent in your procedures and rules is super important, but doing that doesn’t mean you can smile and welcome students to your room. You can be both approachable and respected. Have clear expectations, but smile and have fun, too!
7. Have fun! - Try to take time during the day to take it in and enjoy doing what you have been working towards. You have started your first school year! That is a big deal and should be celebrated!

​The real trick to having a successful first day is to have activities where the focus is on the students and not the teacher only talking at them all day about rules and procedures. It’s an easy trap to fall in, especially in the secondary classroom, spending every class reviewing the class syllabus, rules and procedures of the class. This is boring for the teacher and the students. 


I have tried many different things for the first day to keep the focus on them and not me. There are so many different ways to approach this and it really depends on what you want to accomplish on the first day. Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and other social media outlets are filled with different ideas for what to do on the first day of school. 

Here are few ideas that we like!

1. Stations - I love stations for class activities and I switched my first day to stations after finding a package on Teacher Pay Teachers and I have loved it. It allows me to get a lot of things done in one day and then jump into other community builders and reviews for the rest of that first week of school.
2. Content Game/Challenge - You could create a game or challenge that is focused on your content. This would be a great way to see what students know from previous years and get the students interacting.
3. Class scavenger hunt - This is also a way to get students interacting and learning the ways of your class. Students could have tasks that take them through the class procedures, syllabus, work areas, and resources of your classroom.
4. Four Corners - This is a really easy way to have students moving around the room, talking about the class, and thinking about the course. You could adapt this to anything really. You can break up the syllabus into sections and have students discuss and rotate around the room and report out. They can create hashtags, posters, memes, really anything based on the content you want to cover and the corners you want them to work on.
5. Gallery Walk - Students can create posters or other visuals that represent content, procedures, syllabus, etc that can be used to create a gallery walk for that day or for the second day of school to review.

The first day of school is a chaotic, nerve wracking, and exciting day. Take time to enjoy it whether you are a first year teacher or veteran teacher. It is a day filled with promise, new beginnings, and new opportunities! 
Above are just a few ideas on how to make the most out of your first day of school. If you have any other ideas, please share them below!

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​Co-teaching is hard. It can take years to really perfect your flow as a pair of teachers in the same room and a lot of co-teaching partners don’t get the chance to do that. Someone moves or gets their schedule changed and it’s back to square one.

While you may not have years to perfect it, here are some tips for the here and now while you still have your co-teacher!
 DIVIDE UP RESPONSIBILITIES CLEARLY AND EARLYfrom Pinterest and Co-teaching That Works 
Co-teaching is somewhat like a year long group project. If you don’t know who is doing what, you are likely to get frustrated and do more (or maybe less!) work than you really should. Think about the major parts of your classroom and split up responsibilities. I use something like the chart to the side when dividing up work.
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​Some of these are responsibilities are pretty obvious to me about who should be doing it in my classroom and may be obvious to you. The point, however, is that a conversation is had with your co-teacher and you agree on specific responsibilities. What may be obvious to you may not be what your partner teacher is thinking. 

Something else to take into consideration while splitting responsibilities would be how often you see your co-teacher. Maybe your co-teacher is already moving between multiple classrooms throughout the day! You may want them to be with you all day or want their focus more on your class. Maybe they help with a special activity or coach outside of school and one time of the year is busier than others. Talk about it and be sure to take their schedule into consideration when dividing up responsibilities. 
SHARE FACETIME IN FRONT OF THE CLASS
This is just one person's opinion BUT I don't think co-teaching works well when the students see one of you as the teacher and the other as the assistant. When one person is using all of the face time in front of the class and the other is only used one-on-one, students see one teacher. And a big part of co-teaching is teaching together. While you have different specialties, you were both trained to be in the classroom. Maybe one of you delivers the notes/lecture portion but the other can explain the transition activity or homework. Maybe there is a weekly activity like What's in the Box? that they can run. Whatever it is, you need to share face time. Decide how this will happen and then don't interrupt each other unless you've discussed being ok with it. Co-teaching is sharing and all of your students are watching it happen in front of their faces! Set a good example for what sharing a classroom and being polite looks like when talking to the class. :)
COME TO AN AGREEMENT ON MODIFICATIONS AND ALL BIG ASSIGNMENTS/TESTS/PROJECTSTypically the set up is that one of you is a master of content and the other is the master of special education. You each have your specialties and there is a reason you are both in the room. It is important to talk about what types of modifications will need to be made for students and to BOTH have a good idea of what they need regularly. My co-teacher made a "students at a glance" page so that accommodations are easy to see rather than needing to reference a 504 or IEP all the time. A different co-teacher I worked with made a spreadsheet and checked off the modifications that each student needed so it was easy to see what a majority would need. 

Sometimes I get really into my content and start making tests or projects that are really awesome but may be super overwhelming for some of my students who have learning disabilities or 504's. Bouncing ideas off of my co-teacher helps me think through it and chunk better or completely remove parts of a project that aren't necessary. 

