School and the City

This topic is making me sweat just thinking about it: Parent communication! * shiver * I'm entering my 9th year of teaching, but communicating with parents still gives me anxiety. I've dealt with some amazing parents along with the worst of the worst. Here are 5 things to keep in mind when communicating with your students' guardians. Make Positive Contact This is my favorite (and possibly the most effective) of all the parent communication tips. Make a point to communicate with individual parents as soon as the school year starts. Find an easy way to start building relationships with parents, which will set you up for success in the future should you have to have tough conversations. (And you will!) I personally use these notepads , which make it super easy and quick for me to compliment a student. There are lots of free printable options on TPT, too. One of my principals made it a requirement for all teachers to make positive contac...

Topic of the week: Advice for lesson planning and pacing . I'm going to be completely honest - I don't think I knew what a pacing guide was my first year teaching. I definitely did not make my own or even use district guides effectively until at least year 4 or 5. I just followed what my coworkers were doing (and they knew what they were doing, thank goodness!) But, the more you know… Resources probably already exist. Last week we covered content knowledge, and I encouraged you to at least locate your state's standards. In many cases, your state - or your district - might have a pacing guide that you are expected to follow. A pacing guide is essentially your roadmap for the year. It tells you what to teach and when to teach it. That way your year is paced appropriately without rushing or running out of time. Before you spend your precious time planning out your year, check your state, district, and school websites and talk with your grade leve...