It is important for BOTH of you to agree on the modifications when it comes to shortening tests or projects. Just be sure to communicate! Which brings me to my last point...
BE A TEAM!
There are days when the last thing you want is another person in your room BUT there are also times when that person is the ultimate life saver! Everyone has one of those days where you need to be able to step back and let someone else take the lead and having a co-teacher means you can take a breather and get back in there rather than feeling the full weight all day. A good teammate provides that breather for you when you need it!

A good team adapts together. Maybe this is your first year co-teaching and you are used to having the run of the room with no one else to check in with. You already have your routine....but you aren't alone this year and it is no longer your classroom. Not gonna lie, I had some trouble sharing and adapting my first year co-teaching. But digging my feet into the ground with my own routine didn't help anything and I had a million times more positive experience the next year when I completely opened up my routine to change. It became our classroom and our routine rather than just mine. It was better for me. It was better for my co-teacher. Most importantly it was better for my students. Be willing to change and don't take things to personally in the process!

In fact, this person is now your work wife/husband in a lot of ways! Students will definitely treat you that way. You may have told a student they need to wait to use the restroom just a seconds before they walk over to your co-teacher to try again. Have each other's backs! Be their freaking person!
There is definitely some extra stress that comes with co-teaching (at least your first time or with a new partner). Communicate early and often, always take each other into consideration, and don't take things too personally and you'll be just fine!
And on those days when it doesn't feel "just fine" dance it out! 

Just kidding...kind of. 
I've witnessed some really toxic teaching partnerships that just were not going to work. If you are communicating and considering the other person in sharing your classroom and procedures but you are still frustrated, set a time for a conversation one on one. 

There were a couple times in the last few years when my co-teacher and I stayed for a few minutes during lunch or after school to talk over how something one of us said came off as rude or disrespectful in front of the class. For us, it was always just a miscommunication and we were able to just apologize or laugh it off and move on.  That is not the case for everyone. 

If a few one on one meetings don't seem to be doing the trick, ask your co-teacher if they would be willing to sit down with an administrator to work out the problems. I really hope it doesn't come to this and some of you may be laughing thinking about two adults not being able to work things out at work but it happens. If your co-teacher is open to it, hopefully you can resolve differences or your administrator can see the relationship is not healthy for students and make a schedule change. If they don't want to speak to an administrator together, you should go alone and ask for advice. At that point, it is documented and if you work with some great administrators like I do, they'll be able to help you out one way or another. The key here is to work up the chain of command and not turn it into school gossip. We're all adults here. Be sure to act like it!

That's all for co-teaching! How long have you been co-teaching? Any words of advice to add?
​Let us know by commenting below! :)

    ​Parents. I feel that teachers have a love-hate relationship with parents. We love parents for sharing their students with us, and we love when parents are proactive and work with us to help students be successful. We hate when parents are helicopters and constantly question our decisions about our class and response to students. The reality though is that it essential for us to make parent contact and try to build solid, positive relationships with parents as much as possible. 

Keeping in contact with parents can be a challenge. From phone tag, numbers that don't work, trying to keep up with emails, unreliability of letters and newsletters making it home, and social media issues, making parent contacts can be a huge stress of our job. Unfortunately I do not have some magic solution to always getting a hold of parents when I want to and make every parent contact a positive one. 

Here are some tips that have been passed to me and what I have found in time teaching:

​Make contact early in the school year. Many schools have a back-to-school night, so try to make the most of this time and have a conversation with parents that come and share with them some basic class information and get their contact information. If you are super organized and ambitious, you can try to make contact before this and make a parent phone call inviting them to back-to-school night and introducing yourself. This would obviously be easier for elementary teachers because they have less students that would have to called. For secondary teachers that would seem insane and I totally get it. The way this could be doable for secondary teachers would be if you have a homeroom or advisory class. Then you would have one class that you could call and make contact with personally. At my school that is what our expectation is. Within the first 2 weeks of school, we have to call all the parents in our advisory class to introduce ourselves and discuss our role as advisor. 

Make the first contact a positive one if possible. If you have been working in education, you know this to be true. Parents are more apt to work with you and be receptive to negative information, if you have first had a positive conversation. Even if you do have to have a conversation with a parent about something negative related to their student, it is helpful to start with 1 to 2 positive things and then bring up the issue that happened in class with that student. 

Try to make it a partnership. When you have a student that is difficult, I have found it helpful to ask for help from the parents. I ask them to help me understand their student and what we can do to help that student be successful. When parents realize it is not an 'us versus them' scenario, they might be more open to addressing classroom issues at home and supporting your actions in school. 

Write a script. If you are a new teacher or just uncomfortable talking to parents, it could help to write a script. I definitely did this when I was a first year teacher, because I had never done it and while I am super comfortable talking to 130 teenagers in a day talking to their parents is something else entirely. I still use scripts now, mainly because it keeps me on topic. Sometimes a parent just wants to talk and then I get off topic or after making so many calls I just forget what I need to talk about. Either way writing it down and having it in front of me is helpful. 

Don't take it personally. This is hard. I still find this hard to a certain extent. When a parent is hard on you, it can be easy to take it personally, just as it is when a student is difficult. The thing to remember is that parents are trying to look out for their students and they don't know what it is like in the classroom most of the time and they have only heard one side of the story. As the teacher our job is to first listen and then ask questions that help get to the root of the problem. Then discuss with parents your version of things and reassure parents that our goal is have students be successful. We all want what is best for our students. When parents are going off though it 99% of the time isn't really about you, but frustration with their student, their history with teachers and education, or any number of family issues that could be happening. I know that when it comes down to it, that may not help you feel better when you have a rough parent contact but it can help you put it in perspective when you are more calm. 

Make use of Technology. There are so many tools out there now that can help you reach out to parents. They definitely can make life easier for you and parents. Here are some tools you can try out:

1. Remind - I love remind! It is formally Remind 101. It is way for students and parents to sign up to receive texts or emails that you send out. You give students and/or parents a code to text on their phone and they will be added to classes you set up. The reminders you send out are limited in length but there are other functions like polling and chat functions without having to exchange numbers. There is also an app that is really handy for teachers, to send out reminders on the go and they can be scheduled to send out at another time which is really handy. 
2. Classtag - This is a relatively new website that I have come across and its purpose it to connect teachers and parents. It allows you to add parents and students to a class. Then you can send out digital newsletters, events, request volunteers, supplies for event, and just give updates about what is going on in your class. You can add parents with an email address or a phone number. Then they confirm. It has statistics that let you see how often the parents are active on the site and allows you to directly message parents. It a really nice way to contact parents on a closed site that don't have the dangers of social media sharing. The aesthetics of this site seem to geared a little towards the elementary side, but is customizable with pictures to make it less so for secondary. 
3. Bloomz - This is basically the same as Classtag, but has some additional feature of tracking attendance for your students and behavior management functions. I will be honest I am still playing with this one but it is interesting to be able to give that immediate feedback to parents. This one has a little bit of a different look that is more generic and does have an app that can downloaded as well. 
4. Use your LMS- If you district uses a LMS (learning management system) then make sure your parents are signed up as an observer to see what is going on with your students grades. It is really helpful for my parents to see grades and I can message them within the system as well. 

Original post : 9/25/2017        Revised: 7/23/18

The search for the best teacher professional development book can be an overwhelming task. In an effort to make your search easier, I want to share 5 of my favorite professional development books. The topics vary but these are books that I always come back to help remind me of the best practices in teaching or have really helped me grow as a teacher. 

These are some of the professional development books out there on a range of topics related to teaching, but I find all of these to be useful and interesting. What good professional development books would you recommend? Have read any of the books above? We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for all teachers! 

A few weeks ago I wrote about how much I loved attending the Illinois Education and Technology Conference and focused the blog on the first amazing keynote, Joe Sanfellipo. He spoke about leadership and culture in your school which is really important for the building as a whole. The second day of the conference was all about Alice Keeler for me. She was 100% about putting tools into the hands of teachers so we can serve students better. 

Who is Alice Keeler?
You can find out a lot about Alice Keeler by going to her website (alicekeeler.com). What she shared with us at the conference was that she is a mom and was teaching math and needed Google apps to do more for her. She started coding within Google apps and sending them to her friend who works at Google. Some of what she codes becomes an extension Google offers. Others she lists on her website for easy access regardless of becoming an official extension or not.  These extensions exist to help save time or be more efficient or effective in teaching or organizing information. Also, I think she may like sheets even more than me...I didn't know that was possible!

Alice at IETC
I attended two breakout sessions as well as her keynote lunch. Her first breakout, Google Apps Coding for Noobs, was a great introduction to coding. A lot of people get intimidated when they hear the word "coding" because they picture someone sitting in a dark basement surrounded by computer screens wheeling back and forth between them and speaking words no one ever really uses...or maybe that's just me! I went anyways and I was pleasantly surprised! Alice reiterated that most of coding is looking for patterns and then knowing which things to copy and paste. The link below takes you to the presentation she used for the session and walks you through how to: 
- Create a Google sheet that has a separate tab for each student with one click of a button
- Send an email
- Copy a Google Doc
- Do something a lot of times with one click
-And more that we didn't actually get to within the breakout
Google Apps Coding for Noobs Presentation by Alice Keeler

No, I would not need to write a code in order to send an email or copy a Google doc BUT learning the code behind it was helpful in order to complete the other codes. 

NO, THAT'S TOO OVERWHELMING! I CAN'T CODE!